Pole Barn Interior

bhostasa · Oct 10, 2012

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!

LD1 · Oct 10, 2012

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.

leveled · Oct 10, 2012

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.

BrianDT · Oct 10, 2012

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.

gunnar52 · Oct 10, 2012

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!

sdkubota · Oct 10, 2012

Go with metal...and don't pile wood next to any wood structure you want to keep.

KennyG · Oct 10, 2012

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.

MNBobcat · Oct 11, 2012

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.

KennyG · Oct 11, 2012

Trying the pictures again. First the walls with polyiso insulation, vapor barrier, T-11 paneling as wainscot and OSB above it.

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

The workbench area with pegboard.

sdkubota · Oct 11, 2012

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!

ray66v · Oct 11, 2012

Depends a lot on what you intend to do inside the building. But, the perfect product for this job, has yet to be offered.

I have been involved in several pole barns that were drywalled inside, including a body shop, and it worked fine. It offers the best protection from fire, if that is a concern. It also makes repairs, and changes such as filling holes from remodeling easy.

OSB seems to be popular, I personally don't care for the look. But, it is cheap, fast, and easy. It unfortunately offers little resistance to fire.

The biggest drawback to steel, besides cost, and dents, seems to be installing it so that there is a tight enough, long lasting seal at the ceiling, to stop heat loss.

wedge40 · Oct 12, 2012

ray66v said:
.

The biggest drawback to steel, besides cost, and dents, seems to be installing it so that there is a tight enough, long lasting seal at the ceiling, to stop heat loss.

Isn't that what they invented caulk for?

Wedge

ray66v · Oct 12, 2012

wedge40 said:
Isn't that what they invented caulk for? Wedge

It is not a good building practice to rely solely on calk as a sealer. It can be used to produce a seal, provided the steel is fitted well enough to do it. But, calk does not usually provide a lasting seal.

There are also gaskets made for sealing steel siding.

It may be out there, but I have not seen the prefect solution yet.

KennyG · Oct 12, 2012

If you put up steel on the ceiling, you need to put up plastic (vapor barrier first). The plastic won't be a perfect seal, but it will get pretty close. I used 4 mil. Anything lighter probably won't hold up well enough to stay stapled in place. I can't even imagine the effort and cost to fully caulk a steel ceiling.

bhostasa · Oct 13, 2012

KennyG said:
Trying the pictures again. First the walls with polyiso insulation, vapor barrier, T-11 paneling as wainscot and OSB above it.
View attachment 284376

Then the ceiling with metal liner panel and the shelving, etc.
View attachment 284377

The workbench area with pegboard.
View attachment 284378

thanks for the pictures KennyG. Looks really good. How long have you had the OSB up? Have you had any issues with the sheets delaminating?

leveled · Oct 13, 2012

If my son would have not taken my camera plug I would post some pics of my shop with osb painted and metal on the ceiling. BTW I have Never heard of OSB coming apart without water involved.

KennyG · Oct 13, 2012

bhostasa said:
thanks for the pictures KennyG. Looks really good. How long have you had the OSB up? Have you had any issues with the sheets delaminating?

That OSB has only been up about 6 months. I decided to leave it unfinished because I have a small storage shed sheathed with OSB (shingles and vinyl siding) that is 13 years old and the interior of the OSB (smooth side) looks brand new.

George2615 · Oct 13, 2012

My pole barn is an addition to the back of my 24' x 24' garage. I built it 18' x 32'. Walls have metal siding outside and metal roof, 6" insulation in the walls and ceiling, and unfinished OSB walls inside. Electric outlets were installed every 8'. Lighting is 8- 4' T8 florescent. I use a mobile home furnace to heat it when I'm out there in winter. If you use OSB you could paint it white to brighten up the area. Drywall isn't too good for a garage or pole barn in my opinion. I did my 24 x 24 garage in drywall and but found it is too easily damaged. When I get the time I'm going to re-do it with OSB as well. I tried attaching some pics but the manage attachments isn't working for me today.

bleazenb · Oct 15, 2012

I am at the same place in my building project. I have a 40x56x12 foot with it split into a 40x28 shop side and a 40x28 unfinished storage side. Think i'm going with the OSB painted white with a steel liner ceiling. I visited several friends shops and majority love the OSB sidewalls. Think I'm going with electrical run in conduit on the surface of the OSB so I can easily add outlets and lighting as I finish it out. How are you running your electrical and are you heating your barn?