Interior OSB installed wrong

[DWinTX]

Hi all, I'm currently having a new garage built and was having OSB put on the interior walls. They were doing that today and when I got home I found that they had installed it rough side out.

Outside of it looking like ****, I'm wondering how hard it's going to be to get it painted. I know it's going to soak up a lot more paint that if they'd put the smooth side out. Is there some kind of sealer that I can put over it first that will help?

 

[Pitalplace]

If I was paying for it they would redo it. If not I would redo it.

 

[LXCam]

You'll regret not correcting it now forever!. Pull the nails, at least where it mars the OSB, it's not going to be seen. As it stands, even when you paint the smooth side, it slightly raises the grain? (lol, can't really think of a better term) so painting the rough side is probably going to be really crappy. GL

 

[rslaback]

Did you tell them to install it smooth side out?

 

[danieldd]

Easy fix. Install 1/4 inch drywall over it. It will look so much better.

 

[ScaldedDog]

/\ This. Put some caulk on the back of the drywall, and you'll greatly reduce the sound transmitted through the walls, if that's important to you.

Mark

 

[Whitworth]

I never understood the appeal of OSB on interior walls. Seems like a lot of extras to make it sort of/kind of look half decent when Sheetrock gets it done easier, faster, cheaper. The one advantage cited is hanging shelves, but considering OSB is thin and doesn't hold screws that well kind of puts a hole in that. Plus, if you're going to be carrying any weight on a shelf you have to hit a stud anyways.

Gary

 

[sracer99]

I never understood the appeal of OSB on interior walls. Seems like a lot of extras to make it sort of/kind of look half decent when Sheetrock gets it done easier, faster, cheaper. The one advantage cited is hanging shelves, but considering OSB is thin and doesn't hold screws that well kind of puts a hole in that. Plus, if you're going to be carrying any weight on a shelf you have to hit a stud anyways.

Gary

agree 100%. on house build had the choice of DW or OSB for the garage, DW for me, but a lot of people go for the OSB for nails and screws

 

[Tweeker]

To their credit thats the normal way its layed.

If you would have asked ME to install that way I would say "upside down? ...Ok whatever you like.

 

[boobag]

Easy fix. Install 1/4 inch drywall over it. It will look so much better.

I never understood the appeal of OSB on interior walls. Seems like a lot of extras to make it sort of/kind of look half decent when Sheetrock gets it done easier, faster, cheaper. The one advantage cited is hanging shelves, but considering OSB is thin and doesn't hold screws that well kind of puts a hole in that. Plus, if you're going to be carrying any weight on a shelf you have to hit a stud anyways.

Gary

i firmly agree on both points.
if you want a painted wall, osb is a horrible option. plus osb is not fireproof, whereas drywall is.

 

[James-W]

Get some drywall compound and a wide trowel and smear a thin layer of drywall compound all over the OSB. Let it dry, sand the high spots, then give it a second coat and let it dry. Sand any "bad" areas and touch up any spots that may need it. Once everything has had time to dry, apply a coat of primer with a really good roller. When the primer coat is dry you can paint it whatever color you want, but again, use a really good roller and not some cheap roller that you got for fifty cents at Wal-Mart. If you take your time and do it right, it will look just like drywall. You can even texture it if you want.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I never understood the appeal of OSB on interior walls. Seems like a lot of extras to make it sort of/kind of look half decent when Sheetrock gets it done easier, faster, cheaper. The one advantage cited is hanging shelves, but considering OSB is thin and doesn't hold screws that well kind of puts a hole in that. Plus, if you're going to be carrying any weight on a shelf you have to hit a stud anyways.

Gary

6 of one and half dozen of another on opinions of wall coverings.

Most guys are using 1/2" drywall when they DIY their garages unless it's shared wall with the house, then it's 5/8" alot of times. I believe most of the guys here have used 7/16" OSB on their walls. That's a difference of a 1/16 of an inch so I'm not sure why you're calling it "thin"

As far as the screws go, OSB holds them quite nicely. I have yet to see a screw pop out of OSB like I have in drywall.


I don't believe you statement about getting done easier, faster or cheaper is quite accurate either unless you're a drywaller by trade. OSB can be hung and done, maybe caulk the edges. Drywall needs to be hung, taped, mudded and sanded (the latter two a couple of times). For most people that takes more time and finishing drywall is not appealing to alot of people. Currently in my area, 7/16" OSB is $7.45/sheet while 1/2" drywall is $8.98 add in tape and mud pushes the drywall cost higher. Priming and painting is moot as they both will need it. If you're breaking out the check book for the drywall work it will be faster and easier but that option eliminates cheaper too.

 

[Jeep51]

I put the rough side out in my building. It was actually the nicer side!
There is no way I would put drywall in my shop! Way too delicate! IMO

 

[danieldd]

I put the rough side out in my building. It was actually the nicer side!
There is no way I would put drywall in my shop! Way too delicate! IMO

Delicate? Yes…

But, it looks SO much better!

 

[NUTTSGT]

i firmly agree on both points.
if you want a painted wall, osb is a horrible option. plus osb is not fireproof, whereas drywall is.

If you believe that drywall is fireproof, you're only fooling yourself. Houses that are drywalled burn down everyday across the US.

 

[LXCam]

Well agreed that drywall finishes out much nicer. But there's a lot to be said for nail it up, prime it, two good coats of paint and done!. Plus it is much nicer being able to hang stuff off it. I get the feeling that most of the guys shooting down this option haven't ever done it. My last machine shop area was a quick, lets get it done and operational kind of thing. I didn't feel like rocking it, I wanted something a bit more stout then drywall. So I just went looking for some pictures, but no real luck. I did find this one and agreed its a sucky picture, but tell me again how bad it looks??.

 

[amac70]

the last garage i built that we osb the inside walls we sprayed a heavy layer of texture on top of it. then primed and painted. You have to look hard to tell that its not drywall.

 

[CNGsaves]

Have the OSB installers PAY FOR the paint treatment of your choice, in lieu of pulling it all back down and putting on other side.

Moral of story . . . Always put details like that in writing, and I'd also want the OSB installed with screws and caulked edges so it would be airtight "envelope" yet easily removed if changes were needed.

Good luck with decision.

 

[Samh]

Back when I did the walls for my barn, during hurricane katrina, I used 1/2 plywood as it was cheaper than OSB at the time. Aside from putting it up quickly and being able to screw stuff directly to it. It also seemed to keep the shop pretty dry, so much so that I did not have ANY issues with rust on anything. Almost like a giant gerstner chest

 

[Norcal]

I do not care for it myself but it worked, but a mirror image of that addition will be 5/8" drywall, plus it does not stink like OSB.

 

[boobag]

If you believe that drywall is fireproof, you're only fooling yourself. Houses that are drywalled burn down everyday across the US.

its not the drywall that burns.
drywall is used for firewalls all the time in construction.

 

[fteufert]

Paint the OSB with oil based kilz primer, and then topcoat it with whatever color makes you happy. The oil based seals the OSB where latex based may lift the surface slightly.

As for OSB versus drywall: My garage is a garage, not a showroom. It looks fine painted, and the labor saved is worth more than a smooth finish on a garage wall.

Functional is more important than looks.

 

[dirttracker18]

its not the drywall that burns.
drywall is used for firewalls all the time in construction.

FYI

Nuts speaks from experience as a fire fighter.

Have you ever seen a building after it has burned down? Tell me you see piles of drywall there?

This debate has been beat to death already.

OSB vs drywall, to each his own. I have done both and now prefer OSB in a working shop and drywall in a parking garage.

 

[Morrison]

Get some drywall compound and a wide trowel and smear a thin layer of drywall compound all over the OSB. Let it dry, sand the high spots, then give it a second coat and let it dry. Sand any "bad" areas and touch up any spots that may need it. Once everything has had time to dry, apply a coat of primer with a really good roller. When the primer coat is dry you can paint it whatever color you want, but again, use a really good roller and not some cheap roller that you got for fifty cents at Wal-Mart. If you take your time and do it right, it will look just like drywall. You can even texture it if you want.

That would be a ton of work and likely would never look half as good as drywalling it. Especially if this person has zero experience in mudding/top coating.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I have built a few garages. Prime and paint the rough side. Hang stuff on the walls and put toolboxes in there and you won't even notice.

Pull it and flip it around.

1/4" drywall. More cost and time, but you get a smooth wall.

Spray texture like someone mentioned above. Here is an example of that exact situation in the attached pic. Thick texture on the rough side. Can't even tell. Even the owner thought it was drywall. This is the only pic I have, but the rest of the garage looked great.

 

[DWinTX]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. As for why I chose OSB, there are a couple of reasons. Number one is that this is a working garage. I restore classic cars as a hobby, and while I keep my garage organized, will be used strictly for body work, welding, painting, greasy mechanical work, etc. Not a parking or show garage at all.

I don't care about how the walls look, at least within reason. I do want to paint them a bright white for maximum light reflection. I will have a lift and I want light underneath the car that's up. I'm afraid that rough side is going to soak up paint like a sponge, and maybe even cause some delamination.

It is a detached garage, we already have an attached garage for parking. So I don't care about fire suppression as far as keeping it from the house. Another reason is cost. Not the drywall itself, but the quotes I got for taping and bedding put me over budget. The last reason is durability. I've been doing this car stuff for awhile and I've punched holes in every garage I've had.

I put the rough side out in my building. It was actually the nicer side!
There is no way I would put drywall in my shop! Way too delicate! IMO

Jeep, did you paint it? Do you have any pics?

the last garage i built that we osb the inside walls we sprayed a heavy layer of texture on top of it. then primed and painted. You have to look hard to tell that its not drywall.

amac, same question, any pics? Did you just spray the texture and go? No smoothing or sanding?

I have built a few garages. Prime and paint the rough side. Hang stuff on the walls and put toolboxes in there and you won't even notice.

Pull it and flip it around.

1/4" drywall. More cost and time, but you get a smooth wall.

Spray texture like someone mentioned above. Here is an example of that exact situation in the attached pic. Thick texture on the rough side. Can't even tell. Even the owner thought it was drywall. This is the only pic I have, but the rest of the garage looked great.

That looks good. Only problem is that I don't want to do all that work. I am finishing it myself and I just wanted to spray some paint and go.

I'm going to paint some samples today, rough side and smooth side and see if it's something I can live with. The contractor has offered to take it down and flip it, which is really generous. I was trying to come up with another option, as he has been really good and I feel a little guilty about him having to do that. I did not specify the smooth side out, I just assumed it would be obvious. And before you say it, I know what "assume" means.

 

[scottydosnntkno]

Drywall is a fire retarder, not fire proof. That is why the garage wall is often a firewall rated for 1hr, which is the standard for 5/8" drywall on both sides of an insulated 3.5" stud wall.

Drywall works as a fire retarder because gypsum as a mineral does not burn, and believe it or not there is a small amount of water in drywall. The heat from the fire is absorbed by the water/gypsum, and as the water evaporates the gyosum is weakened and begins to fail, the timing of which depends on how the wall is structured.

Commercial or multi family firewalls often have two layers each side for longer burn times. national fire code assumes in a house one hour is enough to evacuate the house to protect the occupants

I would find it hard to believe osb in an attached garage would pass inspection anywhere in the US

Source: Licensed Architect and Licensed Builder in Michigan

 

[Clik]

I did walls in my commercial building with corrugated metal. LOVE IT!

I was worried about noise/echo but the corrugated ripples actually cancel noise. LOVE IT!

No spark worries, or fire worries and it looks good with surface mounted elec conduit and metal boxes. LOVE IT!

 

[rslaback]

I did not specify the smooth side out, I just assumed it would be obvious. And before you say it, I know what "assume" means.

There is your problem. OSB is almost always laid rough side out. It's too damn slick the other way. Even on exterior walls it is put rough side out as that is where the layout lines are.

 

[Mxrcr]

OSB as a rule is rough side exposed. Unless you specifically asked for the smooth side out, your contractor installed it correctly. You will actually be happier in the end. Painting OSB on either side requires a lot of paint. The problem with the smooth side is that it can absorb moisture from the paint, and in return some of the pieces will delaminate. It's a real PIA. The rough side does absorb alot of paint, but ends up a better outcome. If you do not like the look, the drywall texture seem like a good idea. Having done both in garages, I will always put rough side out in the future.

 

[Capt Chrysler]

I just doubled the size of my rented shop. One wall have the OSB bumpy side out. Well I spent last weekend painting it. It looks like a lumpy bright white wall. I would make them change it or cover it with drywall or tin.

Also I think painting OSB really *****!

Capt. Chrysler

 

[landlord30]

I'm not hosting dinner parties in my garage. I'm also not one of these people who have to have a pristine garage that does not actually get used.

My garage was built for function therefore form followed function and I chose OSB for the walls and ceiling. OSB appealed to me for its durabilty over drywall.

Matt

 

[Samh]

Another reason to use OSB, is it is a lot harder to put a hole in an OSB wall than a drywall wall

 

[NUTTSGT]

FYI

Nuts speaks from experience as a fire fighter.

Have you ever seen a building after it has burned down? Tell me you see piles of drywall there?

This debate has been beat to death already.

OSB vs drywall, to each his own. I have done both and now prefer OSB in a working shop and drywall in a parking garage.

Thanks for saving me the time to type that.

 

[amac70]

As for spraying texture just use a standarded hand held hopper and spray it on, let dry use the cheapest pva primer availble usually Hamilton prep text you can even add this to your texture to thin it out with. Might put a coat on first before spraying but don't think it will mater in this instance. If the osb is new it will cover just fine, other then the edges of the osb you will be hard pressed to tell that it is not drywall. finish with a good paint also something like sherwin williams super paint or pro classic.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Use that "kilz" primer, paint it white and forget aboutit!

 

[boobag]

in reality, the rough side may look nicer than the smooth when painted. the smooth side will show all the chips, whereas the rough or textured side is sanded and will look uniform.

 

[PugetDude]

Nail rough sawn 1x2 battens on 16" centers, caulk the seams, and paint it it all in a good quality flat finish paint. The rough embossed side of the OSB will look better than the "flaky" side.

 

[JasonF]

Leave the rough side out. On my last barn I did some paint tests on both the smooth and rough sides with the rough side winning out. The smooth side tended to lift more and the wood chips were more noticeable through the paint as well. You pretty much have to do 3 coats, like others have said one coat oil based primer and two coats of cheap latex.
Another thing, all 7/16 osb is not equal. I remember having two different brands of OSB at my last garage and returning half due to finish quality of one vs the other.

 

[Rosco]

FWIW, i started finishing my garage in drywall. After one wall, I switched to plywood as I put 2 holes in the drywall even before paint