These 3 Beads Gave a Habitat for Humanity Home Its Flawless Finish

While many drywall contractors reach for Trim-Tex when they are going above and beyond for their clients — amazing archways, bold designs, artistic finishes — there are just as many who depend on vinyl drywall accessories for their essentials. Take this house being rehabbed for Habitat for Humanity: for a straightforward project like this, you don’t need anything fancy, just a pristine finish that can withstand whatever life throws at it over the years. These three beads gave a Habitat for Humanity home its flawless finish, overseen by drywall legend Myron Ferguson.

Check out this video produced in conjunction with Fine Homebuilding, where Myron explains why he chose these three specific vinyl beads for this job and how he used them for an easy, ridiculously durable finish:

3 Beads for a Flawless Finish | Habitat for Humanity | Myron Ferguson

Trim-Tex Corner Bead

First off, for all his outside corners, Myron chose a classic: the standard Trim-Tex Corner Bead. There may be flashier corner beads contained in the Trim-Tex catalog, but you can’t go wrong with this one — with its soft profile, it’s the gold standard for 90-degree corners. Myron chose this bead for its easy installation and durability; whether you’re a finishing pro or a newbie, you’re able to achieve a flawless finish that will stand the test of time.

This bead is installed using nothing more than two sprays of 847 Adhesive and half-inch staples. As Myron points out, the fact that this bead is installed only into the drywall, with no nails or screws going into the wood studs, means that you avoid any possible issues with cracking when the house settles.

Tear Away L Bead

The Habitat for Humanity house features plenty of windows to bathe the interior with natural light, and each of these windows come with drywall window returns. On the outside edges of each of these window returns, Myron used more standard Corner Bead. But against the windows themselves, another solution was needed: Tear Away L Bead. This bead has a flange that tucks behind the drywall for a tight, smooth seal.

(Here’s another area where the bead’s vinyl makeup is key — windows produce a lot of condensation, and where a metal solution here would rust over time from all that moisture, vinyl will not.)

To install, use the same method as described above, with Tear Away L Bead’s removable flange pressed tightly against the adjoining substrate. Once you start mudding, this flange will protect your window from any mud spilling over onto it. Then, after everything’s dried and sanded, you can rip off that tear away strip, leaving behind a smooth, gorgeous finish.

Magic Corner

Outside corners aren’t the only places that needed some vinyl protection in this Habitat for Humanity house. Its second floor has lots of long runs of off-angle inside corners where the ceilings meet sloped walls. This was a perfect fit for Magic Corner, a highly adaptable inside-corner solution featuring a flexible center that accommodates structural movement (up to ⅜”) to prevent those cracks that can occur in these areas.

To install Magic Corner, Myron first snaps a chalk line to ensure he applies the bead on a perfectly straight trajectory. Then he applies his length of Magic Corner along that line, once again using 847 Spray Adhesive and staples. The only big difference here is that you need to keep the bead’s center clear of mud to keep it flexible for the lifetime of the house, so after applying his joint compound, Myron uses a simple installation tool to clean off its malleable midpoint.

With these three simple vinyl drywall accessories, this Habitat for Humanity house is set with a finish that will stand up to wear-and-tear for years to come. Kudos to Myron Ferguson for his excellent finishing work, and thanks to Fine Homebuilding for facilitating this project!

All three of these beads are among the most popular solutions Trim-Tex offers. So, whether you’re working on a straightforward home like this one or something more complex, use the tool below to locate a dealer near you, and pick up these beads and many more at your local drywall supply house!

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Trim-Tex beads are flying off the shelves at a dealer near you. Snag a box or a truckload of your favorite corner profiles today.