Everyone ready for the "Drywall vs OSB" weekly thread?

[BellyUpFish]

So.. It's quickly becoming "finish the shop interior time." Mostly to get the place insulated.

I've been planning OSB since day 1.. It's cheaper and more durable.

Well, today while browsing the HD website, it looks like I can save roughly $3/sheet and at 120ish sheets, that's a decent amount. Of course, I'll have the headache and cost of tape/mud/sanding, but I may save a little bit of that in less coats of paint, so it may be a wash..

So, to put a little spin on the age old question - if drywall is now the cheaper alternative to OSB, why should anyone go with OSB?

 

[jp828108]

ease of installation. I went with drywall on the upper portion, and will put metal on the bottom 3 foot or so. I'm not looking forward to when it is time to tape, mud, sand all that mess that comes with finishing drywall. At least with OSB it may take a couple extra coats of paint, but that is nothing labor wise compared to drywall. Also OSB if you have a piece get damaged you can easily take it down and replace drywall you have to finish it again.

 

[BellyUpFish]

ease of installation. I went with drywall on the upper portion, and will put metal on the bottom 3 foot or so. I'm not looking forward to when it is time to tape, mud, sand all that mess that comes with finishing drywall. At least with OSB it may take a couple extra coats of paint, but that is nothing labor wise compared to drywall. Also OSB if you have a piece get damaged you can easily take it down and replace drywall you have to finish it again.

I've also been thinking about doing the lower 4' in OSB and the upper 8' in drywall..

 

[ItsNemo]

Drywall is fine and finishes a lot nicer....I've never seen painted osb that looks remotely nice. I get that it's easier to hang things and might have a bit more impact resistance...but I've gone years in my garages without ever dinging the drywall so I don't know why people have such problems with it's durability.

 

[wretched73]

This is half an answer and half a question, maybe drywall has a higher fire rating?

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I think drywall has always been the lower cost option.
There are many reasons guys use OSB. Durability, hanging stuff.....
IMO for all of those reasons plywood is a better (but more expensive) choice.

 

[Toomanytools?]

I think most go OSB because it was cost effective compared to DW. Plus no taping and sanding, and the fact that you can hang stuff most anywhere on the osb as long as it's not too heavy. With the right prep you can get OSB to look pretty good but then again time and money. If you have any fire rating concerns DW is a better choice.
I'm doing OSB in the shop mostly because of ease of install and I didn't want to tape and sand. In the woodshop I may do 4' bottom OSB and upper 6.5' in drywall.

 

[Richard D]

OSB for me. I have stuff hung everywhere in my garage. Beats pegboard.

 

[DC73]

. . . it looks like I can save roughly $3/sheet and at 120ish sheets, that's a decent amount.

I went through this on my workshop and ended up choosing drywall. I also ended up having it installed instead of doing it myself. The turnkey price for drywall was just a bit more than my cost of OSB. One of the reasons is that the contractor was able to buy drywall cheaper than I could at the big box stores. It saved me a ton of time. It took them only a day and a half to finish. It would have taken me 2 to 3 weeks by myself.

However, paying someone to tape & mud will be much more costly than doing it yourself (at least that was my experience around here).

Good luck,

DC

 

[tomralph]

I went with 8' of OSB with 8' of drywall on top of the OSB.

I wanted the ability to hang things anywhere I wanted. The durability is nice but as said if you are decently careful you wont ding drywall too bad, you can always step up to thicker drywall for more durability (5/8" v. 1/2").

I don't plan to paint my OSB... I did at first but I'd rather crappy looking OSB v. attempting to paint it and making it look like painted OSB. I did put the 'smooth' side out on the OSB (waxy side) so at least is looks somewhat decent.

 

[ishiboo]

Drywall over OSB!

I personally prefer drywall, but I like a space that looks great when it's cleaned up. If it's truly a working shop and you don't need to meet any fire codes, OSB is a lot tougher and you can attach a lot more to it... though with large shelf brackets/etc. you still want to hit a stud.

 

[cadunkle]

I'm using OSB and slowly doing one section at a time as I clean up that area. Painted white it reflects light better than unfinished walls or bare insulation, can hang things wherever, durable. Yes plywood would be better but it's just a garage to work in, not worth the expense.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I'm using OSB and slowly doing one section at a time as I clean up that area. Painted white it reflects light better than unfinished walls or bare insulation, can hang things wherever, durable. Yes plywood would be better but it's just a garage to work in, not worth the expense.

I was planning on going this route, but the savings of buying it all at once keeps getting me, so I keep pushing it back. LOL

 

[StingRay]

My garage is spray foamed. The need for a fire barrier makes drywall a must. I installed some material we take off of the floors of Sprinter vans on the bottom 4 feet over the drywall. It's a really nice gray textured phenolic coated 5/16 Baltic birch plywood. Tough as hell and difficult to scratch. It was free but the effort made it the most expensive free stuff I've ever had LOL.

 

[Whitworth]

Whatever you choose, it will be alot of work regardless; transporting sheets, lifting, holding overhead, etc. Drywall’s heavier, but OSB cuts up your hands. Drywall’s faster to work, OSB means saws and drills. Drywall doesn’t have to be finished with mud (apparently this is lost on some), or it can be finished in the future. So in my opinion, the work aspect is a wash between the two. I’d recommend definitely buying a drywall lift (for either product) and getting light weight Sheetrock unless there’s a compelling reason to use something heavier. And for heavens sake, get a helper and get a drywall gun for both of you, don’t rely on a cordless drill !

 

[TommyGp]

I’m in the middle of mine now. I decided on Drywall because of cost, and I like the look of untaped drywall better than painted OSB. I haven’t done the ceiling yet, which I’m dreading the most. I am leaning heavily toward durapanel over drywall in the ceiling. Cost is maybe 2x, but it’s only about 2-3% of the entire barn cost so not really a big deal in the end.


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[ddawg16]

Drywall is a lot more 'fire resistant' than OSB.

You still need to tape or caulk the seams.

OSB wouldn't do me any good for hanging stuff on the walls....What I hang would be too heavy for OSB anyway....So I run the screws into a stud.

Drywall looks a whole lot better....and when painted with semi-gloss exterior paint, holds a lot less dust.

Buy 12' sheets....cuts down the seams by 20%

 

[Catadj78]

Mine is osb and I'm happy with the way it turned out so far. But my next shop I'll likely go with drywall on the more exposed walls


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[BellyUpFish]

Drywall doesn’t have to be finished with mud (apparently this is lost on some), or it can be finished in the future.

Are you saying leave it without taping the seams?

 

[cthulu]

I ran through the same thing when finishing my shop. I ended up going with 5/8 firecore drywall for a few reasons, cost wasn't one of them.

1. It's not as flammable
2. With a gloss white paint it reflects light nicely and makes the shop seem bigger
3. Easy to clean if I want to
4. Looks very professional

The downsides were below.

1. 5/8 firecore is heavier than 1/2 OSB
2. After paint/mud more much expensive than OSB, with durable gloss paint the cost was about double.
3. Can't put studs anywhere like OSB

 

[tonyciambrone]

Go 1/2" plywood at that point.

OSB *****. It doesn't hold up over time, it ***** to paint, it chips, making you repaint or live with it, it looks like hell, it is vulnerable to water, it isn't fire resistant etc etc.

Plywood>Type X> OSB> Particleboard> Nothing

 

[Bessy]

Another thing to consider is the fact that yes, drywall may be easier to damage, but if you do damage drywall (say you put a ding in it, or it cracks) it's a hell of a lot easier to Spackle and touch-up the paint over a hole than it is to remove a whole board of OSB, paint it and try to get it to match. Bottom line, is you only really have to blend in a small area vs a whole sheet. We put drywall up in our garage some 10 years ago and it has yet to see a ding at all.

 

[Hubscrub66]

I hung one sheet of osb and took it down. I wanted a finished look so drywall for me first time I've ever touched the stuff hanging it was pretty simple with a lift I bought/ wife helped me some. My shop is 30x50 and I finished all by myself watched some youtube videos and away I went. Then I decided on stained trim lol

 

[Maddog10]

Ultimately it comes down to looks vs functionality. OSB = very functional but with a lot of work only looks decent. Drywall = stud searching but looks very nice. Your call as to which you prioritize more.

 

[Odes]

Myself I like the look of osb the last two garages I built I finished with osb and they held up great my current garage in our new home the garage was finished whit drywall and it's not looking very good I've been thinking about different options to maybe replace or cover up I hate repairing drywall just my 2 cents

 

[Whitworth]

Are you saying leave it without taping the seams?

Yes.

Or take it as far as you want. Tape and one coat of mud is fine.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

I vote poured concrete walls, that's what I have. :shrug:

 

[Skiff Builder]

Everyone ready for the "Drywall vs OSB" weekly thread?

Keep an eye out for other materials as well. I found this 5/8 (sort of like t-111) panel in a Home Depot for 19.00 sheet. Left it unfinished for now, but thinking a solid color stain in future. Takes a nail anywhere.



Also the white cedar shingles accent ran about $45 for the small wall, osb underneath.

Skiff Builder

 

[egdede]

I think drywall has always been the lower cost option.
There are many reasons guys use OSB. Durability, hanging stuff.....
IMO for all of those reasons plywood is a better (but more expensive) choice.

I think you are looking for the weekly 'plywood vs OSB' thread!

 

[Jimi]

Has anyone stuck wallpaper to OSB in here?

 

[58Yeoman]

I used osb in my 24x30 shop, 12x12 shed and my wifes 8x10 potting shed, and I still had some left over. I got hundreds of 48x52" sheets for free from work before I retired. It was more work with the smaller sheets, but saved me a bunch of money. I painted the shop a light grey.

 

[xjfish]

Has anyone stuck wallpaper to OSB in here?

 

[PugetDude]

Has anyone stuck wallpaper to OSB in here?

I did. Covered right over my PVC air lines, too.

 

[JonBoehman]

OSB *****. It doesn't hold up over time, it ***** to paint, it chips, making you repaint or live with it, it looks like hell, it is vulnerable to water, it isn't fire resistant etc etc.

I have had OSB painted in my old shop for well over 20 years and it held up great. In fact I tore out the piss poor moisture ridden and holey drywall that was install by the previous owner. I did it for the strength and it was way more affordable at the time. My new shop has OSB that is painted as well for the same aforementioned reasons. I did a metal ceiling in both shops also.

 

[NitroGarage]

Which is cheaper per square installed, OSB, Plywood, Drywall, or steel? I've done a 40x60x16 in drywall, finished and painted, almost wonder if steel would have been easier and cheaper?

 

[nelstomlinson]

I used drywall on top of 1/2"CDX for interior walls in my shop. It has worked great.

 

[Jamie V]

I think my 24 x 40 x 10 shop turned out pretty well with OSB walls and ceilings.



3/4” on the walls and 7/16” on the ceiling. Primed with an oil based primer (was told that a water-based primer might loosen the glue in the OSB) then painted with water-based gloss paint. It’s super bright to reflect plenty of light everywhere, and the walls are strong enough to mount anything anywhere in the shop.

 

[laser3kw]

I think my 24 x 40 x 10 shop turned out pretty well with OSB walls and ceilings.



3/4” on the walls and 7/16” on the ceiling. Primed with an oil based primer (was told that a water-based primer might loosen the glue in the OSB) then painted with water-based gloss paint. It’s super bright to reflect plenty of light everywhere, and the walls are strong enough to mount anything anywhere in the shop.

That is about how my OSB / paint turned out (minus the floor).
It is a "10 foot" job - from 10 feet you may not think it's OSB

 

[finn]

I hung drywall in the 32x54x 12’ garage by the house and have osb on the lower 8’ with white steel on the upper 8’ of my other shop.

I prefer the drywall, but I would install blocking between the studs, at a predetermined height to facilitate hanging cabinets, etc in the future.

The osb in the shop has probably been there about as long as my drywall in the garage, but looks crappy. The surface is splintered in spots, is rough and difficult to keep clean, as airborn partials cling to the rough surface.

The boiler room is unpainted and soaks up light.

 

[Jamie V]

I sanded all my seams before primer or paint to help prevent chipping/peeling corners.