Workshop Wall and Ceiling Finishing

[jbcat2]

I am in the finishing stages of my 30 x 50 pole building that I will be using for a garage and workshop. I am looking for ideas on what type of wall and ceiling materials members have been using. I have been tossing around using OSB, Metal siding, Drywall.... I will post pics later. Thanks - JB

 

[rtdiggr]

I like the idea of plywood or osb for the sides. I have sent in some pics a light weight metal for the ceiling.
I don't like drywall, at least not for a working workshop. If it is more for show than drywall is fine.

Shane

 

[jimmer2880]

I have been kicking around how to finish my garage/shop also. I like the metal on the ceiling. However, the only thing that I don't like about metal ceiling is how much it bounces the noise. My shop is noisy enough, it doesn't need help. Noise alone may be the only reason why I put drywall on the ceiling.

As far as the walls go, it'll be drywall there also. Mainly for price per square foot. I don't like the look of OSB, and 1/2" plywood is just too expensive. In my "tool corner", I'll cover the drywall with some painted 3/4" plywood to hang tools & stuff from.

I'll probably end up hanging the drywall and not finishing it. I will go ahead and prime it though.

 

[DeNiro]

Drywall is a good thing to use for the fire retardant properties it offers especially in a work area where welding and fuel are often the cause of accidents. If it is a work area you need not finish it completely, but just finish the joints to make it meet the fire code and also to help seal the heat in a little better. It is also cheap and easy to install and pretty repairable in the case of accidental damage.

 

[claridon]

I used drywall to finish the walls in my 24' X 24' shop because I don't like spending money. I did a quick job of taping the joints. In the garage I had where we used to live I simply caulked the joints and that worked fine also. I painted the drywall with a white enamel paint to make it as bright as possible inside.
The other thing I did was to insulate (R13) the walls and ceiling. Although it's not heated, I have no trees shading the shop and it would get uncomfortably hot in there on those sunny summer days (remember them?)

 

[elkun1]

I used white metal on sides and ceiling. almost had to wear sunglasses it was so brite in there when new. not as brite now. would definetely use white paint on whatever you use. noise doesn't seem any worse than any other shop, but then i'm kinda hard of hearing(probably from using to much ether for setting beads on tires). I ran all wiring in conduit I would do it again even though it's a little more work to hang stuff from wall. I like a brite shop, I even used white epoxy on the floor. That i wouldn't do again Welding spatter and cutting torch sparks burn thru it and it looks like c*#p. shure was brite though. Have fun with it, Ron

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't have anything on my ceilings yet. Still kicking that one around with out any rush to get it done. On my walls, I put OSB. I think it looks good, but more importantly, it's very functional. I can hang just about anything on it, or attach stuff to it. It's more work then sheetrock, but ten times more useful in my opinion.

Eddie

 

[RonMar]

I have plywood behind all the work benches and wall cabinets. The rest of the walls and ceiling will be drywall once I get the rest of the insulation up.

 

[sjcmba]

I am in the same dilemma. I have a 52 x 42 x 12 Morton Building. I ruled out metal due to the difficulty in mounting shelves or anything else on the wall. The ribs in the metal would keep shelving from being flush with the wall.

I then thought about using OSB, and painting it white. The price is right. I'm just not thrilled with OSB. Drive a screw near the edge, and it self destructs, which could present problems if you want/need to remove panels in the future. I'm looking at plywood at this time. I think it will look better than OSB with a coat of paint and also believe it will hold up better. Yes, it is more expensive than OSB, but I want to do it once and be happy.

I have a friend who just built a smaller Morton building. He is looking at plywood for the first 4 feet, then metal above that.

Good Luck!

 

[GarthH]

I've been planning a shop for a few years now. There is no question in my mind to use some type of wood - I would prefer a plywood over OSB. The reason is it is so easy to attach anything to a wood whereas drywall you always need to find a stud. OSB is bad because it often blisters when it gets wet. I have also considered MDF but also have some issues with water but not as badly.

I like the flooring t&g plywood. It will have a nice smooth finish and is available in 1/2" or 5/8".

I would likely run the sheets to at least 6' level obviously to 8' because of the sheet size.

My brother put the wood on the ceiling and can attach almost anything to it such as lights and other nice features.

At least my two bits.

Garth

 

[2manyrocks]

You could install plywood or OSB in the areas where you know you want to attach things and then sheetrock over them with fire retardant sheetrock (wallboard). Gives you something to attach to and is fire retardant.

The other idea would be to run 3/4 x 6 stock lath strips first at the floor, 2' up, 4' up, etc., and then attach the drywall to that. Then you have something to attach to later at least in those spots.

I don't know anything much about it, but I think there is some kind of fire retardant you can apply to wood. But I wouldn't rely on it for a welding area. I suppose you could put concrete tile backer board over wood if you plan to weld in a certain area.

I haven't seen too many OSB boards that look great no matter how you paint them.

 

[keving]

I decided to use OSB up to the 12' level on the sides and 14' on the endwalls. As you can see the ceiling is metal and insulated above. Tonight I finished putting the OSB up on all the walls. Next step is to prime and then I will use an industrial urethene white paint to brighten up the place. I have same combo in my garage at home and it works great. Cost to do 48x40 including OSB, primer, paint, and materials = approx. $2000.00 (and a s-load of weekends)

 

[uphill]

White metal for ceilings works great, never needs painting and is tough in the long run. A little hint, build a gig out of a 2x4 about 6 ft long, hung just below (2 in.) the roof truss or ceiling joist. It hooks over the joist from one end and the center of the 2x4, with 3 foot extending toward/where your next sheet of metal will go. You will have 2 in. between jig and ceiling joist and just slide the next piece of metal (locate the jig in the center of the metal sheet to be installed) between the jig and joist and it will hold the entire sheet of metal up in the proper place for securing. Works great for 1 man installation no matter how long the sheet of metal is.

 

[GeneD14]

Your shop is looking great! A few years ago I learned to hold the OSB off the floor about 1/2" so it wouldn't soak up any water off of the garage floor. Once OSB gets wet it usually swells up and starts to fragment.

 

[PA hayseed]

heres my 2 cents

I put OSB up on the walls, half inch off the floor. I insulated the walls with r24 r13 and 3" rigid foam insulation (whatever I could get cheap). I used r13 and rigid foam panels to do the ceiling. The shiny metal reflective coating on the panels helps in the winter. I also painted my OSB with any junk white paint I could find.

I like the OSB over the drywall for one reason, its tough. Drywall always seems to break, and doesn't hold screws or nails well. If installing the OSB yourself, think about getting a nail gun and some acq nails, and a jigsaw for your outlets. Makes installing it a breeze.

 

[ilarcher]

All of the ideas are good so far. OSB is good for the price. We used OSB at work for our shop walls. We can hang anything on the walls where ever we want. OSB is very functional in that aspect. We did hold the OSB 1" off the floor in case of water. We then painted all the OSB with a oil base primer, this stuf was thick and cover really well it just took a little time to get it all painted. Then we painted with 2 coats of a latex paint, with these 3 coats of paint it fill all the gaps in the OSB, with the oil base primer as a first coat it made the walls pretty much water proof because the oil soaks into the OSB. We then took 2x4 green treat and ran that along the floor and caulk the joints at the floor and against the OSB. It works great for us, its bright, water repellent, and the 2x4's on the floor help make sure we don't tear up the walls.

We did however screw all the OSB to the walls so if we ever wanted to get into the wall.

This is a professional wood shop too and everybody that comes into the shop is amazed that the walls are cover in OSB.

Oh ya the shop is 60x40 with 18' ceilings and the ceilings are sheet metal with radiant heat.

 

[keving]

We did however screw all the OSB to the walls so if we ever wanted to get into the wall.

I did the same and it has proven to be a good idea.

Oh ya the shop is 60x40 with 18' ceilings and the ceilings are sheet metal with radiant heat.

What type of radiant heat? Manufacturer, specs, costs...etc. Thanks!

 

[Rory_Rhodes]

Have you considered a few sheets of slatwall? A 4x8 sheet of 3/4 with a plastic melamine finish is +/- $45. Slatwall has horizontal grooves that take a variety of shelves and hooks, all available through used store fixture sources or the internet. Hit any Dollar General store and you will see the storage options. I have pictures if needed of slatwall in use in my garage and basement. My new shop will have it once studded.

 

[jjmarotz]

Back when my dad had his shop built, (which I now own), he installed corrugated tin from the foundation up to the 7-8' mark. This in my opinion is the most secure way to protect your insulation and wiring from the elements of a typical shop. There will always be sparks, flying debrit, and occasionally a tool or two. And is also flame resistant to a certain extent, where as wood is kind of scary down low. The tin will take more abuse than painted OSB, and requires NO maintinace once installed, unlike wood surfaces which attract and hold dust and dirt no matter what kind of paint is used. Just look at the color of my painted walls vs. the tin walls, pic 4. Kind of hard to tell from the pic, but the top right room I added on last year, for powder coating, I painted white to match the rest of the loft area is much brighter than the rest of it. One can still hang things on the tin by using rivets or self tapping screws. If needed hang pegboard to organize things even better.

 

[mjncad]

For those using OSB or other flammable wall covering stuff near a welding area; how about hanging welding curtain material from the wall. You can have yellow, red or gray I believe.