MDF for walls?

[s10xtremist]

I have a 30x40 metal building (Mueller). I was planning on standing 4'x8' sheets of 5/8" plywood to have an 8" wall around the entire inside, then adding 1"x4"s at the top and bottom as a simple crown/shoe molding to finish it off. I have 33 essentially perfect sheets of 3/4" MDF that I could use, but how is this for painting and longevity? I really don't want to "waste" such expensive wood for shop walls, but I already have it. I guess what I'm trying to ask is there any benefit to using it versus the plywood. My shop will be spray foam insulated (hopefully next week), have insulated doors, and be climate-controlled. So, I don't think the MDF would go "bad", or would it? Or, should I sell the MDF at a discounted price to some lucky mill work or car audio shop and buy regular plywood?

 

[big.jim]

mdf looks as good to me , dont think it will stand up to damp the same though but as you say climate controlled so dont think you will have a problem ,arent there pita regulations about machining mdf in the states

 

[AndrewV]

Mdf is a spong. Will soak in moister, chemicals, paints, and all things.
I wouldn't do it. Plus strength wise, mdf will rip out nails/screws overtime from wieght on it aswell.

 

[edcantu9]

I would not use MDF on anywhere there is a change for moisture.

 

[lotsoftools]

We have what looks like painted MDF on the warehouse walls at work. I have no idea how old it is, probably 8-10 years at least. For the most part it looks fairly good, but a lot of the sheets are kind of curled along the edges. There's also one spot near a doorway that got a lot of moisture and it is just dissolving.

 

[Beemer533]

MDF is great for milling (trim, details, etc) and painting, but it dents easily in my experience.

And as said before, it is a sponge. Compared to plywood it ***** for holding screws.

That being said, MDF will hold significant loads if you use toggle bolts..

And, it is free! (for you anyway)... I would kind of hate to see MDF not be made into speaker cabinets, but I guess in the end it really depends what you will be doing in your shop. If you can hit studs and/or use toggle bolts to hang heavy stuff like cabinets and shelves, and you aren't worried about moisture, I'd probably go for it.

 

[shawhite]

I would go not use MDF for shop walls I would go with plywood.

 

[allinon72]

It's also heavy as hell

 

[ford33]

I have seen sculptured MDF panels on walls for accents and design elements. I would not use it for the wall boards because of the issues already mentioned.

Check out www.archsystems.com for sculptured wall decorations made from MDF. Very interesting designs. Maybe you can keep a few panels and make some wall art related to shop work.

 

[kd3pc]

It's also heavy as hell

+10

and it may need a lot better attachment to stay there.

 

[beakie]

if you're dead set on using the MDF, lay it on it's side, MDF top 4', ply @ the bottom 4'.
"should" keep it away from most moisture, and give you an easy accent line to cover all around the garage exterior.
also, when you add shelves around the top, etc, and hit the studs with those brackets, it will help keep the screws from blowing through the MDF.

 

[Norcal]

If you do decide to use the MDF paint all 6 sides of each sheet thoroughly, use a decent quality paint what color for the sides & back is not important (***** pink would be fine) & I would use a enamel finish as well, flat seems to have as much value as a screen door on a submarine, also keep it off the floor, a 2X4, or 2X6, may make a nice finish detail, then set the sheet of MDF on the 2X material, if any wash down is done I would not use MDF though, as said by other posters MDF & water do not go well together, I had a bunch of 4'X12' 3/8" particle board that got for free that was going to use on a couple of shop walls but ended up giving it away because drywall made more sense to me, even though the plan was to hang drywall over the particle board in the future.

Ripping the MDF into 2'X8' lengths makes great shelving, a good plan B.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I have a 30x40 metal building (Mueller). I was planning on standing 4'x8' sheets of 5/8" plywood to have an 8" wall around the entire inside, then adding 1"x4"s at the top and bottom as a simple crown/shoe molding to finish it off. I have 33 essentially perfect sheets of 3/4" MDF that I could use, but how is this for painting and longevity? I really don't want to "waste" such expensive wood for shop walls, but I already have it. I guess what I'm trying to ask is there any benefit to using it versus the plywood. My shop will be spray foam insulated (hopefully next week), have insulated doors, and be climate-controlled. So, I don't think the MDF would go "bad", or would it? Or, should I sell the MDF at a discounted price to some lucky mill work or car audio shop and buy regular plywood?

If it's climate controlled and not too humid it should be okay. I mean you already got it, you might as well use it.

 

[spotco2]

3/4 MDF is some heavy stuff and hard as a brick.

I'd sell it and use something else. I used 7/16 painted OSB and have been very happy with it.

 

[Kevin54]

Mdf is a spong. Will soak in moister, chemicals, paints, and all things.
I wouldn't do it. Plus strength wise, mdf will rip out nails/screws overtime from wieght on it aswell.

I would not use MDF on anywhere there is a change for moisture.

I would go not use MDF for shop walls I would go with plywood.

If you do decide to use the MDF paint all 6 sides of each sheet thoroughly, use a decent quality paint what color for the sides & back is not important (***** pink would be fine) & I would use a enamel finish as well, flat seems to have as much value as a screen door on a submarine, also keep it off the floor, a 2X4, or 2X6, may make a nice finish detail, then set the sheet of MDF on the 2X material, if any wash down is done I would not use MDF though, as said by other posters MDF & water do not go well together, I had a bunch of 4'X12' 3/8" particle board that got for free that was going to use on a couple of shop walls but ended up giving it away because drywall made more sense to me, even though the plan was to hang drywall over the particle board in the future.

Ripping the MDF into 2'X8' lengths makes great shelving, a good plan B.

So of the above responses, how many ACTUALLY have MDF in their garages so they can come to this conclusion? My guess is that each and every one has tried it, so each and every one knows for a fact. That's good, I'd hate to see someone steered wrong.

Myself, I guess I am going to have to go out to my garage, and rip all of my larger trim boards down and replace them with something else because they must just be soaking up water and going to ****, as I sit here.

I may as well take all of my drywall of also, because I know that in the multitude of threads that I have read on here that drywall is pure **** for a garage also, all for the fact that you can't run a screw in it, it's heavy, any screw will pull out, and.....it will soak up moisture and go to hell just as fast as you put it up. Good Lord I wish I had read all of these responses before I put up MDF and drywall in my garage YEARS ago.

S10Extremist......if you have it, and you want to use it, do so. Go to the ReStore around your area if you have one and get a few cheap gallons of latex paint. Paint all of your edges a couple of times. If you have a drafty garage, put up a sheet of visqueen on the wall before you start hanging your sheets. You wouldn't necessarily have to paint the backs of the sheets, but it wouldn't hurt. Hang all of the sheets up using some deck screws since it is 3/4 thick. The screws will not pull out or through. I would set the sheets on something if your garage is built on a slab. A treated 1x4 or 1x6 would work great for that. Hang each sheet by using 2 screws, one at each top corner, and go down the wall to the other end. If all of your seams are butted together, and all looks great, measure down in one corner on the MDF and put in your screws which you feel is adequate. 5 equally spaced from the top down should be very adequate. Go to the other end and measure the same distance. Get a chalk line and snap a line from one end to the other for the screws, so every sheet has the screws at the same area and distance apart.

If you have like a B&D drill set that has the drill and countersink combo in it, use that to drill your holes and countersink the heads. You can then go back with joint compound and fill all of the screw spots. Sand it all down, and paint it the color of your choice. For a garage, I would go with a sheen like a satin or a semi-gloss.

Post up a pic if you do it, and lets see how it turns out.

 

[bad_idea]

I have no experience w/ MDF on the walls of my garage. There, I said it.

Having no experience w/ MDF, but having experience w/ plywood, I would sell the MDF and buy the plywood. Why reinvent the wheel when the wheel rolls so well?

 

[s10xtremist]

You guys pretty much validated my thoughts on it. Even though my shop will be climate controlled, humidity down South is just something you can't get away from. My shop being sealed would only postpone the inevitable. I think it would look awesome as a wall sheeting. But, with all the necessary preparations such as painting the edges, etc., it would just be too much, time- and money-wise. I'm fine with the look of painted regular plywood. I'm looking into OSB as well since it has a more consistent finish. Plywood has knots and splits. I'm doing all the work on this thing myself, so time and ease of labor is a vital factor. I think I'll just keep a few sheets of this MDF for personal use and sell off the rest. I could make enough to cover the cost of the plywood or OSB and most, if not all of the studs. I didn't think of checking ReStore for paint or even other materials. I'll have to stop by there.

Thanks for everyone's input! I still plan to post a build thread. But, I rented a trencher yesterday and bought about 300' of electrical and water pipe last night. So, it's time for me to get outside and start making a mess.

 

[Toolman12]

Sell it to a stereo shop at a reduced price and use the funds for the right wall board. MDF is used for speaker boxes because it is so dense well that's what we used a few years ago maybe that's changed by now

 

[stage20]

pass. Pass. PASS.

 

[AndrewV]

So of the above responses, how many ACTUALLY have MDF in their garages so they can come to this conclusion? My guess is that each and every one has tried it, so each and every one knows for a fact. That's good, I'd hate to see someone steered wrong.

Myself, I guess I am going to have to go out to my garage, and rip all of my larger trim boards down and replace them with something else because they must just be soaking up water and going to ****, as I sit here.

I may as well take all of my drywall of also, because I know that in the multitude of threads that I have read on here that drywall is pure **** for a garage also, all for the fact that you can't run a screw in it, it's heavy, any screw will pull out, and.....it will soak up moisture and go to hell just as fast as you put it up. Good Lord I wish I had read all of these responses before I put up MDF and drywall in my garage YEARS ago.

S10Extremist......if you have it, and you want to use it, do so. Go to the ReStore around your area if you have one and get a few cheap gallons of latex paint. Paint all of your edges a couple of times. If you have a drafty garage, put up a sheet of visqueen on the wall before you start hanging your sheets. You wouldn't necessarily have to paint the backs of the sheets, but it wouldn't hurt. Hang all of the sheets up using some deck screws since it is 3/4 thick. The screws will not pull out or through. I would set the sheets on something if your garage is built on a slab. A treated 1x4 or 1x6 would work great for that. Hang each sheet by using 2 screws, one at each top corner, and go down the wall to the other end. If all of your seams are butted together, and all looks great, measure down in one corner on the MDF and put in your screws which you feel is adequate. 5 equally spaced from the top down should be very adequate. Go to the other end and measure the same distance. Get a chalk line and snap a line from one end to the other for the screws, so every sheet has the screws at the same area and distance apart.

If you have like a B&D drill set that has the drill and countersink combo in it, use that to drill your holes and countersink the heads. You can then go back with joint compound and fill all of the screw spots. Sand it all down, and paint it the color of your choice. For a garage, I would go with a sheen like a satin or a semi-gloss.

Post up a pic if you do it, and lets see how it turns out.

I did, and im in fl, it rotted so fast in my fathers garage, even painted on all sides it was unsafe kevin. Diffrence in trim is it's not a solid sheet, its a trim line. If yours is holding up, more power to you bro. Wouldn't suggest it to anyone from my experience.

 

[ddawg16]

I have MDF molding in one of the bathrooms. As soon as I finish the 2-story addition, I will be replacing all of it. The **** is just falling apart.

 

[tcianci]

Just a quick question, where is the MDF now and how is it currently stored? how much of a difference will there be between the current storage and it's final use? While I would suggest that you keep it off the floor when installing it, do not rest it on another piece of wood that is in contact with the floor, maintain an air gap between the panels and the floor. This would hold true for any material that you decide to use.

I'm more or less with Kevin on this one... First in asking how many of the nay sayers on here actually have any experience with the product at all, let alone have installed in in their garages.

I use MDF for lots of stuff including interior wall finish, my oldest install being there about 15 years now, against a brick facade of a fireplace. Painted the same as the adjacent walls, its been perfectly stable and impossible to tell from the other walls around it.

Since you have the material, I would certainly make use of it. Research McFeelys screws and look at the thread profiles specifically designed for MDF. I doubt that there will be anything you want to hang on that stuff that you couldn't do with the correct fasteners.

Do your own research. Most of us (me included) sometimes confuse the advice of a bunch of keyboard yahoos, with sound technical data. Lastly, once you're informed on the characteristics and properties of the material you have on hand, make it work.

 

[ratdoggy]

So of the above responses, how many ACTUALLY have MDF in their garages so they can come to this conclusion? My guess is that each and every one has tried it, so each and every one knows for a fact. That's good, I'd hate to see someone steered wrong.

Myself, I guess I am going to have to go out to my garage, and rip all of my larger trim boards down and replace them with something else because they must just be soaking up water and going to ****, as I sit here.

I may as well take all of my drywall of also, because I know that in the multitude of threads that I have read on here that drywall is pure **** for a garage also, all for the fact that you can't run a screw in it, it's heavy, any screw will pull out, and.....it will soak up moisture and go to hell just as fast as you put it up. Good Lord I wish I had read all of these responses before I put up MDF and drywall in my garage YEARS ago.

S10Extremist......if you have it, and you want to use it, do so. Go to the ReStore around your area if you have one and get a few cheap gallons of latex paint. Paint all of your edges a couple of times. If you have a drafty garage, put up a sheet of visqueen on the wall before you start hanging your sheets. You wouldn't necessarily have to paint the backs of the sheets, but it wouldn't hurt. Hang all of the sheets up using some deck screws since it is 3/4 thick. The screws will not pull out or through. I would set the sheets on something if your garage is built on a slab. A treated 1x4 or 1x6 would work great for that. Hang each sheet by using 2 screws, one at each top corner, and go down the wall to the other end. If all of your seams are butted together, and all looks great, measure down in one corner on the MDF and put in your screws which you feel is adequate. 5 equally spaced from the top down should be very adequate. Go to the other end and measure the same distance. Get a chalk line and snap a line from one end to the other for the screws, so every sheet has the screws at the same area and distance apart.

If you have like a B&D drill set that has the drill and countersink combo in it, use that to drill your holes and countersink the heads. You can then go back with joint compound and fill all of the screw spots. Sand it all down, and paint it the color of your choice. For a garage, I would go with a sheen like a satin or a semi-gloss.

Post up a pic if you do it, and lets see how it turns out.

No MDF walls but the trim in my house is. I'd rather have plastic trim. It ***** moisture and it's very brittle. I hate it and as I paint the rooms in my house I'll rip it out.

 

[PCO6]

I built a partion wall in my garage about 10 years ago to partially house my air compressor. It's basic 2"x4" construction with sheets of 3/4" MDF on both sides and painted with latex. The rest of the garage is drywalled. The MDF has held up fine and looks the same as the drywall after being painted. I also have a sheet of slat wall over my bench for hanging tools on. It's basically MDF and again, no problems at all.

 

[s10xtremist]

Just a quick question, where is the MDF now and how is it currently stored? how much of a difference will there be between the current storage and it's final use? While I would suggest that you keep it off the floor when installing it, do not rest it on another piece of wood that is in contact with the floor, maintain an air gap between the panels and the floor. This would hold true for any material that you decide to use.

I'm more or less with Kevin on this one... First in asking how many of the nay sayers on here actually have any experience with the product at all, let alone have installed in in their garages.

I use MDF for lots of stuff including interior wall finish, my oldest install being there about 15 years now, against a brick facade of a fireplace. Painted the same as the adjacent walls, its been perfectly stable and impossible to tell from the other walls around it.

Since you have the material, I would certainly make use of it. Research McFeelys screws and look at the thread profiles specifically designed for MDF. I doubt that there will be anything you want to hang on that stuff that you couldn't do with the correct fasteners.

Do your own research. Most of us (me included) sometimes confuse the advice of a bunch of keyboard yahoos, with sound technical data. Lastly, once you're informed on the characteristics and properties of the material you have on hand, make it work.

It's currently stacked and wrapped in multiple layers of painter's plastic. It was laid on the plastic before it was wrapped, and a few layers of cardboard separate it from the concrete floor. I've only had it a few days. It was a good deal that I jumped on impulsively with the idea that I may be able to make it work for my shop. If not, I'd just sell it.

I'm not ready to build my walls just yet. In fact, that probably won't happen until after I get the A/C going. I put the MDF up for sale. If it doesn't move, it won't be any big loss. But, I think I'd rather stay with the tried-and-true plywood or OSB and not have to worry about it.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I have MDF molding in one of the bathrooms. As soon as I finish the 2-story addition, I will be replacing all of it. The **** is just falling apart.

You're not the only one that feels this way about mdf.

 

[lotsoftools]

We have what looks like painted MDF on the warehouse walls at work. I have no idea how old it is, probably 8-10 years at least. For the most part it looks fairly good, but a lot of the sheets are kind of curled along the edges. There's also one spot near a doorway that got a lot of moisture and it is just dissolving.

I have to recant my statement after looking closer at the walls at work yesterday. They're actually covered in particle board, not MDF.

 

[Git]

MDO - if your considering buying plywood and painting it, consider MDO

Medium Density Overlay - Originally developed for concrete forms and exterior signs. It has a weather resistant overlay bonded to a plywood core. Although it costs more than your regular plywood, you could literally install it 'as is' - no painting, etc. It usually comes in a perfectly flat, smooth brown colored finish. When you add up the costs of plywood, paint and the time involved, I think you could justify the extra cost

 

[s10xtremist]

Never heard of "MDO". I'll have to look that up. Thanks for the info!

Now, if only I could find someone who needs a lot of MDF for cheap...

 

[jsharpphoto]

I've used MDO for building the kitchen cabinets for our outdoor kitchen. It's great stuff. Expensive in north Texas at least. I was using 3/4 inch thick sheets, 4 x 8, and they were about 85$ each. So, double the cost of oak plywood.

 

[allinon72]

Put it on craigslist for $25 a sheet and watch it disappear

 

[911mike]

We use MDO in the outdoor sign market. It has a SMOOTH surface but still needs primer and 2 coats of paint on ALL 6 sides. The edges will absorb 75% of the moisture. We can buy it pre primed but that's faces only.

Google a product called Scooter Board. It's really cool and fairly cheap. Surface is like Formica and is waterproof.

 

[Voi]

I've used MDO for building the kitchen cabinets for our outdoor kitchen. It's great stuff. Expensive in north Texas at least. I was using 3/4 inch thick sheets, 4 x 8, and they were about 85$ each. So, double the cost of oak plywood.

Menards carries a cheaper MDO at around $65 per sheet. It's probably not as high quality as what you were getting for $85 per sheet.

As far as MDF, the previous owner of my neighbor's house skinned the garage walls with thin MDF. It's pretty much a disaster, but they do have an issue with snow melt from their cars not draining out of the garage properly.

 

[s10xtremist]

Put it on craigslist for $25 a sheet and watch it disappear

That's pretty much exactly what I did and I haven't gotten the first inquiry. But, cabinet/millwork shops probably get their wood in bulk from a supplier, so they're not gonna be scrounging Craigslist for a deal on wood. I'd imagine car audio shops just buy it as needed from a big box store. So, I kinda need to go to them instead of hoping they'll see my ad and call me. I've never cold-called places to sell 'em something, but it wouldn't hurt to try. There are a lot of mill work shops in Baton Rouge.

 

[s10xtremist]

We use MDO in the outdoor sign market. It has a SMOOTH surface but still needs primer and 2 coats of paint on ALL 6 sides. The edges will absorb 75% of the moisture. We can buy it pre primed but that's faces only.

Google a product called Scooter Board. It's really cool and fairly cheap. Surface is like Formica and is waterproof.

I looked up the MDO. Cool stuff, but I'm trying to save money (I have no choice!). I'll check out that Scooter Board. But, I'm probably gonna end up with regular OSB and paint it.