# Broken drywall edge - fix before taping?



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

NewTinyBuilder said:


> One of the drywall sheets was delivered with a broken corner/edge. It's a square about 4 inches by 2 inches. The paper is in good shape but the gypsum in between the paper is all smashed, making the corner bulge on the wall. How do you recommend fixing it before I mud and tape? Should I remove the paper and crumbling gypsum and prefill with setting mud? Everything I see online is about broken inside or outside corners, not the corner of a sheet. Perhaps I'm googling the wrong thing - any tips greatly appreciated!


 Return the sheet to where it came from, get a new one.

Or make a patch for the area, by cutting the damage out, and adding a backer, and new piece that is custom cut to fill it up, then normal tape and mud it, paint, and magic, it's gone.


ED


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

> Should I remove the paper and crumbling gypsum and prefill with setting mud?


Yes, that's the sort of thing you would prefill with some setting compound before taping. Add a little 1x2 or 1x4 backer behind if needed.

But generally if you have damaged sheets there will always a sheet somewhere that needs to be cut. Use the damaged sheets someplace where you cut off the damage.


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## Davejss (May 14, 2012)

Cut off the broken edge back to where it will land on the next framing member.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Never a big deal. As stated, you have areas that only need a smaller sheet so you can cut off the damage and not have to use it at all. Or, make sure it goes in a corner where you can easily fix it after it goes up.


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## NewTinyBuilder (Sep 21, 2020)

I have found a lot of old posts helpful and often wish the OP would return with an update regarding what they did and how it worked out. In case it helps anyone out in the future, here is what I did!

Thank you all for the great recommendations. I tried a less-invasive repair and figured I can always go back and take out a larger piece of drywall in the future, for example remove a section/strip of drywall back to the last framing member and replace it with a patch. However, I think what I did worked even if it will fail later - I cut out the paper on the 4"x2" crushed corner, removed the crumbling gypsum, and filled the cavity with Easy Sand 90. After it dried I sanded it smooth and continued with taping/mudding the walls. At this point I cant see the old corner on the wall at all so aesthetically it seems to have worked, only time will tell if it holds up or if I need to do one of the recommended methods above. 

Best of luck everyone!


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## turbo4 (Jan 30, 2021)

I use gysolite for holes and patches which is a actually a base plaster mix. Dries fast and doesnt shrink plus it pourous and takes drywall mud overcoat well.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

NewTinyBuilder said:


> One of the drywall sheets was delivered with a broken corner/edge. It's a square about 4 inches by 2 inches. The paper is in good shape but the gypsum in between the paper is all smashed


OK first of all, there is no such thing as a 4x2 square, lol. But anyway, you don't say how it was "delivered". If you can convince the people you bought it from that you didn't do that, they might replace it. Personally I'm good at drywall patching so I'd kludge a repair in there by cutting out that piece, and inserting a new piece screwed into some plywood back bracing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can research it or just replace a larger section between the studs (which will give you another seam to tape) if you don't want to replace the whole board.


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## NewTinyBuilder (Sep 21, 2020)

Haha! Fair enough @jeffnc , 4x2 rectangle. Thanks for the tip! It's looking pretty good now, can't see it at all


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## finisher65 (Apr 7, 2019)

What you did should be absolutely fine.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

finisher65 said:


> What you did should be absolutely fine.


Agreed. It'l last your lifetime, and maybe the next owners too.


ED


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