Minnesota Garage Ceiling Materials

[Shhted]

Hello y'all. I have a 3 car attached garage that I've slowly been insulating/finishing. The walls are insulated and drywalled and I have insulated doors. My ceiling is about 1/2 completed with insulation batts and I intend to finish in a few weeks. I have no heat source apart from a Big Buddy. I've worked out there in winter after running the heater and it's tolerable, but not ideal. Completing the insulation and ceiling will certainly make it more habitable. I don't intend on making it tshirt weather out there, but warm enough to tinker on my motorcycles would be nice.

Question is: Drywall or other material to finish the ceiling? I've seen OSB, T&G Pine, Ply, Corrugated metal or fiberglass, etc. I can't find any direct guidance in MN Building Codes, but not my specialty either. It's not intended to be extended living space or a showcase, just passable for a tinkers shop.

 

[maxpat82]

white steel. (metal roofing material)
can even use non perforated soffit.

 

[323Eng]

Question is: Drywall or other material to finish the ceiling? I've seen OSB, T&G Pine, Ply, Corrugated metal or fiberglass, etc. I can't find any direct guidance in MN Building Codes, but not my specialty either. It's not intended to be extended living space or a showcase, just passable for a tinkers shop.

I am also looking for an answer to this question. The 2 shops I have experience with that have metal ceilings both have moisture problems, and I don't want that.

I am leaning toward drywall, ply or osb myself. Drywall probably looks best on a ceiling, but I'm not that good at mudding. Maybe it's time to learn?

 

[scottmoyer]

Drywall. Since it's a garage ceiling, it doesn't need to be taped and mudded.

 

[stm317]

An attached garage may have different requirements than a detached garage. Many times, an attached garage ceiling is required to be Sheetrock for fire suppression reasons. You need to check your local codes.

If allowed, I prefer white metal liner panel since its lightweight, reflective, and pre-painted. It can also be ordered in custom lengths to reduce the number of seams. All of this means you spend less time working overhead, hanging a ceiling and it can be cheaper as well vs painted wood or finished and painted Sheetrock.

 

[finn]

White steel. No moisture problems with either of my white steel ceilings.

My previous two car attached, insulated garage had Sheetrock covered walls and ceilings. I had to replace the lower Sheetrock because it disintegrated from moisture damage along side the parked car, and the tape separated along the ceiling joints, necessitating a retape / joint repair when I sold the house.

Steel is prefinished and requires no maintenance.

 

[bowhuntr311]

Depends what your budget is. Drywall will be the cheapest, followed by osb. Liner panel steel will run you about 2.25/ft Im guessing. I did all liner panel in my shop and love it.

I have a small amount of OCD and have worked in shops where OSB gathered dust and cobwebs and they couldnt be brushed away...It made it look dingy and dark, so every couple years they repaint the ceiling. I didnt want to deal with that in my shop ever.

 

[tonyciambrone]

Steel panels definitely.

Just say no to OSB

Drywall is not bad but in our climate it can be hard to get it right in spaces that aren't temperature/ humidity controlled/

 

[Pruittx2]

had a garage with drywall,, never again. humidity will kill it over time.

 

[Jazz1]

I drywalled my garage correctly with vapour barrier and insulation. Never a issue with humidity. I also have wood stove that lowers humidity from its normal range of 50% down to 40%. When not working in garage I will still put one piece of wood in fire daily to keep the heat sink(cement floor) from getting stone cold.

 

[Shhted]

Spoke to the local Building Inspector to see what code required. I can use steel! There is no living space above the garage and the firewall to living space will not be affected. W00t!

 

[Falcon67]

Drywall. Since it's a garage ceiling, it doesn't need to be taped and mudded.

Yes it does - anything put up needs to be sealed against air leaks/air migration. Ex: If he used OSB he would need to caulk every seam between the panels at at the walls.

 

[classic boost]

Liner panel steel will run you about 2.25/ft Im guessing.

menards dura-liner is $0.75 sq ft.

 

[kbs2244]

Your Big Buddy is a moisture factory.
You need something immune to that.

The low cost way I would suggest is white steel and keep a window open a crack to let the moisture follow the heat out.

 

[markushofer27]

I just did my 24×28 this weekend 700$ later I wasn't gonna go the drywall tape mud route ,I'm in SD by the way.

 

[silverram323]

Im still in the process of finishing my pole barn, but i did tin on the ceiling, i think it looks great.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[tonyciambrone]

Spoke to the local Building Inspector to see what code required. I can use steel! There is no living space above the garage and the firewall to living space will not be affected. W00t!

Good for you. One half of my shop is White steel, and it looks fantastic. the other is OSB, that had a couple of small roof leaks on it during the previous owner's tenure. It is discolored, sagging, has gaps, etc. I don't think you will regret the steel.