Thinking about finishing a stud wall garage or workshop?

[Garcky]

My best suggestion for that project is to decide where you want your shop area, and finish the walls with 1/4" tempered pegboard. Not the whole garage, but just the space where your workbench and work area are. That pegboard has 1/4" holes in it, and uses the heavier pegboard accessories. The advantage is that every wall space in your work area can be whatever you want it to be. Pegboard hangers that are shelf supports, tool hangers and organizers, etc.

That's what I did on all of the walls of the small free-standing 10' by 12' shed style workshop I designed for my old place. I treated the pegboard just like drywall, and covered all the walls with it, cutting out around outlets, etc., just like I would do with drywall. Then, I painted that pegboard with satin finish white exterior paint. So, no matter how I arranged the shop, I would have an easy way to organize what went on the walls, and it was completely flexible.

It's relatively expensive to do this, with that 1/4 tempered pegboard selling for over $30 a sheet, but the convenience was extraordinary. You can buy the heavy pegboard hardware in bulk and save.

Just a thought.

 

[MushCreek]

I like pegboard, but some don't. To each, his or her own. In my shop with 12' ceilings, I'm going with roofing tin up to 4', then 4' of white pegboard, then the last 4' what ever sheet goods are cheapest that I can paint white. First, I need to save up for insulation!

 

[beemerphile]

I like pegboard, but some don't. To each, his or her own. In my shop with 12' ceilings, I'm going with roofing tin up to 4', then 4' of white pegboard, then the last 4' what ever sheet goods are cheapest that I can paint white. First, I need to save up for insulation!

^Exactly what I have decided for my current 24x40 shop build with 12' walls. I have installed a base molding of 2x4 and made a wainscot out of 2x8 at the 4' level which has all of the compressed air and power outlets cut into it. The lower back side of the wainscot has a 3/4"x3/4" rabbet in it to conceal the upper edge of the corrugated metal. The front edges of the 2x8 are routed with a 1/2" roundover. The lower edge of the metal sits on top of the base molding.

 

[Garcky]

I like pegboard, but some don't. To each, his or her own. In my shop with 12' ceilings, I'm going with roofing tin up to 4', then 4' of white pegboard, then the last 4' what ever sheet goods are cheapest that I can paint white. First, I need to save up for insulation!

That sounds like a good plan, too. My shop had a shed roof that was 12' high at one end. So I build a storage loft at that end of it, which turned out to be an excellent idea. At 10' X 12', it was too small, really, for stationary tools, so everything was on wheels. I had an equal-sized concrete apron outside of the double swinging door, so I could use the tools out there with plenty of space.

Why so small? Well, it fell under the size limit for "sheds," so it didn't require a building permit to construct. Also, the magazine I wrote for, "Family Handyman," commissioned that workshop for an issue, after I suggested the project to them. That way, all of the materials were paid for by the magazine. A good deal all around.

 

[racecougar]

I like pegboard, but some don't. To each, his or her own.

I kind of skirt that line myself. I like it for the functionality, but dislike it for the aesthetic. I did simple pegboard panels behind two of my benches, and that has worked out decently. I don't think my eyes/brain could handle floor to ceiling pegboard all the way around the shop though.

 

[CasePeanut]

@Garcky do you have any pictures? After ten years, I’m finally getting ready to finish my garage walls and looking for some good inspiration

 

[PoorUB]

I have a small panel for pegboard over my work bench for small hand tools. Other than that, I hate the stuff.
If you put it all over next thing you are trying to hang shovels and garden hose of peg board pegs. The peg board can not handle the weight so it gets deformed.

Most of you would be surprised to see my shop. There is not one hanger on the wall to hang tools other that the mentioned spot over the bench. Shovels and rakes get put in the compressor closet or in the attic and I have a few cabinets for other items.

 

[Garcky]

@Garcky do you have any pictures? After ten years, I’m finally getting ready to finish my garage walls and looking for some good inspiration

I'm sorry, but I don't. I built that workshop in the 1980s, and no longer live where it is.

Edit to add: I posted an image of the magazine cover that featured the workshop.

 

[Garcky]

I have a small panel for pegboard over my work bench for small hand tools. Other than that, I hate the stuff.
If you put it all over next thing you are trying to hang shovels and garden hose of peg board pegs. The peg board can not handle the weight so it gets deformed.

Most of you would be surprised to see my shop. There is not one hanger on the wall to hang tools other that the mentioned spot over the bench. Shovels and rakes get put in the compressor closet or in the attic and I have a few cabinets for other items.

To each his or her own, I think. The 1/4" tempered pegboard can handle a lot more weight that you'd think, as long as you use pegboard hooks that are designed for it, and it is properly attached to the building's structure. Still, not everyone likes tools hanging on walls, so it's probably not a good choice for those people.

 

[Zeke]

Whatever you feel about pegboard, I don't like it painted white. The mfr's ought to save the punch outs so you can glue them back.

 

[jubilee]

Never could understand why anyone would would finish a garage/shop wall and lose all that storage space.

 

[PoorUB]

Never could understand why anyone would would finish a garage/shop wall and lose all that storage space.

They are called storage cabinets.

Personally, I think garages with **** hanging all over the walls look junky and disorganized. I prefer to put what I can into storage cabinets.

 

[nadogail]

Garage Shops are like Women, not everyone has the same opinion. I am very happy with the inexpensive cabinets from Home Depot. I can close the doors on the cans and boxes.

 

[Garcky]

Garage Shops are like Women, not everyone has the same opinion. I am very happy with the inexpensive cabinets from Home Depot. I can close the doors on the cans and boxes.

Very true. There is no one way to do most things. For me, having tools that were used with a piece of equipment right there in view and ready to grab seemed important. I had all of my woodturning cutting tools on the wall behind the lathe, for example. Same with every stationary tool in the shop. Everything I needed was visible and available. Other people take a different approach.

 

[rancherbill]

That's what I did on all of the walls of the small free-standing 10' by 12' shed style workshop I designed for my old place. I treated the pegboard just like drywall, and covered all the walls with it, cutting out around outlets, etc., just like I would do with drywall. Then, I painted that pegboard with satin finish white exterior paint. So, no matter how I arranged the shop, I would have an easy way to organize what went on the walls, and it was completely flexible.

Without pics, it never happened.

 

[regguy1]

Check this out, different approach to pegboard: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/26-x-30-garage-photos-threads-and-videos.140674/

 

[Garcky]

Without pics, it never happened.

Ah, that was long, long ago. The only photo I have of that workshop is a faded magazine cover of the project, with me standing at a radial arm saw in front of the shop. It's not a great photo, but here it is:

 

[Garcky]

Check this out, different approach to pegboard: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/26-x-30-garage-photos-threads-and-videos.140674/

That's very nice, indeed! Thanks.

 

[Wiz02]

Hard to see in this pic, but the pegboard is tempered with a brushed stainless steel look. I did this years ago and haven't seen this style in many years. I prefer having my tools in toolbox es and cabinets, I did the pegboard for miscellaneous stuff

 

[Garcky]

Hard to see in this pic, but the pegboard is tempered with a brushed stainless steel look. I did this years ago and haven't seen this style in many years. I prefer having my tools in toolbox es and cabinets, I did the pegboard for miscellaneous stuff

Nice!

 

[p00p]

i would never compromise heating & cooling by just using pegboard as the drywall. An overlay of pegboard with a spacer behind the board works to keep the use of drywall & have storage on the wall... but I went off & just framed up some independent PB solutions that I can mount anywhere it'll fit. Thought about putting a large section of it on a track to make it float across the wall when ever I need to use those areas for something else. haven't looked into the tracking to support long runs, kinda expecting that to be expensive (load cap & all)

 

[Garcky]

i would never compromise heating & cooling by just using pegboard as the drywall. An overlay of pegboard with a spacer behind the board works to keep the use of drywall & have storage on the wall... but I went off & just framed up some independent PB solutions that I can mount anywhere it'll fit. Thought about putting a large section of it on a track to make it float across the wall when ever I need to use those areas for something else. haven't looked into the tracking to support long runs, kinda expecting that to be expensive (load cap & all)

Well, you have a point, but that workshop shed was in a coastal town in Central California, and neither heating nor cooling was an issue. However, the walls were insulated with standard glass batts with paper on both sides and had a vapor barrier. I never noticed anything with the pegboard that impacted the temperature of the place.

Over time, as I added stationary tools along the walls, that pegboard was really, really handy. But, to each his own, I guess.