What material to use for walls

[kumquat]

Drywall is fire proof. If you do any welding in the garage, it is good to have that piece of mind. As Kaizen said, plywood is a higher cost per square foot. Contact a couple drywall guys and get a quote to install drywall, you might be surprised.

Yes, drywall is fire resistant but not fire proof. I had a fire in my attached garage, started by a fault in the NG tube radient heater. Beneath it was a wooden bench and nearby were some plywood cabinets containing things like gas and oil. The walls were 5/8 drywall. In the 6 minutes it took the FD to respond, the fire destroyed 2 cars (one an uninsured classic), the entire garage and singed the wall between garage and house. Major smoke damage in the house, total ~ $150K.

If the walls were OSB or plywood, the house would have gone with it. In the rebuild, I insisted on (and paid more for) 1 inch of drywall. As well I paid more for metal cabinets and bench. There is almost nothing that will burn in my garage today, that isn't in a steel cabinet, and it will stay that way.

Don't cheap out, fire happens.

 

[rburke65]

It always cost you twice what you think.

 

[PugetDude]

Not sure why so many people are afraid of drywall. It's fire-resistant, cost-effective, easy to repair, and doesn't require a lot of specialty tools or experience to install, finish, or maintain.

 

[u2slow]

I'm doing plywood in my shop. One wall is insulated, vapour barrier'd, boarded, and painted now. There is a short stem wall.

There's enough drywall in the house that I work on. I hate it. None in the shop for me thanks.

 

[James-W]

I have drywall on the walls and ceiling of my garage and I am VERY happy with it. I wouldn't go with anything else.

 

[Alex K. Grant]

How about rough-cut pine boards?

Here is my barn upstairs about 8 years ago when I was adding the pine boards

Looks cool, but I suppose it's the most expensive variant

 

[wesst]

I used smart siding that arrived primed and wood grain pattern. Not cheap, but no wall covering is. By the time you add paint, caulk, mud or tape, it’s very close in cost.

(Ignore the drop down ladder. I ended up with stairs)

 

[OccupantRJ]

I’m considering OSB or plywood myself, but some sort of metal near my welding and machining area.

My shop has 1/2” BC plywood on the walls except for the compressor room which is drywall.