3 Ways to Finish Drywall Openings

Give a drywall pro a room full of bare studs, and they’ll look at it like a canvas, dreaming up dozens of different designs that could be achieved. The same thing goes for creating an opening in that drywall — it may seem simple, but with enough time and resources, a skilled finisher could choose numerous looks, shapes and techniques to create that entryway. 

To show you just a few of these approaches, we got together with our friends at Refresh Home Improvements to demonstrate three ways to finish drywall openings, from the classic to the curved to the quick!

Check out the video below, where the two brothers behind RHI, Dan and Steve Tuer — along with Trim-Tex’s own Enrique Perez — each take on their own entry in the Trim-Tex HQ testing lab! 

The Classic Way (3/16" Small Bullnose & Rigid Corner Bead)

For Dan’s doorway, he tackled the area using tried-and-true, 90-degree corner beads. Of course, Trim-Tex offers numerous profile options for these kinds of applications, but Dan chose our 3⁄16" Small Bullnose corner bead on one side of his opening for its tightly rounded edge, and Rigid Corner Bead on the other because he prefers its sharp nose and low profile. This technique is a classic for a reason — it creates a clean, modern look on any drywall space.

Finishing drywall openings using this method will be familiar to drywall finishers of any skill level. Both these beads are installed using two coats of 847 Spray Adhesive and half-inch staples, applied every six to eight inches. Finish off the process with a couple coats of mud, then sand to complete these crisp, sharp-nosed corners.

The Curved Way (3/8" Medium Bullnose Archway & Rigid Jumbo Archway)

For the next entryway, Steve took a more decorative approach, creating an eye-catching arched opening. Again, Trim-Tex stocks several archway beads that are beloved in the drywall finishing community, but on one side of his arched opening, Steve chose to make his entry curved in more ways than one, by using a ⅜” Medium Bullnose Archway. On the other side, he used a Rigid Jumbo Archway, with an extra-wide leg and extra-sharp nose.

This method uses the same steps as the classic way — just make sure the bead’s notched flanges are aligned along your archway. Of course, to create your own arched entryway from scratch, there will be a number of other steps you’ll need to take; you can view our full guide to building your own drywall archways here.

The Quick Way (Fast Cap)

For creating entryways (and other areas like wall ends, knee walls and closets) under a tight deadline, we can’t stress this enough: you’ve got to start using Fast Caps. 

Enrique demonstrated just how much faster Fast Caps can be on his drywall opening, cutting the amount of beads/accessories you’ll need to use in half. And he’s not just saving time on the finishing process: using Fast Caps also means that you won’t need to hang drywall on the inner surfaces of the opening, since its rigid vinyl flanges will completely cover those areas.

We recommend installing a Fast Cap using a bead of adhesive caulk along the back of the bead, then pressing it into place (and, if necessary, using a level to square it). Then just apply half-inch staples every four to six inches along its mud legs, finish with joint compound and that’s it — you’re already done! Learn more about how to use Fast Caps here.

Thanks to our friends at Refresh Home Improvements on their help with this guide! Check out all their stuff over on their Instagram page here. And these three methods are just the tip of the iceberg for what Trim-Tex can do to level up your drywall finishing game — find out more by requesting a free copy of our latest catalog to learn about them all.