# How are inside corners screwed in?



## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

What is typically done to screw in the inside corners of drywall? I drywalled my crawlspace and realized this is something that I never thought of until I went to do it. You can't really get your drill in there without the chuck rubbing against the other sheet and even then the screw goes in at an angle so it won't be flush. I ended up doing it that way anyway but figured I should learn the right way for when I do the basement. If I was to do it over again I would have made sure to frame in a full 2x4 width for each corner so I don't need to screw so close to the edge, but I already did vapour barrier so don't want to start undoing that. Is that normally what would be done though?


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

First, a vapor barrier even in a basement in Canada may not be advisable. I know, code probably says it is needed but I have a citation about Canada and VBs.

Anyway, corners like that need a nailer either added or are part of the framing. Neal will be along and give you a graphic. As for adding a nailer now, just cut the VB, add the nailer, and patch the plastic, no big deal.

Bud


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Use drywall nails in the corner if it is that close or just plan on repairing where the drill marks it.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Oh right never even thought of nails, I may try that, I can always remove the screws that I did manage to get in there, as they are at too much of an angle. 

Vapour barrier is probably just as important as the insulation as it prevents drafts. The rest of the basement is all vapour barriered too and has been for quite some time and in winter it's warmer down there than rest of the house, as the vb install for rest of house is quite terrible from what I've seen.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

One must be careful to not screw to tight but a 6" bit makes it a bit easier. A 6" extension for the drywall bit is better.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Some reading on Vapor barriers:
https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-073-macbeth-does-vapor-barriers

https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/bareports/ba-0202-basement-insulation-systems/view

Bud


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I almost always use nails along the perimeter of a sheet of drywall. It's quicker that way and the tape/mud generally prevents any nail pops.


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## Sdiver2489 (Jan 14, 2013)

Use a drill extension. If I use my 12" I can get almost perpendicular.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

I ended up putting in some roofing nails in a few sections where there was not enough stud to properly go into as the head is wide enough to pull the drywall down. Kind of cringeworthy but I don't think these corners are salvageable at this point. Next time I frame I will make sure to make the corners have a full 2x4 width of area. Maybe even do the same for every 4' section, just flip the 2x4. Not a great feeling when you realize you just put a hole through the vapour barrier. I don't care so much for this house as it's so leaky but if this was a brand new construction I would need to take everything apart and patch that hole or I would not feel right.

One thing I might do too is cut some kind of border piece to go in the corners. I will see how the plastering job ends up and if I get any cracking. It's not meant to be perfect as it's just a crawlspace used for storage, but I'm also using this as practice for when I do the basement part. 

I may very well have to cut into the VB in the basement so I can fix my corners, at least add a 2x2 at each corner or something to give more width to screw into.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Red Squirrel said:


> I ended up putting in some roofing nails in a few sections where there was not enough stud to properly go into as the head is wide enough to pull the drywall down. Kind of cringeworthy but I don't think these corners are salvageable at this point. Next time I frame I will make sure to make the corners have a full 2x4 width of area. Maybe even do the same for every 4' section, just flip the 2x4. Not a great feeling when you realize you just put a hole through the vapour barrier. I don't care so much for this house as it's so leaky but if this was a brand new construction I would need to take everything apart and patch that hole or I would not feel right.
> 
> One thing I might do too is cut some kind of border piece to go in the corners. I will see how the plastering job ends up and if I get any cracking. It's not meant to be perfect as it's just a crawlspace used for storage, but I'm also using this as practice for when I do the basement part.
> 
> I may very well have to cut into the VB in the basement so I can fix my corners, at least add a 2x2 at each corner or something to give more width to screw into.


Most people put the sheets horizontal :vs_cool: Judge your corner framing and do the hard and do the hard one first.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Yeah going horizontal would save on joints but it was so awkward trying to move 4' sections under there I was not about to do 8' ones haha. But yeah when it comes time to do the basement think I will just fix up the framing even if it means redoing that part of the vb. There's only really 2 corners I need to do anyway. For crawlspace well it does not need to be perfect so I'll leave it as is.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Oh figured I'd post pics of it finished. Looks ok from far.  










Not sure why it's not working.

Direct links:
http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2378.jpg

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2382.jpg

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2381.jpg


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

These blocks above the wall should have been up inside the joists.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Can you see these pictures? For some reason they don't show up for me unless I go straight to the URL. Only seems to do that on this forum. But yeah now that you mention it not sure why I originally put the blocks that way. In basement side I did it right.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Red Squirrel said:


> Can you see these pictures? For some reason they don't show up for me unless I go straight to the URL. Only seems to do that on this forum. But yeah now that you mention it not sure why I originally put the blocks that way. In basement side I did it right.


I went and copied your picture to paste here. It was there and now gone.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Yeah it seems the forum does not like pictures from my site. (it's just a self hosted site I use for uploading pics).

So I started to plaster, I think I can fix all of this through plastering. There is one corner that was really bad, the drywall was not butted up close enough, I think it ended up that way as it was not lining up on the next 4 foot stud, so more of a framing error on my part. I slathered on lot of mud and taped just the one side for now, I'm sure it will crack a little, but it should at least provide enough fillter for the next coat when I do the corner tape. 

Mudding is totally overkill for this but I kinda like doing it and it's good practice for when I do the basement. Faster I can get crawlspace done the faster I can start moving stuff back in there and start on basement, probably in winter.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

So just an update, I ended up more or less leaving it (some screws at weird angles, along with some roofing nails in some spots, as the heads are nice and wide). 

Plastered and painted, now to see if it holds up through a couple winters or ends up cracking. Just a crawlspace so not too fussy about it. For the basement part think I will end up just biting the bullet and cutting open the VB in the corners so I can add a 2x2 screwing strip then reapply the VB. If I'm careful I can probably do it without needing to fit a new piece. 

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2402.jpg

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2403.jpg

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_projects/basement_renovation/dsc_2404.jpg


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

Red Squirrel said:


> So just an update


Wow, a crawl space with ply subfloor, taped and painted walls, and numerous decora receptacles. Sure you're not making livable space for a really short person?


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Haha yeah I kind of went overkill, just wanted a cleaner area to store stuff in, but most importantly adding insulation too. Drywall also helps press down on the vapour barrier tape and acoustic sealant, and protects it from punctures, so if I go that far may as well just paint it too lol. 

This is what it looked like before:

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_purchase/before_renovations/crawlspace2.jpg

http://gal.redsquirrel.me/images/house_purchase/before_renovations/crawlspace3.jpg


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

You're saying "the chuck hits the wall, and on top of that you can't get the screw in straight", but those 2 things are related. Really you only get one or the other. If you screw in at an angle, the chuck won't hit the wall.

I usually screw in at a bit of an angle. But you could also use something like this if you want.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-2-in-Corner-Back-Drywall-Back-up-Clips-50-Pack-4015/203558624


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Well what I meant is if I want to make the screw straight the chuck hits the wall, whlie the alternative is to screw at an angle but then it's not flush anymore which is a problem. Or at least I thought it would be, but the corners did end up ok in the end. 

But yeah it's something I will keep in mind the next time I am building a wall, I will have the corners framed in a way that I have a bit more area to screw into.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Tape and mud don't prevent nail or screw pops. It is purely an overcoat for "pretty"


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## ront02769 (Nov 28, 2008)

If you can’t screw the inside corners in, someone has installed the framing incorrectly.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

That someone would have been me.... hence why I was asking how I am suppose to do it correctly so I know next time. 

It's something I overlooked when doing the framing, I only left a 2x4 width and it's not enough because of the weird angle you end up having to screw in, especially for the 2nd sheet. Next time I will flip the 2x4's in a way to create a bigger surface area on both sides of the corner.


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