OSB for walls opinion needed

[Tarheel Slim]

Im thinking of using OBS for my walls was going to go with 7-16 thickness cant seem to find 3-8 thickness anywhere,is osb a good choice for a wall covering plywood is too much and drywall is cheaper but you cant just hang things up where ever you want like you can with osb of plywood,any thoughts on this?price of 7-16 osb 4 x 8 sheet is 13.79ea,still not cheap for a 1320 sq ft. garage.

 

[The Cobbler]

This has been discussed many times on here. The results are all over the map from it looks ugly to it burns and you should use drywall.
I had a shop previous that had unpainted OSB, I painted it with 2 coats of oil base when we bought the place & I was happy. white ceiling and bankers beige walls and it performed just dandy for my use. I would do it again in a heart beat. This garage build I'm using plywood on walls with tin on bottom 3' and pine T&G on ceilings , only because the price on it was free to very cheap .
OSB will be fine.

 

[8man]

I built my shop last year and used OSB fro the walls with two coats of oil and sheetrock for the ceiling, taped, floated and painted. I'm not sure how much I saved over 1/2" plywood, but if I had it to do today I'd probably go the plywood and oil paint route just because it would "look" a bit better.

I have no problems with what I have. I have screwed many tools to the wall so I can see them, moved them around as I get the feel of where I want stuff. So being able to put a screw into the wall and hang something in plain sight is a real plus.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Drywall. Look up "french cleats".

 

[DougWil]

Fugly.

There someone said it.

 

[Falcon67]

My whole shop is OSB, like it. Easy to work with and comes off easy if you need to get behind it for something (electrical, etc). You can bang into it without damage - well, unless you hit it with a golf car at full throttle - and pretty much hang what you like where you like.

 

[n20junkie]

Use sanded BC, looks much nicer.

If fire is a concern, there are paints, additives to paints, and spray over dried paints solutions that will create a spark and fire resistant shell.

 

[Falcon67]

Use sanded BC, looks much nicer.

Yes, but - just as hard to paint and twice as expensive. Or 3 times, I got my OSB for $8/sheet buying in bulk. Plywood - no deal, list price per sheet.

 

[Radix2]

Do both put some osb up where you want to hang stuff ( or under the drywall) and put up drywall in your nicer areas with the bar stools and frig...

 

[Radix2]

I see that the LP smartside panels are about the same as plywood, and look even better. Still in the low 20s per sheet tho.

 

[Maddog10]

I'm a big fan of OSB walls because of the versatility it provides. With that said, at the end of the day you have to prioritize what you want the most. Drywall of course is going to look the nicest. OSB is going to allow you the most versatility when it comes to hanging things. With a big shop I would go with drywall due to price, looks, and the fact that having to move something a few inches to be in a stud probably isn't a big deal. In my tiny shop though, every inch is precious so I wanted to be able to put stuff anywhere.

With a little effort, OSB can also be made to look nice. I just did my small shop in OSB, and with 2 coats of oil based Kilz it took to painting really well. I made no effort to hide the seams but you could off course fill them in if you wanted.

Painted OSB:

 

[Dr Stan]

I found a deal on MDF and used it for the interior walls. When I raise the roof 4' this spring I'll use OSB for the exterior walls, but probably use dry wall for the interior as it will be cheaper and in all likely hood will not be mounting anything that high in the interior.

 

[Catadj78]

I used osb in my shop area. Skim coat of drywall mud, sanded joints, 2 coats oil based kilz and the painted. Looks great from 10' away and looks good closer. I'm ok with the way it turned out but if I had to do it again I'd go drywall and deal with the hanging stuff or repairs needing to be made.

 

[Catadj78]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Kevin54]

I personally don't care for the looks of OSB, so I went with drywall in my garage. But on the house garage, the garage walls were done with OSB and drywall on the ceiling. I painted it but it still looked like painted OSB, so I put drywall over it. It made it great. I have nice smooth walls, but I can still hang anything anywhere I want. The bad thing about doing that though is that you have to shim everything out to compensate for the added thickness.

But, if you go into the gallery and start looking, there are quite a few garage's that look great with OSB. One that always comes to mind is the garage of TheShrine. If I remember correctly, he ordered OSB that does not have printing on it, so that let him use the finished side of the OSB which is shiny and smooth. And of course, he used the OSB in conjunction with corrugated metal also. It made for a very nice setup. Go to the Gallery and do a search for TheShrine (one word) and check out his layout.

 

[Jon_E]

7/16" OSB on my walls, one coat of oil-based Kilz so far, will paint a finish coat or two if I feel like it. My garage is a work in progress (a/k/a a giant mess) and I haven't decided where things go yet. Plus no heat so no painting until spring. OSB is cheap, relatively durable and you can hang stuff anywhere. I leave the screw heads exposed so I can see exactly where the studs are, for hanging heavy items or attaching cleats.

 

[G-ManBart]

Drywall of course is going to look the nicest.

Not everyone agrees with that....I certainly don't.

I have OSB on one side of the dividing wall in my barn, but it's the side where I store my equipment so I don't care how it looks. The other side is my shop and it's all done with steel liner panels...walls and ceiling.

It goes up fast, looks great, costs less than many other options, and you can still get behind it if you need to. It's not as flexible for hanging stuff, but I don't do much of that.

Before it was done:

 

[Know Wosad]

Use paper backed wire lath and plaster over whatever you choose. Sparks even occur in wood work and many of the glues-finishes etc are highly flammable. Exposed garbageboard is a poor choice for a final shop wall.Metal is good if you like the look. 24 ga is easy to apply and paint over....whatever you build with.Water intrusion is a non issue if applied with sealers too. I spring clean with my pressure cleaner

 

[Maddog10]

Not everyone agrees with that....I certainly don't.

Looks great. I was mainly referring to the comparison between OSB and drywall. Don't think many would argue against the opinion that drywall looks better than OSB. Branching outside of those two, there are lots of options that look great as you pointed out. All depends on personal preference and intended use.

 

[Varty Yo]

If i was to redo my drywall in my garage id go with OSB then put a lacher over top to seal it up. Looks great in my mind. I hate my drywall. Gets dirty and when i get punchy it gets holes haha.

 

[kbs2244]

OSB for all of falcon67's reasons.

My 10 foot walls are 2' of block, 4' of pegboard, 4' of OSB and a vaulted ceiling of OSB.
All spray painted with coats of cheap white latex.

Yes, the OSB surface is rough.
But it is a shop, not a living room.

 

[G-ManBart]

Looks great. I was mainly referring to the comparison between OSB and drywall. Don't think many would argue against the opinion that drywall looks better than OSB. Branching outside of those two, there are lots of options that look great as you pointed out. All depends on personal preference and intended use.

Thanks!

Fair enough...no doubt drywall looks nicer than OSB

 

[Ironhorse74]

I put plywood up, just hung the last sheet. The price difference just wasn't enough to get me to use OSB.

 

[James-W]

I have drywall in my garage. If I were to do it over again, I would still use drywall. It is fairly inexpensive, and it is easy to repair if you do somehow screw it up.

 

[Norcal]

I have drywall in my garage. If I were to do it over again, I would still use drywall. It is fairly inexpensive, and it is easy to repair if you do somehow screw it up.

Shop is drywall, used OSB on the walls of the room in back, would rather have used drywall but the OSB was quick just had live with the stench for a while.

Couple of photos of back room during construction.





A bit earlier.



Old photo of shop just before epoxy finish was applied to floor.



In the first photo, having OSB made it easy to add MC cable to feed under cabinet fluorescent fixtures after the cabinets were hung but that is one of few advantages of OSB, drywall is easy to repair & much brighter since painted OSB looks like ****.

 

[fastbike02]

I have osb in my shop and would do it again just bc I have hit the osb with **** that would leave a hole in drywall as for painting I took oil based primer and mixed in a little drywall mud, it smoothed out the roughness and left a nice white finish.

 

[MushCreek]

I'm planning a mix- OSB for the first 4', then drywall. I'm going to cover the OSB with tin roofing material. Most dings occur below the 4' level unless you're really heaving stuff around. Same goes for sparks big enough to ignite the walls, such as welding slag. A washable paint surface on the drywall will help.

 

[Whitworth]

It's ugly.
It burns.
It's holding power is greatly exaggerated.

If you want to hold something on the wall of any substantial weight, you want to fasten to a stud regardless of wall covering.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I am frugal but went with BC plywood. $20 a sheet but I have never regretted it. Most people assume it is drywall.

 

[Jazz1]

I used drywall as it is fire rated. OSB looks like **** IMO. I used it on exterior walls. My daughter started painting a panel and I told her to forget it...looked like **** so we put siding over OSB

 

[zendriver]

A small building at work, used OSB, painted high gloss gray with black trim, which looks very nice, imO. It has a textured, verses smooth look, which hides imperfections. it's been done 3 years holding upfine.

I did my detached garage ceiling in osB, if I didnt already have grooved wood panels (gained in the divorce), I'd use it on the walls too.

 

[wickdgt]

Mine is all OSB ceiling and walls painted. Still working on my work bench soon I'll have it finish and more stuff to move in.

 

[laser3kw]

it is all in the eye of the beholder.

some want a show room environment that will never see dirt.
some want a work shop where they can work and not worry about a stain or a hole disrupting "the pristine view".
I went the long term route. Both painted drywall and painted OSB look great when just finished. But I know I will, at some point, there would be damage to drywall. So I went with the more robust material (OSB) on the walls and drywall on the ceilings. Painted white all around, reflects light well, you have to really "look" to see the difference of what material is where. When you walk into my shop / garage, you see equipment, shelving, things in various state of repair, vintage items - hardly notice the walls.
I guess some spend more time staring at the walls than working on projects.

 

[glentre]

It all boils down to individual preference regarding how you want your garage to look and how you want to use it. For smaller garages where floor space is limited, it makes sense to use as much wall space as you can to hang things. Osb would be a good choice. Seal and paint it if you like a more finished look.

For neatness folks with larger garages and the ability to do it, closed door cabinets where everything has its place hidden away, then finished drywall would be a better choice.

I am both of the above. My current small 2 car attached garage is shared with

 

[glentre]

Sorry, hit send before I was finished. My current small attached 2 car garage is shared with two refrigerators, two large well pump tanks and a water softener setup so, contrary to what I would like, I found it necessary to get stuff hung on the walls all over. It is drywall and yes, it's a pain to hang things when necessary to find studs.

In our new 3 car detached, we will have closed cabinets for everything and nothing hung on the drywall.

Again it is a matter of preference and need so the choice of any wall material will be applauded by some and condemned by others.

Glen

 

[rburke65]

My walls are 13'-4" and I used metal on the ceiling, 4'x10' LP Smart siding for the upper 10' and old barn siding for the lower 3' or so. I like the LP smart siding panels. Goes up quickly, already primed, and has a wood grain in it. I screwed it to the studs with drywall screws so if I have to remove it to gain access to the internals, it's not a big job.