I'm trying to find studs along my wall and have been successful except for the wall corners which have me confused. I am using a magnet to find the studs which is working well. However, along the wall corners in my house the magnet attaches to the wall along the entire vertical length. It seems like there is a metal plate in these areas. I am not knowledgeable with construction and am wondering – is it safe to use the wall corners as studs? If so, do I need a particular type of drill bit to get through this? Do people generally stay away from these "wall plates"?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Best Answer
The outside corners of your walls have metal "drywall corner bead". (There's also paper and plastic.) Sometimes, though rare, there's metal bead in the inside corners.
The corner bead itself is relatively thin, but if you're trying to get through it, either with a drill bit or a screw, you'll need to push reasonably forcefully. If you don't, the bead can ride up the screw or bit, which will create a crack in the plaster.
Putting a screw into the last inch of a corner isn't a fabulous idea, though. Typically, there's 1/2" drywall, which won't hold a screw, and then the edge of the stud, which can splinter off and not be very strong.