How to finish corner with different materials?

Question

I'm installing a wardrobe in the bedroom and installing it flush with the walls. I need some advice on finishing one of the corners.

One edge there is gyprock and the other there is primed FJ pine, with a metal plaster angle over the corner edge.

On the gyprock side. I've just repair the damage with compound. What's next to use on the other side?

Nailbag · Answer

Hi @GlennD

Your neatest solution would be to first install a Tassi-Oak trim over the joint between the edge of the wardrobe and plaster board. Then the corner to that trim will need to be top-coated. Though a small job, unless you're very experienced in plastering finishes, I would get either a handyman who can do this type of work or a plasterer. Though they will be difficult to get for such a small job.

Nailbag

Dave-1 · Answer

Good Evening @GlennD

I would go the route of replacing the strip with plaster and then finish it off with a nice sharp angle. I did the same for an alcove I have at home abd it wasnt really hard to do and came out very professional looking :)

You could try feathering plaster from the corner over the new timber but as @EricL  has suggested it may/will develop cracks to movement between two different surfaces. Could be worth a try for an easy fix but long term Id replace it with plaster.

Dave

EricL · Answer

Hello @GlennD

You’re on the right track, and it’s good you’ve already repaired the gyprock side. The tricky part here is that you’ve got two different materials meeting at that corner plasterboard and primed FJ pine, and they move differently with temperature and humidity. A rigid plaster finish taken straight onto the timber will almost always crack along that junction over time, even if it looks perfect initially.

My first suggestion is to replace the pine piece with plasterboard, especially if your goal is a true flush, built-in look. Replacing the primed FJ pine with plasterboard means both sides of the corner behave the same way, so the metal angle can be properly embedded and finished as intended. You’ll get a consistent surface, the compound will bond properly on both sides, and you avoid the ongoing risk of cracking where timber and plaster meet.

If it’s practical to remove that pine strip without affecting the wardrobe structure, I’d lean toward doing it. Once it’s out, you can fix in a strip of plasterboard, install or reuse the corner bead, and then finish it with a base coat and topping compound like Gyprock Less Mess Multi-Purpose Joint Compound. After sanding and painting, that corner will look like part of the wall rather than an add-on, and it will hold up much better over time.

However, if the pine piece can't be removed, another option is to slightly modify the detail by adding a small trim or cover strip on the timber side, such as a thin primed moulding piece such as the

https://www.bunnings.com.au/30-x-5mm-2-4m-tasmanian-oak-round-edging_p0083866?

. That effectively hides the material change and removes the need to rely on a plaster-to-timber bond at all, which is a more robust long-term solution. The join and gaps can be covered with Selleys gap filler.

In terms of whether the current setup is advisable, it’s workable, but not ideal if you were planning to fully flush it like a plaster corner. The presence of the metal angle suggests it was set up for a plaster-to-plaster finish. Since one side is timber, treating that junction as a flexible joint (or covering it with trim) will give you a much more durable result and save you from hairline cracking down the track.

Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag and @Dave-1 for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric