By Gene and Katie Hamilton

A damaged outside wall corner gets worse the longer it remains exposed, because as passersby brush against it, the edges wear away the surface, making the damage larger. In no time at all, a small dent can expand to a larger opening with crumbing pieces of wallboard and exposed corner bead and drywall nails.

Repairing a damaged outside wall corner is an easy job, well within the grasp of a first-time do-it-yourselfer, because it requires a minimum of tools and materials. You learn the skills on the job. It's a good example of what contractors call "nuisance work" because it's a small job that requires several return visits, so it's best left to a homeowner.

A handyman will charge $216 to repair a 4-foot-long section of a damaged wall corner, which includes labor and material; but you can do the job for $30, the cost of the materials and enjoy an 86 percent savings. The job involves breaking away the loose joint compound, cleaning the surface, fastening the loose corner bead with drywall nails, and then applying joint compound and sanding it to conform to the wall surface. You'll need a vacuum, hammer, nail set, putty knife, corner bead with predrilled nail holes, joint compound and sandpaper.

The average price to repair a wall corner noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself. Tweak the data by adding your ZIP Code to find a local cost.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.