Garage walls

[zapper918]

Hello. I am new to the site and I am looking for suggestions for finishing my garage walls. I am a electrical contractor but enjoy woodworking as a hobby. I currently have unfinished drywall in my garage. Walls and ceilings. The ceilings are 13'. I was thinking about corrugated metal on the walls for the first 5 feet and then just finish the drywall and ceiling. I am looking for something durable, easy to keep clean and still looks good. Any suggestions? Thank You.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

welcome! my shop has the first bottom 4 feet with plain plywood above that my shop is ringed with 2 foot tall cabinets and peg board above that I have white corrugated metal to the ceiling. I also have white corrugated metal ceiling.


Greg

 

[28HopUp]

I used 12' plastic corrugated roofing from a box store. I stacked the sheets and ripped them with a circle saw (I recommend a composite blade) into 6' sections. You can push panhead screws through the plastic to mount them in the drywall. I used 1x2 to box out the outlets and painted the trim to match the plastic. The plastic cuts easily for shaping around windows and such. I have had no issues with the walls since I did this 6 years ago (other than growing tired of the green that I used on the finished drywall and switched to a earthy gray).

View media item 5605

We will be selling this house soon and moving south. The new house will have a 20x24' garage, and I will be doing the same thing with the plastic corrugated (white this time).

 

[gregtwojeeps]

FRP. No fuss, no repaints, no nails or screws showing. JMO

 

[zapper918]

FRP. No fuss, no repaints, no nails or screws showing. JMO

I liked the look of the FRP panels also. Does it glue directly to the face of the drywall?

 

[zapper918]

I used 12' plastic corrugated roofing from a box store. I stacked the sheets and ripped them with a circle saw (I recommend a composite blade) into 6' sections. You can push panhead screws through the plastic to mount them in the drywall. I used 1x2 to box out the outlets and painted the trip to match the plastic. The plastic cuts easily for shaping around windows and such. I have had no issues with the walls since I did this 6 years ago (other than growing tired of the green that I used on the finished drywall and switched to a earthy gray).

View media item 5605

We will be selling this house soon and moving south. The new house will have a 20x24' garage, and I will be doing the same thing with the plastic corrugated (white this time).

Looks great! Nice job! Thank You.

 

[zapper918]

welcome! my shop has the first bottom 4 feet with plain plywood above that my shop is ringed with 2 foot tall cabinets and peg board above that I have white corrugated metal to the ceiling. I also have white corrugated metal ceiling.


Greg

Thanks for sharing. Sounds great! Thank You.

 

[DougWil]

I have white metal roofing walls, ceiling and love it!

Excellent light reflection, washable/hoseable walls to keep it clean, no painting ever! and easy to remove panels for adding an electrical outlet or replacing a damaged one.

It is amazing how much dirt, dust, grime, oil, smoke accumulate on the walls and how like new they are after a washdown.

 

[rburke65]

I did old barn siding for the lower 3 1/2 feet and used 4x10' sheets of SmartSiding for the upper 10' of the walls.

 

[zapper918]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. They are all very good.

 

[1956 F100]

I used Galvanized sheet for an older look.

 

[TheBeeHive]

Pressure treated T1-11

 

[Hybridss]

Slatwall on the backwall...love it so far.

 

[Matt M PA]

My attached has smooth (looks like porcelain) tile board from the floor up....then from the ceiling down...slat wall. It meets about waist height. I have cars with straight out rear exhaust that back into that garage, so I wanted something low that could be wiped off easily. Slat wall is great I have bought all kinds of baskets, shelves, hooks, etc at a local store (that also does mail order), Gershell Brothers. Their slat wall items are very sturdy, big selection, and very reasonable.

When the inside of my detached was done, something called SmartPanel was used. It's like T1-11 but smoother and comes primed...just needs paint. I was putting cabinets up on the entire back wall so slat wall wasn't considered there.

 

[JC23]

My ceiling is nine feet, obviously different from yours. But I used eight foot sheets of primed T-111 and made six inch running boards for the baseboards and at top where it met the ceiling. Mebbe you do something similar when you pick your surface material.

Good luck! You have plenty of ideas, now!

 

[Jon_E]

For me, cheap is critical, so is the ability to attach things to the wall just about anywhere. Also running surface mount wiring in EMT and metal boxes. So my walls are 7/16" OSB, primed with Kilz oil-based primer and painted eggshell white. I have 9-1/2' high walls, but could not find 4x10 sheets of OSB reasonably without buying an entire skid, so I just ran 4x8's horizontally and filled in the gap at the top with a narrow strip. It will mostly be hidden by cabinets and shelves and lumber storage. No need to make my shop a showpiece, just a place to work and be efficient.

 

[Jo Diesel]

Could do a couple coats of exterior paint with a stripe in the middle. Different color top than bottom. We found paint at the Habitat for Humanity that covers great and is washable. By the time you put up cabinets and work benches you don't see most of the wall anyway.
Mine is just white.