Cheaper and low maintenance vs drywall
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bluedog225
Well-known member
Also consider moisture/vapor movement though the wall. Metal or plastic may give you mold.
rzims
Well-known member
I went with OSB, I had just finished doing our entire basement, Inc ceiling, in drywall tape, texture and did not want to do anymore drywalling for the rest of my life.
I caulked the seams and screws and painted with the cheapest paint I could find. It took 3 coats to get it looking decent. Not house quality but definitely shop level
www.garagejournal.com
I caulked the seams and screws and painted with the cheapest paint I could find. It took 3 coats to get it looking decent. Not house quality but definitely shop level
Sunset Ridge Shop Build
So, as I think I've said, I live about a half mile down a gravel road. Well, it used to be gravel but after several years of little to no maintenance and back to back heavy snow winters, its mostly ruts and rock. Yesterday one neighbor and I decided to fix it. 40 tons of road base tail dumped...
www.garagejournal.com
I have been in this place since 1991. I replaced a bunch of sheet rock from water damage a many years back, but as far as damage from hitting the wall with something, it has been almost nothing. About every ten years I toss on a coat of paint. I might patch a couple divots before the point goes up, but I don't remember any serious damage.
What are you doing that you have heavy objects flying around, out of control in your shop?
Plus with drywall a repair is a few dollars in mud and you don't have to replace a whole sheet.
dcg9381
Well-known member
This is what I did. Painted it. It's good enough for a shop and makes it way easier to hang things up.
The other advantage is that I can easily take down a 4x8' panel of OSB to get at what I need to get to behind it... The added "cost" of drywall labor and fact that it's easily damaged make it not a great choice for my shop.
GrayFlattop
Well-known member
Eh, I don't know what your work habits are, but I'm glad that I gave you a laugh.
GrayFlattop
Well-known member
Wow. Yeah, shipping is a thing for your location. 5/8" is $10.88 at local big box stores near me.
MooreGarage
Active member
I recently finished my garage with LP Smartside panels. Checked with the manufacturer first and determined that they are suitable for indoor installation. It wasn't cheap at around $40 per panel, but way less labor than DIY drywall, and cheaper than paying someone to do the drywall.
We built the garage over 20 years ago. It is a 24x28 garage and a 10x20 mud room that connects it to the house. The mud room along with the connecting wall were drywalled (both sides with fire code drywall) at the time of construction, but the garage has been unfinished ever since. I started on the finishing back in November, first insulation (R19 in the ceiling and R15 in the walls), then the panels, and new LED lights to replace the old fluorescent ones. Just finished up the window trim and new blinds a couple of weeks ago (still need to paint the window trim, but I'm almost done).
I used 1x8 pine boards at the top of the walls, and a 0.25x1.25 ABS trim piece at the floor with a 1x4 ABS trim above that, to make 8' panels work with my slightly over 9' walls. Worked out perfectly, and the Smartside panels don't touch the floor. 1x4 pine boards cover up the **** seams in the panels on the ceiling.
We built the garage over 20 years ago. It is a 24x28 garage and a 10x20 mud room that connects it to the house. The mud room along with the connecting wall were drywalled (both sides with fire code drywall) at the time of construction, but the garage has been unfinished ever since. I started on the finishing back in November, first insulation (R19 in the ceiling and R15 in the walls), then the panels, and new LED lights to replace the old fluorescent ones. Just finished up the window trim and new blinds a couple of weeks ago (still need to paint the window trim, but I'm almost done).
I used 1x8 pine boards at the top of the walls, and a 0.25x1.25 ABS trim piece at the floor with a 1x4 ABS trim above that, to make 8' panels work with my slightly over 9' walls. Worked out perfectly, and the Smartside panels don't touch the floor. 1x4 pine boards cover up the **** seams in the panels on the ceiling.
Lean shovels, pipes, boards, sheets of metal, ladders against the wall. It just eats into drywall in a short time.
I have a couple good scratches in the 4 year old drywall in my house. Should really fill and paint them but even in a house it hardly ever gets done.
My question is what are you doing that never damages drywall? Sitting drinking coffee? Even tin and plywood get scratched and paint worn off in some areas in most shops I've been in.
Perhaps I am a bit more careful.
I used to all kinds of auto repair, tunes ups, oil changes, brakes, engine rebuilds,(I sound like Mona Lisa Vito!). I have built a couple trailers, weld, grind. Service and repair my motorcycles, wood working, body work, I have painted a couple cars. I just repainted a small trailer I pull behind my Goldwing.
It is a home shop so it isn't like it gets 8 hours a day use. But years ago I worked out there pretty much every weekend and 2-3 nights a week to help make ends meet. I am retired, but I probably spend 20 hours a week out there.
I don't sit out there and drink coffee or beer. I have a deck or family room that is much more comfortable. I never have understood the sit around the shop and drink when there is more comfortable places to relax.
jollygreengiant
Well-known member
Around here I can source panels up to 16' from my local Rona and from farm building equipment suppliers. Maybe there's something like that around you?
Last time I bought rough sawn pine from a lumberyard it was more than twice that cost....
I think this just comes down to what kind of person you are. Some people can do a complete rebuild of a tractor in the middle of a muddy farmyard in their best Sunday clothes and not get a speck of dirt on them. While others merely have to look at a vehicle and they are covered in dirt, grease all over their hands, rips all over their clothes, and blood coming from at least half a dozen places.
I know I'm much more in that latter category than the former lol.
That came out very nice. How heavy are those panels compared to drywall? Can one guy handle a full sheet?
my thoughts exactly. Can't remember ever damaging a wall or really even hitting a wall
MooreGarage
Active member
Pretty close to the same weight as drywall - 41 lbs for a 4x8 sheet. I did my entire garage by myself, but did use the drywall lift pictured above to do the ceiling. The lift is just a cheap one from Amazon, paid around $200 for it. I would not have been able to do the ceiling by myself without it. Didn't need it for the walls.
Only issue I had was that every single panel I bought (which was spread over a couple of months, buying about 10 panels at a time) from Home Depot was pre-warped. They straightened out just fine on the walls where I had 16" centers, but there are a couple of slightly wavy spots on the ceiling that didn't straighten out due to 24" centers. Only noticeable if you are really looking for it, and I decided I didn't care, it is a garage after all... If I really cared, I could go up in the attic and add some cross supports in those spots to force the boards to flatten out.
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billconner
Well-known member
I buy it from the Amish - probably 10 or 15 communities within 20 miles that saw lumber. I guess it that is not available to you. I like the 1" thick solid lumber over 7/26" or 11/16" OSB. I think it has a lot more holding power and spans further, plus looks better, no finish required.
I think it’s likely a factor of size. My garage is 20’x25’ and I keep two cars in there. Keeping clear of the automobiles means that things will bump and rub against the walls as I move around.
racecougar
Well-known member
Yes, things cost more when they have to be shipped to Alaska.
I did my garage with 5/8 drywall for fire safety as I weld, grind etc. yes the walls are getting dingy, but the semi gloss white really helps my eyes see with all the led lights I put in. As soon as I get my 50 chevy truck done to the point I can pull it out I will clean the walls, maybe put another coat of paint on the walls if I feel they need it.
I am comparing labor costs exactly because this is a DIY site. I was able to finish my walls by myself with about 50 bucks worth of caulk and sanding belts. If I had used drywall I would never attempt to finish 1600 square feet of drywall by myself and expect it to look even half assed decent. What do you reckon professionally finishing 1600 s.f. worth of drywall seams would cost? I'll bet it is more than the 50 bucks and a few hours I spent. And it looks really good. Do I want it in the living room? No. But this is a working shop.
I took the DIY approach. Hence, my post on the subject.
My shop is NOT a mancave. Sometimes the work (or maybe play) gets a little rough. The OSB will stand up to the punishment a ton better than drywall.
The point is that I finished the walls in my shop with more durable OSB a lot cheaper than using drywall.
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My buddy just sheeted the ceiling of his garage with drywall. Finishing tool was a $10 caulking gun that he had already, and typical painting tools. He caulked the seams and painted. I think it looks fine for what it is. It is a garage, not some palace.
You do not need to tape and texture drywall if you have a simple shop.
Wiz02
Well-known member
Is texturing drywall a regional thing? I've only seen it in commercial settings and in 55+ condos in Fl.
I may be ridiculously slow at mudding and taping, but seriously, why texturing as DIY? To hide a bad job? Seems like it makes the walls hard to clean, especially for a shop.
I may be ridiculously slow at mudding and taping, but seriously, why texturing as DIY? To hide a bad job? Seems like it makes the walls hard to clean, especially for a shop.
Yup...drywall is for garages (parking cars), tougher materials are for shops (working in).
All I've ever had were open walls with exposed studs. Lots of extra storage potential in the walls. But of course, no insulation.
If I had to enclose my shop, it would be metal over OSB. I do a lot of welding and metal cutting which is the reason for metal, and the OSB under it means you can drill & screw anything to it anywhere on the wall.
For me anyways, I just don't want to have to constantly think about the walls. I'm a bit OCD, so I could keep a drywalled shop spotless if I wanted to...but I don't want that on my mind when I'm out there. I don't want to watch where the jack handle is when lining it up under the vehicle. I don't want to lay my digging bar down on the floor....I wanna lean it up in the corner. I want to shove my jack and jackstands against the wall and out of the way. My stepladder...just prop it up against the wall anywhere...
Stuff like that.
I texture so I don't need to be as picky with the finish mud job. A few defects that would show badly on a smooth wall disappear with a coat of texture. As for cleaning with the textured walls, I never had an issue, but how often do you wash your walls? For me it is about every ten years, right before a repaint.
I had a small engine shop. All the walls were sheet rock. Beings it was a commercial space I tried to keep it clean and fresh looking. Every winter I had some slow months. The more pubic areas got a coat of paint. In five years the warehouse area never got a repaint and the walls were fine, other than a bit dirty.
In my home shop I do a fair amount of cutting as welding, but less than I did years ago, no issues with drywall.
If I had a large steel framed, or pole barn type building I might go with steel sheets, but for a typical home garage/shop, with eight foot ceilings I see zero problems with sheet rock.
I find it funny that you have an opinion on which is better, but you have not had experience with either!
Oh...so you know all about my history do ya? Or is this a touchy subject?
I have had experience working in many garages. Drywall, metal, T111, and block.
I just said my personal garage is open.
Wiz02
Well-known member
@PoorUB , thanks for the input, my attached garage has a "smooth" drywall finish, with white gloss paint that is easy to clean up, especially as I seem to generate a lot of dust. I clean every few years and clean / repaint roughly every ten years like you.
I am saving up for insulation and drywall or another wall covering for my detached garage and I find threads like this one informative.
I am saving up for insulation and drywall or another wall covering for my detached garage and I find threads like this one informative.
75gmck25
Well-known member
Ref texturing drywall - It seems to be a regional preference, so where you live will set the standard. When I was in Texas they always textured the walls, and cheaper houses got a rougher texture that almost felt like sandpaper if you rubbed up against it. It covered any type of error in finishing. I'm now living in Virginia, where you would only find texture in a few newer, low-end houses. The standard here is smooth finish in the house, or maybe orange peel in a few areas. If garages have drywall they usually have a first layer tape and float to close up the seams (not very smooth), and one coat of paint.
Snakecharmer383
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2022
- Messages
- 179
I still don't know what I'm doing with the interior of my garage yet. Waiting for weather to warm up. I def. lurk on all these interior garage posts lol