How to Make Rounded Corners in Doorways

Traditionally, doorways between rooms, whether they had an actual door or were open, featured square corners, covered by wood trim. As drywall panel technology gradually replaced plaster and lath wall construction, homebuilders began to form sharp corner edges, made simpler by the installation of corner bead, covered with joint compound. Today, you can install rounded corners, also called bullnose or wrap-return, for a softer transition between rooms.

Bullnose corner bead
Bead spray adhesive
Joint compound
Flat drywall taping knife
Bullnose taping tool
Drywall sander

Instructions

- 1
  Install the drywall panels without overlapping them in the corner. Overlapping is standard for square corners, but bullnose corner bead requires additional space. The inside edges of the drywall panels should meet, but neither panel should extend farther.
- 2
  Spray bead adhesive on the inside flaps of the bullnose corner bead and on the edge of the drywall before carefully fitting the bead over the corner. Push the bead all the way up to the top of the wall. It’s OK if there is a small uncovered space at the bottom.
- 3
  Scoop up about 1/2 cup of premixed joint compound and smooth it along the flat sides of the bullnose corner bead. The bead is perforated and some of the joint compound will push through and fill the void beneath the bead and the drywall.
- 4
  Smooth the wet joint compound on both sides, but don’t concentrate your efforts over the rounded corner yet. Some of the joint compound will extend over the corner, but it’s essential to smooth and feather out the compound along the flat walls first.
- 5
  Pull a rounded bullnose taping tool from the top of the corner to the bottom after the walls are relatively smooth. This is a flexible rubber or vinyl tool that molds to fit the rounded corner as you pull and smooth the mud downward.
- 6
  Let the wet compound dry completely. Sand the wall and the corners lightly with a drywall sander to remove ridges and bumps of dry compound.
- 7
  Apply two more coats of compound over the rounded corner and the adjacent flat wall area. Smooth each coat out to reduce lumps in the compound. Use the drywall-taping tool each time to form a smooth rounded surface over the corner.
- 8
  Sand the corner and paint your wall to suit.

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