Interior wall options

[xterrable]

Greetings all.

I am in the process of building a 30x30 detached garage. Doing nearly all of the work myself and realizing that I knew just enough to get myself into trouble. But it is going well. I will post pictures soon. I am glad that I just found this site as the ideas that I have seen might just have sent me to the poor house.

My questions is on interior wall options. The garage is going to be heated as needed with a Mr Heater gas heater. It is going to be used as a wood shop and when my funds allow, a place to store my muscle cars.

I dont want to do drywall, as it dents easily and I HATE spackling... Plywood was another options, but still not functional and from what I hear, it makes it LOUD inside.

My supplier suggested that I use soffit material for the ceiling. Said it looks clean and would do the job. I was also thinking if doing the metal wall material on the ceiling. But the bottom line is function and budget, as the wife already has my you know whats in a ringer...

Thanks

 

[Improved700]

Just putting the finishing touches on my shop. I like many of us on here, am on a tight budget and doing the work myself. I used 1/8" white melamine paneling on the ceilings, and covered the seams with 1X4 white MDF boards to not only cover the seams, but to add some support to the seams as well. For the wall sheating, I used 5/8" plywood. The material I used is 38X48, so I used alot of them, but they are free to me, so that fine by me. 1 coat of primer, and 2 coats of semi gloss paint, and I am happy as can be. As far as it being loud, I dont really think it's any louder than anything else. The nice thing for me with the smaller plywood panels, since I screwed them in, if I want to add a new outlet box, or anything else in the wall, I just unscrew the panels, do the work, and screw them back in and I am in business.

I will post some pictures in the next week, as I am trying to finish before I post up a bunch of pictures.

Good luck with your decision. Do what feel's right to both you and your pocket book, and enjoy your new workspace.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Plywood does not make a room loud at all.

MDF doesn't either, and it's usually less expensive (but harder to paint) than plywood.

 

[Falcon67]

It's been noted here that - as much as many of us hate drywall - that drywall is a fire barrier and OSB can be a fire hazard. something to consider in a wood shop for sure. And I know sheetrock is cheaper than plywood, at least here. A 4x8 sheet of 1/2 is like $6.50.

 

[scott37300]

I would not use soffit material for the ceilings, it dents easier than drywall, will echo and vibrate or resonate any noise, is not at keeping warm air in, etc. If you want to use metal paneling at leat use the thicker gauge metal panels for outside shed/garage walls.

I personally like plywood in the garage, it's fairly cheap, strong, can anchor most light weight things right to the plywood, easy to cut and install, a GOOD primer and GOOD paint goes a long way.

I also like a product called FRP, fiberglass reinforced plastic in certain areas of the garage. This stuff you glue up over a layer of thin plywood, it is waterproof and you can spray it down to clean it. It makes the garage bright and is extremly durable with plywood behind it.

Drywall is another option that is cheap and fairly easy to install. The only downside is everything has to be mounted to the studs.

 

[DigitalFusion]

I also like a product called FRP, fiberglass reinforced plastic in certain areas of the garage. This stuff you glue up over a layer of thin plywood, it is waterproof and you can spray it down to clean it. It makes the garage bright and is extremly durable with plywood behind it.

This! I am doing sheets of 7/16" OSB around the bottom 4' of my garage, then drywall above. Over the OSB I am planning to put this stuff. It was in the laundry room of the house when we moved in. Its great stuff, just wipes clean.

 

[willymakeit]

If you want to use metal, use as mentioned the heavier gage. Buy no.2 metal all of the colored is white on the back side, save some money.

 

[markviii]

As scott37300 said, FRP is a great product. It is already on OSB and available at our lumber yard; however, it is rather pricey compared with other materials. No dents, stain-resistant and easy clean-up made it the material of choice in our two garages/buildings (I'm on my mom's computer with limited memory so can't link easily; sorry - go to Restored 1930's Auto Shop post#133 for a good picture of the walls/ceiling).

xterrable - I see you're going to use your space for a wood shop. The RFP is easy to clean up - use a Swiffer with a long handle to wipe down the walls as needed.

Good Luck with your build.

Chris

 

[DigitalFusion]

7/16" OSB is < $7 a sheet, and the RFP is about $25-30 a sheet. I heard (never shopped around) that the pre-applied stuff is more like $50 a sheet.

 

[JC23]

There have been other threads asking the same question. I would search them.

On my build, I used T-111 on the walls. I got the kind that is already primed so it doesn't attract everything but money and women. Then, it's easy to paint with one or so coats of color. On my ceiling, I used OSB and painted it a gloss white to bounce more light.

For my next build, I am seriously thinking of using that white corregated wall covering on the ceiling. It goes up fast, cuts easily and covers quickly. You can see a few shops on here with it.

 

[xterrable]

The soffit material I was thinking about was the Vinyl type. Basically hang some J-Channel, and slap it up. I was going to blow in insulation upstairs, so that would help deaden the sound. My trusses are 16 OC, so there shouldnt be any sag..

This FRP. Can you get it at Lowes? What do you do where the pieces meet? A piece of trim to hide the joint?

 

[xterrable]

Wait, is the FRP the kid of stuff they use in rest rooms or moist areas? It gets screwed with some sort of decorative washer? Is it thin?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I agree plywood does not make interiors louder but it is costly. MDF less so. What is really nice about plywood is you can mount custom made "bracketry" for tools anywhere on it. MDF would provide the same advantage at lesser cost.

A light skim coat of joint compound, sanded and painted wouldn't dramatically improve the appearance of MDF, give you low cost, but it will make you "spackle" as you put it. Metal would be NOISY in my opinion...and kinda out of character with a wood shop(?)

 

[scott37300]

Wait, is the FRP the kid of stuff they use in rest rooms or moist areas? It gets screwed with some sort of decorative washer? Is it thin?

I believe they sell it at lowes, I know my local menards carries it. Yes it is the stuff in rest rooms. It's thin but you but some plywood behind it. They make trim pieces for it to go between panels and at corners. They do screw it on but I think that is just to hold it till the glue dries, you use a notched trowel to glue the FRP to the ply. You just put a couple screws with caps in the middle of the sheet.

 

[SpeedCoach]

I've been having this debate with myself for 9 years.....I like the smooth, finished look of drywall (1 wall in my garage has it - unfinished), hate the work.

another wall in my garage is sheathed in plywood.....love the ability to hang anything, anywhere

the backwall was open studs.

I've finally decided that plywood was the best way to go...just sheathed the back wall with sanded play to get as close to smooth as possible. painted it and I'm diggin'.....next summer I'll finish the drywalled wall for some continuity.

 

[28HopUp]

2/3 of my garage walls were open studs. I started with this -

And used plastic corrugated roofing from Lowes to get to this point -

View media item 5605
The corrugated meant I didn't have to finish out the drywall prep behind it. The ceiling conduit helps hide the seams that popped from being double-layered drywall. I may paint the green to match the dark tan on the garage door, and I'm still undecided on the floor...

 

[michaelscheuren]

I am having the same dilema. I just finished a 30'x54' pole barn and am undecided about how to finish the interior of it. I have been thinking of using metal for the ceiling and drywall on the walls. I have to run the wiring first and then insulation but have no idea on what to do to finish it so it looks nice.

Michael.

 

[Gary S]

Over the years I've done 3 garages. The first one got 1/4" interior paneling. The second one got drywall. The third and current one has OSB.
Drywall was the worst. It isn't durable enough for a working garage. The paneling was better than drywall. It was stronger than drywall, and handled the moisture just fine, but OSB is the only interior wall covering I would ever use again.

 

[ZRX61]

Mine is bare T1-11, the welding corner will be corrugated tin at some point..

 

[kap]

I used OSB on the walls and sheetrock on the ceiling. I found that if you prime the OSB before you put it up, it easier to put on a couple of coats of paint once it's up. I used a satin finish white paint, and it reflects the light very well, as I had hoped. I was worried that the rough surface would attract dust, etc. but it's been pretty good. As others have said, you can hang things almost anywhere with OSB.
I would highly recommend OSB on the walls.

 

[donnie]

I wish I would have taken pictures of this before I sold the house, but.
In my last garage I put laminate floor up to protect the drywall. I found some really cheap floor and cut the tongue and groove off the top and bottom, but it up vertically so it went up the wall 48" plus the 6 inches of trim on the bottom. Capped it off with a piece of quarter round, looked good and was sturdy.

 

[Fastback]

That vinyl siding soffit idea is not a bad one, some of that with blown in above could be a cheap way to go? The corrugated could also make a good ceiling.

 

[mikester]

I used 3/8 T111 from Home Dumpo in my 22x30 detached. I left it unfinished and its been that way for 7 years now with no problems. My ceiling is sheetrock painted white. When I first put up the T111 I took a stiff broom and brushed the whole wall after it was up to get the little "sawdust" off of it. Ive thought about painting it but I think the rustic look is nice.

 

[kevbo5482]

I believe they sell it at lowes, I know my local menards carries it. Yes it is the stuff in rest rooms. It's thin but you but some plywood behind it. They make trim pieces for it to go between panels and at corners. They do screw it on but I think that is just to hold it till the glue dries, you use a notched trowel to glue the FRP to the ply. You just put a couple screws with caps in the middle of the sheet.

I have just installed several sheets of the the FRP in Dog kennel room I'm building in my garage. I got the sheets at lowes and you do have to glue and/or use the plastic rivets to hold the FRP to either drywall or plywood. I used 7/16 osb as my backer board. So osb (7$) + FRP (25$)+ trim pieces
(2.50$ ea) + plastic rivets (10 $ box) + FRP glue = $#@!! load of money!! This is not an economical way to do your garage.

 

[jwillis]

I went through the same dilemma with my detached garage. It is a metal building 22X24 feet. Drywall is good if you are going to put up walls in an attached garage, but I was worried about the dampness out in the middle of my yard. I thought of getting the blue board/mold resistant drywall but decided against it. I talked to people who had metal garages and they all told me that theirs will sweat from time to time. Mainly from the ceiling if the conditions are right. I thought about OSB- I don't like the looks of it. (No offense) Plywood was an option, but after years outside in the cold and dampness, plywood can begin to separate. If I was going to put up plywood and had to paint it, a gallon of KILZ is about $25.00 a gallon and a few gallons plus another couple of gallons of paint at Sherwin Williams and I would probably be going over $100.00 just for the paint. And I hate to paint. Someone said something about OSB being a fire hazard and I don't think it would be that bad. I have thrown it in the fireplace before and it is a lot harder than wood to catch fire. So, I decided to go with the Smartsiding or Smartboard siding (or whatever it is called) that Home Depot has. It is OSB backed but the outside has a grained look to resemble the grain of wood. It is actually outside siding that is already primered. It has a yellowish- grey color and it has 3/8" groves about every six inches. It overlaps like paneling and has lines to hang it straight, so you can't see the nails/screws. It is almost the exact color of Elmers wood dough. Maybe a little darker. But it goes up great. It is a lot harder and more rigid than regular siding. It is about 5/16 inch thick. It is kind of hard to get a finishing nail through it. It costs about $23.00 a 4X8 sheet. But since it is supposed to be used on the outside of buildings, it should last a long time. It is easy to cut with a saw and I think it is great.

 

[phatrick2332]

Does anyone have any photo's of there osb walls? I just ordered all of my insulation and osb for mine and im just waiting for delivery.

 

[mustangmccance]

personally I like white peg board. it is cheap easy to hang, looks good and is very functional. I frequently will want to say hang my coat up for a couple minutes, grab a hook I can hang it almost anywhere. my tools stay organized and where I can see them. I have different groups of tools in different areas. such as my woodworking tools hanging near my table saw, my air chucks hanging near my air reels etc. I used 6 inch wide treated deck boards as mop boards so I did not have to paint them either. I like as minimal maintenance as I can get. lol.

this is a picture from a couple months ago. the pegboard has been up for 2 years and shows essentially no wear. and believe me I am not that gentle on things so I think it is pretty durable too.

http://s972.photobucket.com/albums/ae205/mustangmccance/

 

[TheShrine]

Does anyone have any photo's of there osb walls? I just ordered all of my insulation and osb for mine and im just waiting for delivery.