What material to use for walls

[GMJim]

My new shop is 34 wide and 37 deep with 13 foot high walls. I'm not interested in drywall due to the mudding and sanding and associated mess and was thinking of plywood or OSB. I know I'll have to prime and paint as I would with drywall but feel the plywood would be a better choice. Anybody have an opinion or comments on this? It will probably be a little more expensive than drywall but far less mess.
Thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Rex_A_Lott]

I used OSB with the slick side out for the she shed I did for the wife. Painted it, and we're happy with it. Good thing about it you can screw/nail to it. Good Luck

 

[Red 17]

You don't have to sand garage drywall.

Do you have a flat slab or stem walls?

Short version: Plywood and galvanized, reinforced at the bottom.

Long version:

I put pressure treated 2x4s laid flat on the top of the stem wall inside of the sill plate. (the stem wall was wide enough) 2 deep. (I had them left over...) Then I put an 2x12 on edge on top of those nailed to the studs. So now, IMO, the bottom of the wall is bomb proof. I had a piece of 4x8 galvanized I used in one section. (it was in the mother-in-law's garage, left over from some abandoned father-in-law project) I put that on it's side above the 2x12. It has a "look" to it.

for the rest, 4x8 plywood on edge above the 2x12. Above that, open.

You could do some combination of plywood, flat and corrugated galvanized. You would have a very solid wall up to 4 or 5 feet with a "nearly everything resistant" steel covering. Up above, the easy to deal with double industrial look of corrugated galvanized walls. Again, they aren't going to explode in flame if a spark hits them and they are up high enough so they are out of the way of the usual dent causing impacts.

 

[bob15]

How about rough-cut pine boards?

Here is my barn upstairs about 8 years ago when I was adding the pine boards

 

[Kaizen]

I’m doing 5/8th sanded ply. Insulated then the ply. Rolled a dark blue paint up to five feet from floor and white the rest. Not only can screw anything anywhere but It made my garage extra strong. It is in no way smooth or such nor do I care.
The section I just did is 2x6 wall 12 feet tall and 20 long. This area is next to a neighbors house so I used roxul safe and sound insulation. For this section not including paint price tag was 550 bucks approx. it is significantly more expensive then drywall not including labor. Ply is 32 a piece. Compare that to whatever drywall you want. Roxul also much more then fiberglass. I did the rest of the walls in fiberglass as no neighbors.



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[bad_idea]

Drywall is fire proof. If you do any welding in the garage, it is good to have that piece of mind. As Kaizen said, plywood is a higher cost per square foot. Contact a couple drywall guys and get a quote to install drywall, you might be surprised.

 

[gearhead1]

I’m considering OSB or plywood myself, but some sort of metal near my welding and machining area.

 

[GMJim]

My walls are 2X6 studs and planning on insulation. My foundation wall is about 1 foot above floor level so no worries about welding slag getting under the sole plate. This is a nice looking building and I want the walls to look clean. Drywall will definitely be cheaper and I do want the joints to be properly taped if I do drywall. The plywood at the first four feet would be better if it gets whacked with jack handles and such and I thought continuing up the wall with the same would be easier and avoid the sanding dust. I figure I'll need 45 sheets so not cheap. If I do drywall I can install the board but not good at mudding. Five pounds on and sand four pounds off!! I'll have to hire someone and they will need scaffolding so the cost goes up to almost plywood cost. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. At this point I'm still on the fence and looking for good reasons to do one or the other.
Jim

 

[Kaizen]

Only two major things imo are beat ability and pretty.
If you have a pretty garage with gladiator cabinets and such then the smooth of drywall will go well. No disrespect meant.

If you have a working garage then that drywall can get marred up.

Just painted mine yesterday and today leaned a 300 pound maple slab against it without a second thought. I’ll take some pics later.


Notice screw holes and gaps

Some is very smooth

Some not.



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[brownbagg]

just use plywood unpainted

 

[NUTTSGT]

Drywall is fire proof. If you do any welding in the garage, it is good to have that piece of mind. As Kaizen said, plywood is a higher cost per square foot. Contact a couple drywall guys and get a quote to install drywall, you might be surprised.

Fire resistant, not fire proof. Houses burn down every day and they use drywall rather than plywood or OSB.





I used OSB and it I were to do it again now, I'm financially better off and would use a decent grade of plywood. I'd also use ribbed metal on the ceiling.

 

[colt zantop]

I used sanded 1/2 plywood and insulation behind it. Looks good and smooth for the most part and no mess or work like drywall has.

 

[GMJim]

Fire resistant, not fire proof. Houses burn down every day and they use drywall rather than plywood or OSB.





I used OSB and it I were to do it again now, I'm financially better off and would use a decent grade of plywood. I'd also use ribbed metal on the ceiling.

I have a white steel ribbed ceiling now and may have a lead on good one side plywood at the same price as 1/2 inch sheathing but I have to take a whole 60 sheet lift. I only need 45 sheets.

 

[The Cobbler]

sell the 15 sheets on Kijiji

 

[NUTTSGT]

Cabinets, workbenches and shelving will eat up a few more sheets.

 

[ncboat]

Plywood over insulation, primed with oil based kilz, skim coated and painted. No one can tell they are plywood. This is hurricane country and walls that are plywood on both sides make a strong shear wall.

 

[Whitworth]

Only two major things imo are beat ability and pretty.
If you have a pretty garage with gladiator cabinets and such then the smooth of drywall will go well. No disrespect meant.

If you have a working garage then that drywall can get marred up.

Dent/impact resistant drywall is an option. I imagine it's a special order from your local store though.

 

[bugnut]

Was planning to use osb/plywood asked and learned that 5/8 drywall had better fire resistance. Ended up hiring out 5/8 drywall it looks good, if it dents I'll mud over and repaint. Quickly done and over, 1 guy hung all the 10 foot 5/8 by himself and another taped, I'd still be doing it if my back was healed from lifting all the drywall......heaviest thing i lifted was an in pen.

 

[CraigStu]

Seems people are fine w/ visible joints using plywood. Why not install drywall the same way?

 

[Jinks]

I know it's not popular but I like peg board. Insulate, put up peg board, paint, add cabinets. Cabinets improve storage, peg board makes the entire wall useful.......

 

[Jackfre]

My shop walls are 1/2” plywood. It is painted. The metal working area has 4x8 sheets of 24 ga metal set horizontally. I laid the ply vertically. I can be into any wall area in short order. I haven’t had to do so but it is nice knowing that I can.

 

[Mancino]

Had the same thoughts when I built my garage. I went with 3 rib metal panels from the floor to 4ft height(for looks and welding protection), then OSB to the ceiling(left unpainted). Came out looking great IMO. Plus, its super easy to hang anything off the OSB, and if you ram anything into the walls, you can replace the metal panels or the OSB easily.

 

[GMJim]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. The ceiling is done and I have yet to do the electrical and insulate the walls so I have some time to make up my mind. At the moment I'm leaning towards the plywood or OSB. I like the idea of being able to take a piece down if needed and the durability. Fire resistance isn't a big issue. It takes a lot of btu's to ignite a piece of plywood or OSB and much less to ignite the paper on drywall though I'll admit as a retired fire captain the wood burns much better than gypsum. Thanks again for the comments, it's given me some good ideas and helped with the decision. Hopefully I'll have made up my mind by the time I'm ready. As always the budget is way over the planned amount so I'm counting pennies.

 

[850xpeps]

Bottom 8’ would be 3/4” and the top would be metal.

Up here good metal is almost the same price as 1/2” plywood. Or seconds or cheaper metal is 2/3 of that price.

 

[GMJim]

Bottom 8’ would be 3/4” and the top would be metal.

Up here good metal is almost the same price as 1/2” plywood. Or seconds or cheaper metal is 2/3 of that price.

1/2 inch Plywood sheathing at 27.00 per sheet works out to .85 cents a foot. 29 gauge steel is 3.00. Where are you buying steel that cheap?
Thanks

 

[C91x]

1/2 inch Plywood sheathing at 27.00 per sheet works out to .85 cents a foot. 29 gauge steel is 3.00. Where are you buying steel that cheap?
Thanks

here i can get steel for 2.50 per linear ft... basically 3 sqf for 2.50

 

[850xpeps]

1/2 inch Plywood sheathing at 27.00 per sheet works out to .85 cents a foot. 29 gauge steel is 3.00. Where are you buying steel that cheap?

Thanks

28/29 gauge depending on where I buy I get for .92-.95 a square ft. 29.44 - 30.40 for 32 sq ft. Seconds or cheaper Chinese is .60 a sq ft.

I just built a house and hustled to get 1/2” fir for $30 a sheet.

 

[mmelton005]

Plywood over insulation, primed with oil based kilz, skim coated and painted. No one can tell they are plywood. This is hurricane country and walls that are plywood on both sides make a strong shear wall.

That looks really nice!

 

[napaul]

I used 1/2" plywood also primed and painted. Nice being able to hang stuff without looking for studs. Had drywall prior to redoing garage and wasnt fan of how easily in garage it would get marred

 

[rburke65]

I used GP Smart Siding. Comes primed and I purchased 4’x10’. I had 13’+ side walls and I used old barn sidinding for the lower 3’ or so. I ran horizontal 2”x2” across the face of the lower studies and screwed on the barn siding. If I have to run any additional wiring or what ever, I have a 1 1/2” void behind the barn siding where I can run it.....and I have used it!

 

[turbod7]

I've gt a 30'x40' shop with 12' 7" ceilings. Walls are also 2x6" Insulated with R21 bats. I used osb on mine and used polyurethane caulk on the seams. Once its primed and painted it looks great! The walls aren't easily damaged and you can basically hang things anywhere. I put the bottom row of osb standing up vertical and the top row horizontal.

 

[bgarrett]

I got roofing metal for my walls after spray foam. Will put it up wrong side out. Its what I want, dont care about the cost. I think OSB is ugly and looks cheap

 

[GMJim]

I got roofing metal for my walls after spray foam. Will put it up wrong side out. Its what I want, dont care about the cost. I think OSB is ugly and looks cheap

Well I have to think about cost. I'm already 15,000.00 over budget and still have to do electrical, insulate and cover walls.

 

[jpaw]

Personally I don't understand what everyone has against drywall. It controls noise better and is easier to repair/work with than just about any other option. Sure there are other high cost options out there but for me the best bang for your buck is drywall.

 

[MushCreek]

One plus for plywood/osb/metal is that if you screw it in place, you can take it back down to access electrical and plumbing. I don't know why, but every shop I've had, both professional and homeowner I've had to go back and do more utility work. If I drywalled my shop, I'd run surface conduit for that reason.

 

[bluegoose972]

I did OSB, caulked the joints, primed, and then painted. Going to run wanescote with metal sheeting around the bottom. You can see the joints, but I like it. And I can nail/screw to it anywhere without concerns. If it get's dinged up, I don't really care and can either paint over it again or replace the panel easily.

 

[bazzateer]

Painted OSB on the (insulated) walls & doors, painted drywall on the (insulated) ceiling.

 

[Samh]

On my first garage, did drywall. Only issues I had was when I would re-arrange machinery, would need to have surface mounted conduit to relocate electrical outlets. And knocked quite a few holes in it. I did mud it, but technically, didn't need to. That would then make sheets easy to replace just like plywood or OSB.

On my first barn, I did plywood. At the time, it was mainly due to cost, because the cost of drywall was more than plywood due to hurricane Katrina. Ran all electrical in surface mounted conduit. One plus was in seemed to keep the place drier. Assumption was similar to a gerstner oak tool chest, it keeps moisture away by absorbing it.

Current build, haven't done anything yet. Will either do plywood with surface mount conduit, or rough sawn pine run vertically to give it a barn feel. Will run surface mounted conduit again for this one too.

 

[FANTM58]

Im going to be using corrugated sheet metal panels.
comes pre finished in multiple colors, easy to install and remove single pieces if required for utilities ETC. Im installing a 48" high border in a darker grayor blue then the remaining
8' in a white. ceiling as well..

 

[FANTM58]

like this, except the bottom will be metal as well