Insulating and Interior Walls

[benjhind]

Hey Folks!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have a 24x40 shop I built about 7 years ago. When I put it up, I had intended to finish the interior and insulate but let it slide due to the costs. It is pole barn construction with metal cladding and prefab trusses 24" OC.

I use my shop for fixing vehicles, boat motors, some woodwork, some welding and cutting, etc. in the summer but in winter it is just used for parking and storage due to the cold. Time to insulate and heat.

I went and bought all the fiberglass last night, but I need advice.

My original thought was vapour barrier and 7/16 OSB for walls and ceiling. This way it can take a beating and I can hang things from the walls. Every square inch of wall space has something like tool storage, chains hanging, shelving, etc. where it will get bumped and bashed. Snow covered vehicles and ATV's bring a lot of water in during the winter. Drywall will get ruined in a hurry.

However, with OSB I'm concerned with flammability. I do enough welding and cutting to think about it. I also want to hang a radiant tube heater from the ceiling, and I don't know what setbacks are required from flammable materials.

My other concern is losing the storage space in the trusses. The whole area is full of stuff. I want the airflow in the attic (don't want to spray foam the steel), but I also want to keep the storage space. Any ideas here?

Thanks!

 

[bdbecker]

If you are worried about fire, skinning the OSB with metal panels could be an option. Menards makes a lighter gauge panel designed for interior use.

https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...s/dura-panel/white1558085/p-1444448673649.htm

Are your trusses designed for storage?

 

[nadogail]

I am told oil based paint is fire retardant.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Fire should be at the top of the list- and OSB certainly isn't a go-to material. Yes; you can put a fire retardant on the OSB- but it isn't a life-long product. It loses it prevention after a few years.

Drywall would certainly decrease the fire potential. As for the water problem, that can be addressed with certain paints, and/or waincoating panels of plastic or fiberglass.

Hanging "stuff" on the walls can still be achieved by using anchors and/or rail cleats attached to studs. It's not impossible- it just needs forethought.

 

[Innovate1]

Timely subject for me. Framing for garage is being done and want to put something on the walls to allow hanging things easily and take a bit of abuse without looking terrible. Mine is conventional stick framed. Was thinking of T111 or something like it. Some areas don't allow it for fire reasons or at least it has to be over drywall to protect the structure. I don't have those restrictions here but still thinking some protection against fire would be good. Will be watching what others have to offer...

The ceiling isn't so much an issue for me. I planned to sheet the bottom of the trusses and insulate. Damage isn't really an issue there so I planned on drywall there.

 

[loganb]

Last garage I had I used OSB on the walls as I didn't want to deal with finishing drywall

After sucking up several 5 gallon buckets of paint for a small attached garage I decided I wouldn't repeat that mistake again as I still wasn't that thrilled with how it looked

On the current garage I put OSB under 1/2" drywall so I could hang things anywhere I wanted, then did a quick mud job on screw heads, 2 coats on seams and painted it. Much happier with how it looks, slightly more material/labor cost due to having 2 sheets up but well worth it to me. When I get a welding area set back up or in locations where may see more heavy abuse I'll hang a light guage metal backer over the drywall

 

[BodyMovin]

I have pole construction and insulated with R19 unfaced in the walls and used a plastic vapor barrier on the interior. Then covered with 7/16 OSB. I also spray foamed all the seams and cracks in the building before I started. I do some welding and some metal work in my barn but not near the walls. If or when I do need to weld near a wall I will put up some sort of protection. If fire protection is a concern maybe you could do metal on the bottom 4ft or so and then OSB the rest?

I do like being able to hang stuff on the walls where I want in my barn. That to me is a definite plus to OSB.

 

[u2slow]

My original thought was vapour barrier and 7/16 OSB for walls and ceiling.... Snow covered vehicles and ATV's bring a lot of water in during the winter. Drywall will get ruined in a hurry.

However, with OSB I'm concerned with flammability. I do enough welding and cutting to think about it. I also want to hang a radiant tube heater from the ceiling, and I don't know what setbacks are required from flammable materials.

OSB doesn't fare well with moisture either. All my sheathing is 1/2" plywood, and halfway through doing the same inside. Consider weight for the ceiling - both for difficulty of install and truss loading. You probably want a 'floor' material in the attic too, plus the weight of the stuff you're storing. I'm looking at minimal strapping to hold up the VB and insulation, and light-gauge ribbed metal to finish it sometime down the road.

Heating devices usually specify spacing and setbacks as parts of their approval rating. I know my woodstove does. FWIW, those specs also consider drywall combustible.