To sheetrock or not???

[45 ACP]

Hello everyone. I introduced myself last week and now looking for a little advice.

I just bought a house that has a detached 3 car garage. The garage is not finished out and has the studs and rafters exposed. The previous owner has completely lined the walls with white pegboard (it looks mediocre at best) and the attic space above the garage is completely decked with plywood.

I will leave the ceiling as is, but I am considering taking down the pegboard and sheetrocking the walls. What do yall think about this? I have plans to build some extensive workbenches and shelving in the garage and would just prefer sheetrock.

The garage I have now is a 2 car and it is sheetrocked. I have a nice workbench and shelving and some pegboard hung and I like the looks of it. So, any benifits to having a unfinished garage, or any drawbacks to sheetrocking it?

Bare with me guys. Im a newbie and finally have my large detached garage and will be full of questions.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[38Chevy454]

Once you take down the old pegboard, put insulation between the studs. Then put your drywall on. The added insulation will make it warmer for winter and cooler in summer, benefit for both. Since it is detached, you might also consider OSB instead of drywall. Your choice and there are numerous threads on here about drywall vs OSB.

 

[volvo]

....
Remove, insulate, sheet rock, enjoy ...................................pictures.

 

[buzz4041]

As stated definately insulate first regardless of having or wanting AC and heat. I myself prefer plywood and paint for my walls but it does not give that completely finished look if that is what your after. I like it for strength as my shop is like a wing on my house and wings in hurricanes need to be strong.

 

[bigdav160]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

 

[Will67]

What's the condition of the exterior? The reason I ask, is if it is old and falling apart I would lean towards OSB as added shear strength and a way to straighten the structure...we did this for my dad's barn. If the structure is sound I would go with Sheetrock. Remember to take pictures of the walls for future reference for stud, wire, and/or plumbing locations in the wall. Insulate the heck out of it, it will be money well spent. I would suggest sheet rocking ceiling though and maybe decking the attic side of rafters with OSB for light weight storage.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

If you insulate, the neighbors don't get as alarmed when you practice with wax bullets in the garage....

If you are in the middle of nowhere, bang away without insulation.

If you get cold, do jumping jacks until you are warm.

If you get hot, buy a sprinkler and take turns with the kids running thru it.

Don't make life complicated.

 

[Aspen]

If you insulate, the neighbors don't get as alarmed when you practice with wax bullets in the garage....

If you are in the middle of nowhere, bang away without insulation.

If you get cold, do jumping jacks until you are warm.

If you get hot, buy a sprinkler and take turns with the kids running thru it.

Don't make life complicated.

I vote this one of the best responses of 2012 thus far.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

Unless you live where the temps stay between 50 and 80 insulation just makes sense on a comfort and efficiency level. Garages tend to get hot and cold easily, insulation moderates that. If you expect to heat of cool your garage, insulation makes it cheaper. Approaching 80° outside, and on a sunny day, an uninsulated garage can get very hot inside.

Anyhow, back to the question, here is my answer:

Jim

 

[mikeyr]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

I am in S. Calif. would you recommend insulation for me ? Too late, I insulated. R19 in the walls and R38 in the ceiling. Insulation is cheap and makes the garage a much nicer place to work in, I think its silly to build without insulation no matter where you are.

Oh by the way, I sheetrocked, I thought about OSB but my last garage was sheetrock and it worked fine, just be a little more careful when dealing with heavy objects near the wall, not a big deal.

 

[CARS]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

Because now would be the time to do it.

(and it says Texas under his user name)

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Don't forget about electrical!

 

[38Chevy454]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

He lives in TX, that is why I suggested it for keeping cool in summer as well as for heat in winter.

As stated by others, the insulation helps moderate the temp fluctuations.

You can build however you want, insulation is relatively cheap and effective.

 

[Falcon67]

Texas = insulate. Drywall is perfectly fine. Some of us just hate it and will use something else in our spaces, no big deal.

>If you are in the middle of nowhere, bang away without insulation.
West Texas

>If you get cold, do jumping jacks until you are warm.
Panhandle

>If you get hot, buy a sprinkler and take turns with the kids running thru it.
Houston, basically anywhere in summer

>Don't make life complicated.
LOL

We love it, but it can be rough sometimes.
http://home.hiwaay.net/~rhmahan/poem-txhl.htm

 

[NUTTSGT]

Why is the recommendation on GJ to insulate without knowing the location and details of the building?

I would not recommend insulation without it.

If you're covering the walls, it's easier to insulate now rather than later.

Whether you live in a hot, warm or cold climate, insulation will keep the inside from having rapid changes in air temp.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

To give you a real answer, I live in Georgia, insulated my 6" walls using batts (R19) and and had the ceiling blown in (R38). As for drywall or not.....

Now if I can just get some trim finished and little more painting done....

 

[45 ACP]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I live in Houston and its incredibly hot 8 months out of the year here. Not too worried about the cold.

I just wanted to make sure it wasnt a bad idea to sheetrock. I prefer the finished look of sheetrock. The garage is structurally sound. House is only 10 yrs old. There is an attic access in the garage and the entire attic is decked with plywood.... TONS of storage up there. I will not run heat and AC to the garage.

So it looks like I will insulate the walls and ceiling and install sheetrock. Good idea about taking pictures of existing plumbing and electrical.

Thank yall for the very helpful replies. We're planning on moving in about a month and Im sure I will have many more questions.

 

[WILD-BILL]

I recently finished my garage. (out here now as I post this

)

Like you I preferred the finished look of dry wall and painted it white to help reflect the light and make it brighter. Best move I made aside from the heater and the outlets.

 

[regguy1]

I recently finished my garage. (out here now as I post this

)

Like you I preferred the finished look of dry wall and painted it white to help reflect the light and make it brighter. Best move I made aside from the heater and the outlets.

I also like a finished look....
Look:

 

[Pure Oil]

We also did ours & painted the walls & ceiling semi-gloss white to reflect the light, works great.

 

[Slaman37]

As someone else said. Don't forget electrical... Go ahead and run all your electrical wires you want now, plus if you are going to install a compressed air distribution system and want it hidden do it now too.

Deffiately inulate. My last garage had OSB walls, it was always kind of dark and unfinished imo.. but it was a rental so I lived with it. My garage now is sheet rocked, just wish I would have had them insulate all the walls when it was being built... and add in some extra outlets... Someday I am going to decide on a paint scheme and paint it.