Need advice for garage walls!

[Swiguy]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum but I've been a reader for sometime... anyhow I recently bought a house with an attached 2 car garage. The garage is in overall good shape however the previous owner decided to affix Styrofoam insulation panels to two walls in the garage using some black tar based glue (**** they used in the 60s I believe to adhere tile to floors...). All surfaces in my garage are plaster FYI. Here are some pics of my garage minus the now torn down Styrofoam insulation panels:











So as you can see, this nasty tar **** won't come off too easily and would require a significant amount of labour and time to remove. I've been debating just installing some drywall over the existing plaster walls but I'm not sure I want to go that route. I've been debating getting some corrugated plastic sheets as well. What would you guys think is my cheapest/best solution for my garage walls? I would prefer to keep the cost as low as possible.

Thanks for any suggestions guys!

 

[bigbubba]

Theres no pictures,When you get them up someone will be able to help i'm sure!

 

[Swiguy]

OK there we go, had some technical difficulties there. I left the images large so the details of my situation could be easily seen....

 

[buzz4041]

still don't see anything here

 

[Swiguy]

Not sure why the image inserts aren't working properly.. never had a problem before. Anyway, I just copied the URLs to the pictures. The links should be working. Let me know if they don't. Sorry and thanks!

 

[bigbubba]

Not sure why the image inserts aren't working properly.. never had a problem before. Anyway, I just copied the URLs to the pictures. The links should be working. Let me know if they don't. Sorry and thanks!

They all take me to googles login page

 

[Swiguy]

Wow, I give up on my gmail drive account... freaking thing doesn't work even with full share permissions on... anyway, I just attached the pics like I should have in the first place.

 

[Slimgene]

Your cheapest route will be drywall at $5 a sheet. Or you could put up OSB and then paint it. It won't look to bad since its a garage. oSB is nice because you can screw anywhere without having to find wall studs.

 

[pattenp]

To keep the finished look of the plaster I think covering it with drywall is the best option. You still need to knock down some of the lumps of tar stuff. Have you tried a heat gun and putty knife?

 

[Swiguy]

Your cheapest route will be drywall at $5 a sheet. Or you could put up OSB and then paint it. It won't look to bad since its a garage. oSB is nice because you can screw anywhere without having to find wall studs.

I've been thinking going between OSB or drywall... however I'm in Ontario and it looks like I can get 4x8 OSB for about $7 per sheet. Drywall is quite a bit more expensive at around $12-$13 per sheet for 4x12 stuff. Didn't know drywall was so cheap in the States!

To keep the finished look of the plaster I think covering it with drywall is the best option. You still need to knock down some of the lumps of tar stuff. Have you tried a heat gun and putty knife?

That might be an option with the heat gun and putty knife... would definitely be time consuming but probably my cheapest option I would think.

 

[Slimgene]

The 4x8 sheets are around $5. That's if you go with the thin stuff since you already have something there. 4x12x 5/8 will definitely cost more. I got lucky and found a drywaller selling 4x10x5/8 for $4/sheet.

 

[70redbee]

Be careful with heat on that tar adhesive, could have some nasty stuff in it. I think you should go with 1/4" drywall and cover it up. Also being an attached garage I would not use OSB, it is very flammable. Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[buzz4041]

Why did you remove the insulation panels ? Why not attach your new covering over the insulation ? My vote is either plywood or OSB as I don't care much for sheetrock in the shop.

 

[Dominico]

Plaster walls are much stronger than drywall and can take much more abuse. What you have is two coats of plaster consisting of a base/brown coat followed by a top coat or finish coat of mostly lime and sometimes silica sand.

If you want to save the plaster try taking a matabo/angle grinder with a sanding disc to knock down the tar. The disc will likely gum up from the tar so you will want to have extra on hand as you will need them. All you have to do is knock the tar down to the finish coat of the plaster.

After you get them all knocked down skim coat the area with EZ sand, light weight drywall compound. The compound comes in 20, 40 and 90 varieties (light weight regular, dry or premixed). The number signifies the setting times and the light weight is easier to work with and sand. I recommend you use the 90 as it will give you 90 minutes to work with it before it sets up on you. Depending on the thickness of the area you are repairing you may have to give it two coats as the material may shrink as it dries. Sand between coats.

Once the wall is done lightly wipe the sanding residue of the wall and finish with a good primer and paint.

FYI
I am a retired Plaster/Drywaller. If you wanted to hire a "Plasterer" NOT a Drywall guy they would most likely just re-coat the entire wall with lime and trowel smooth. No sanding and done in a day. The average homeowner does not know how to do "plaster" and your box stores do not carry the material.

 

[Herb]

Plaster walls are much stronger than drywall and can take much more abuse. What you have is two coats of plaster consisting of a base/brown coat followed by a top coat or finish coat of mostly lime and sometimes silica sand.

If you want to save the plaster try taking a matabo/angle grinder with a sanding disc to knock down the tar. The disc will likely gum up from the tar so you will want to have extra on hand as you will need them. All you have to do is knock the tar down to the finish coat of the plaster.

After you get them all knocked down skim coat the area with EZ sand, light weight drywall compound. The compound comes in 20, 40 and 90 varieties (light weight regular, dry or premixed). The number signifies the setting times and the light weight is easier to work with and sand. I recommend you use the 90 as it will give you 90 minutes to work with it before it sets up on you. Depending on the thickness of the area you are repairing you may have to give it two coats as the material may shrink as it dries. Sand between coats.

Once the wall is done lightly wipe the sanding residue of the wall and finish with a good primer and paint.

FYI
I am a retired Plaster/Drywaller. If you wanted to hire a "Plasterer" NOT a Drywall guy they would most likely just re-coat the entire wall with lime and trowel smooth. No sanding and done in a day. The average homeowner does not know how to do "plaster" and your box stores do not carry the material.

This all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Swiguy]

Be careful with heat on that tar adhesive, could have some nasty stuff in it. I think you should go with 1/4" drywall and cover it up. Also being an attached garage I would not use OSB, it is very flammable. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Yeah, I'm a little the tar stuff will have asbestos in it or something... I'm thinking I'll get a quote from a plaster worker to see how much it would cost to put a skim coat of plaster over my walls. They need some repair work anyway so it might end up being a good cost effective option.

 

[Swiguy]

Plaster walls are much stronger than drywall and can take much more abuse. What you have is two coats of plaster consisting of a base/brown coat followed by a top coat or finish coat of mostly lime and sometimes silica sand.

If you want to save the plaster try taking a matabo/angle grinder with a sanding disc to knock down the tar. The disc will likely gum up from the tar so you will want to have extra on hand as you will need them. All you have to do is knock the tar down to the finish coat of the plaster.

After you get them all knocked down skim coat the area with EZ sand, light weight drywall compound. The compound comes in 20, 40 and 90 varieties (light weight regular, dry or premixed). The number signifies the setting times and the light weight is easier to work with and sand. I recommend you use the 90 as it will give you 90 minutes to work with it before it sets up on you. Depending on the thickness of the area you are repairing you may have to give it two coats as the material may shrink as it dries. Sand between coats.

Once the wall is done lightly wipe the sanding residue of the wall and finish with a good primer and paint.

FYI
I am a retired Plaster/Drywaller. If you wanted to hire a "Plasterer" NOT a Drywall guy they would most likely just re-coat the entire wall with lime and trowel smooth. No sanding and done in a day. The average homeowner does not know how to do "plaster" and your box stores do not carry the material.

I'm liking the plaster skim coat option, I wonder how much it would cost to redo my walls... might end up being the same cost a throwing up some drywall so I would prefer to keep the original plaster. I'll get some quotes and see what it would cost.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Dominico]

If you hire a "Plaster" to go over the existing wall with lime make sure they use a bonding agent prior to the lime or finish coat. This is critical as the bonding agent (similar to a paint with a glue substance in it) will make the lime adhere/bite to the wall.

 

[Will67]

Another idea thati don't think has been mentioned, is FRP...fiberglass reinforced plastic pannels.

 

[Swiguy]

Thanks everyone for all the advice, gives me quite a few options to consider. I've just come up with an idea that I think would be my cheapest option but wanted some opinions on it first. What do you guys think about applying orange peel spray to the walls? I'm thinking to do the following:

1) Patch all the holes with drywall compound
2) Scrape off as much of that tar as I can to get somewhat flush with the plaster walls
3) Apply orange peel spray to all surfaces and knock down as required
4) Paint the spray on stuff once it's dried

How would this option hold up over time? I'm thinking it's a similar option to re plastering but a lot cheaper due to much less labour.

 

[Swiguy]

Or I can try some roll on texture paint? The thicker stuff, maybe kill two birds with one stone with that idea?