The Easiest Way To Touch Up Damaged Drywall Corners

No matter how carefully you maintain your home, there's no avoiding the wear and tear that comes with everyday life. Eventually, your floors will get scuffed, your paint will get scratched, and the corners of your walls will be subject to various dings and dents. Whether it's from banging into the corner while moving furniture or vacuuming or even continuously brushing against the edge of the wall when walking past it, the corners of drywall have a tendency to get worn and cracked over time. And while you can always call in a professional, it can be a bit more expensive than you might think. Thankfully, a damaged drywall corner is easy enough to fix on your own ... as long as you're invested in doing it correctly and not relying on TikTok hacks for fixing holes.

You'll only need a handful of items for minor drywall repairs: a small tub of spackle or joint compound, depending on the repair, a putty knife, a sanding block, and some touch-up paint/primer. Start by applying spackle or joint compound over the damaged area with a putty knife. Smooth out the spackle or joint compound with the putty knife until it's level with the rest of the wall, and then allow it to dry completely. Apply a second coat if it's needed, and then sand the area completely smooth with a sheet of 150 or 220 grit. All that's left is to prime and paint the area to match the rest of your wall.

If the corner of your drywall has large chunks missing or the corner bead is damaged, you'll need to take additional steps to repair it. First, examine the condition of the corner bead. If it's simply come loose, reattach it to the wall with a few drywall screws and a power drill. If, however, it's dented or bent, you could either try using pliers to reshape it or use a hacksaw to cut out the damaged portion. It's best to cut a few inches above and below the damage. Then, score along the sides of the corner bead with a utility knife to loosen it from the drywall, and then pull it off the wall.

Next, scrape away any loosened pieces of drywall. Cut a new piece of corner bead to size and attach it to the wall with drywall screws. Now you're ready to apply the first layer of spackle or joint compound using a putty knife. Allow it to dry completely. To add additional strength to the corner bead and help avoid it cracking in the future, you may want to add a piece of mesh drywall tape over the corner bead. Apply a second coat of spackle or joint compound over the tape, and when it's dry, sand, prime, and paint. If all of that fails, and your drywall still looks unsightly, you may just need to look into whether you need to replace the drywall entirely rather than repair it.