Pole Barn Interior

   / Pole Barn Interior #1  

bhostasa

Silver Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
127
Location
Central OH
Tractor
Mahindra 2015 HST
Hi Everyone -

I finally saved up enough pennies to build a new pole barn. It's 30 x 40 x 12 with an 11' overhang on the back (40' side) for firewood, etc. I'm hoping to pour concrete this week so it's time to start deciding how I'm going to finish the inside. I'm planning on insulating. I'm also planning on running my electric in conduit. So, the question is what material should I use to finish the interior walls and ceiling?

Originally, I was going to go with the white metal from floor to ceiling. Recently I've been thinking about going 8' high with OSB or plywood and then the metal at the top 4'. I could also do drywall. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences? I'll mostly be doing woodworking projects in here but also servicing our vehicles and the tractor. Any feedback (or even pictures) would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #2  
Nix the drywall. A garage is not the place for it.

That leaves OSB and metal. And there are pros and cons to both.

Personally, I opted for OSB and painted it white. OSB is cheaper, and with it painted white, reflects more light similar to white metal. But that was back when osb was under $5 a sheet. I think 7-16 osb is now like $11 or so. With 32 sq ft per sheet, you are talking in the ballpark of $0.33 per square ft.

Metal is sold by the lineal foot. Around me, the interior liner stuff is ~$2 per ft, and covers 3' wide. That puts you @ $0.67 per square ft. So the OSB is ~1/2 the cost.

The advantages to metal is....Its already painted and reflects light better.

OSB advantages, if you want to hang something, you can hang it anywhere. Just drive a nail. Its cheaper.

Really no right or wrong way to do it. Just a matter of personal preference. If you go the OSB route, paint it NOW. Before you have a building full of junk in the way.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #3  
OSB is nice since it does lay flat and easy to build shelves benches etc thats why I used osb plus it was cheap at that time now it is not. I screwed my panels on so if I ever needed to access anything I could just remove a panel, I also painted it semi gloss white. I did use metal on the ceiling since it was easier to install and it went good with my lighting. I will take a picture and post it up later on this evening.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #4  
I always wondered how they would put outlets in due to you not knowing if the outlet will be on the expanded part of the metal. Seems like the outlets would all have to stick out 3/4" to make sure you did not catch the ridges on half of the outlet.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #5  
I just finished the inside of mine. I did a combo....what I felt was the best of both. I was originally going to do all metal, with the first 4' or 6' from the floor a darker color metal and then the rest white, along with the ceiling. That way it shows less dirt. The only thing that I've seen is that it's a pain to hang shelves and other things in the metal. So I did 4' feet from the floor metal (beige colored) then OSB to the ceiling which is white metal. Verry happy with how it came out.

If you would like to see pics, let me know. Good luck!
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #6  
Go with metal...and don't pile wood next to any wood structure you want to keep.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #7  
I tried to attach pictures, but it's not working tonight. I've been finishing an old pole barn. Like gunnar, I did a wainscot but I used some salvaged T-11 paneling I had for the first 40". Then I put OSB above it. I didn't paint the OSB. I figured most of it would be covered by white pegboard and shelving and I don't mind the bare look. I put 1x2 strips every 4 feet at the seams of the OSB which gives it a finished look and provides the stand off for the pegboard. I'm doing the ceiling with steel liner panel. I will blow cellulose in after I finish the roof.

Everyone will have his own preferences, but a couple of items I learned: I ran the wiring in the walls and above the ceiling. If I had it to do over, I would do conduit on the surface. It would really speed up the insulation and the wall/ceiling panel installation. I mostly work by myself. I bought (on e-bay) a high lift drywall lift to do the ceiling panels and it's wonderful. Combined with a couple of used sets of bakers scaffold and my 12 foot ceiling work was easy by myself. I should have bought it earlier and used it for the wall OSB panels also.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #8  
I spray foamed my walls and now I'm going to fir them out and put up white metal floor to ceiling. Where I will hang overhead cabinets, I'll put extra 2x4 firring so that I have something to screw them into. All of my wiring will be in conduit on the outside of the walls.

The white metal should be easier to clean then wood. Also, I can weld without worrying about the sparks burning the place down.
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #9  
Trying the pictures again. First the walls with polyiso insulation, vapor barrier, T-11 paneling as wainscot and OSB above it.
pb1.jpg

Then the ceiling with metal liner panel and the shelving, etc.
pb2.jpg

The workbench area with pegboard.
pb3.jpg
 
   / Pole Barn Interior #10  
I sheet rocked my 26' x 40' garage and it was a pain in the rear. Taping the seams went on forever and I would never do it again. Even though the temp never gets below freezing I have more than a few sheetrock seams that have cracked. White...sheet...steel!
 
 
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