Garage Wall Question

[barddzen]

I've reviewed various articles here on garage/workshop wall materials but have a question

BACKGROUND
I have an older garage (built 1945) and its walls are made out of some sort of concrete/composite material that is not practical to bust out down to the studs and using a stud finder hasn't really been productive, some of the holes have revealed some kind of wire mesh as well, but not everywhere. It doesn't appear to be drywall entirely, in some areas maybe in others I have no idea, but it's not drywall or some kind of wood.

The wall itself is very strong and I've hung shelves and other things using 85lb screw plugs and it's held up fine.

QUESTION
I am converting the back section of the garage into my woodworking workshop and would like to put up some OSB or plywood for future cabinets, shelves, hangers, etc. but have no idea how to secure the plywood. Would it be enough to drill and use the 85lb screw plugs every 16" or a stud if I can find one? But if not, would the plugs suffice? Any other ideas?

 

[Charlie51]

Is it plaster over wire mesh?

 

[96PSD]

Be careful with that wall if it is plaster, with the age it may contain asbestos. I saw this on Holmes on Holmes a week or so ago. I couldn't remember the years typically so I Wikipedia it.

What years was asbestos used in plaster?
Most types of asbestos-containing plaster were manufactured between 1942 and 1974. If your house was built or renovated during that time, it's a good idea to have it tested. That said, asbestos was used in stucco and drywall as early as 1910, and use continued at a slower rate until at least the early 1980's.

 

[barddzen]

Charlie51: In some areas, yes, in others I don't think so because the plug holes I have made I can't see the mesh at all.

96PSD: Yikes?!? I have a test kit from when we originally did renovations and did find some low level toxic glue in the old kitchen tiles, but I never thought to test the garage walls. Thanks for the tip.

So given that this might be the case, how would I go about attaching the plywood?

 

[Marctrees]

Google plaster wall construction image to get more familiar w it.

Some use wire mesh, most I've been in use wood "Lath"strips.

Remodeling over the years could give a mix of stuff.


Find the studs w hammer and ice pick and screw into them.

If it's too hard or breaks up too badly, use a small hammer drill w 1/8 -3/16 bit.

Confirm by feeling around w ice pick or section of coat hanger wire.

I would never fool w the plugs.

Use Torx "Decking screws" that have no thread the upper end, and you will feel screws that hit studs vs ones that miss.... the ones that miss will easily evidence themselves by stripping out.

Target penetration into studs should be 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" MAX so you want probably 2 1/2" screws.

NOT deeper if wall could have wiring.

Start screwing on your plywood full width at the bottom NOT the top or random ... That will reduce possibility of broken plaster chunks holding the ply away.

Hopefully your plaster is soft enough that it will allow screws to drill through it... do some test ones in diff areas.

Some may suggest 3/4" furring strips... a few advantages there.

Marc

 

[barddzen]

After about an hour and a lot of puncture holes with an old screw driver, I was able to find all the studs. In some cases they were 16" on center, but otherwise it seemed to follow no standard at all. Which I must say isn't all that surprising. The house we purchased was built in 1945 and I think the guy built it himself and almost nothing is square or plumb, mostly follows some kind of standard but who the heck knows what was/wasn't code in 1945.

I did send out an asbestos test so waiting on the results of that to come back, but regardless I'm covering it all up with 3/4" plywood and 3" screws and plan on using a respirator.

In general I'm planning to cover the walls with plywood and setup a French cleat system as needed. I can't fill up the entire wall as we still want to use it in the winter for a vehicle is possible.

I'm going to use 3" star screws, I don't have any wiring I need to deal with. I replaced it all with conduit on the wall outlets and runs and disabled all the existing wiring from the panel. I don't anticipate any issues with the plaster and mesh, the stud finding experiment determined that it's pretty easy to pound through it, so a self driving screw should have no problems.

 

[Marctrees]

barddzen - Sounds like you got it.

My only concern would be about crumbs created by screws may hold ply away.

Well, crumbs and powder maybe not a problem, as long as no chuncks.

I think I would go up starting at bottom like I said.

I dunno, you'll see once you start.

Nothing wrong w 3/4" cept heavy to handle, and more money.

Myself, I would go thinner.

Marc

 

[Marctrees]

May be a good idea to temp shim panel 1- 2" above floor, then do baseboard.

I would very highly suggest considering putting up 2-3 panels w minimum # of screws to see how it's all working out, then go back and fill in.

Marc

 

[Lynden]

Probably stucco. I own two houses, both with attached garages. The common wall at both houses is stucco with chicken wire. I have installed shelves and cabinets on these walls by locating the studs from the house side of the walls and using lag screws. At some locations I used toggle bolts.

 

[barddzen]

Probably stucco. I own two houses, both with attached garages. The common wall at both houses is stucco with chicken wire. I have installed shelves and cabinets on these walls by locating the studs from the house side of the walls and using lag screws. At some locations I used toggle bolts.

Well I ended up with 5/8”, it was a $5 difference per sheet between this and 3/4” which in my case was around $50.

I think I’ll end up using some toggle bolts or plugs, the studs I marked somehow aren’t really all the way up the wall, it’s weird.

I was able to get one side done, will get to the other side tomorrow. I can’t wait to get to the cleat setup and start getting it organized.