shop wall question

[keith zimmerman]

:confused:
After this weekend, I hope to be at a point in my shop construction to be able to start covering the walls. I am in a bit of a quandry trying to decide what to use for a wall covering. The walls are 2x4 construction 16" on center with R11 insulation.

The shop is freestanding and the constructed part is 12'x24' and attached to a 12'x20 concrete structure that already existed. I tied them together in an L-shaped configuration.

I have been considering 1/2 plywood, cheap paneling, or drywall, but was wondering what others have used on their shop walls.

BTW, The shop is subject to extremes in temperature and humidity due to being in Central Illinois.

TIA

KeithZ

[John Weber]

Keith.

I used knotty pine 8" carsiding over furred studs. It gives a great classic look, adds 1" of rigid foam insulation, is perfect for hanging stuff anywhere, and is very easy to do. It also gives you a great reason to buy a finish nailer if you don't already have one.

John

<img src=http://www.weberwoodworking.com/pond/Shop%20-%20Storm%20Doors.jpg>

[robertfsmith]

My shop has unfinished drywall. Looks like crap, but atleast I got a shop now. It was a garage that my landlord started to turn into an office, but changed their mind before painting it. So I got to use it for my wood shop.

John, I love the pine walls. When I buy a house and build a 40x60 shop witha 40x60 wood and project storage building, I'm gonna do the walls similar to yours. Ok maybe I'm dreaming about having A nice BIG shop, but "Hey ya never know. A dollar and a dream." Right?

[Howard Ruttan]

I priced out pine but the cost was prohibitive. I also wanted something on the walls that allowed me to hang stuff any where. Many people told me that OSB looked good with some varnish, but preferring the panelled look, I chose to use 8" center T1-11 exterior plywood siding. I plan to paint it eventually but even raw it looks almost as nice as pine and was fast and easy to intall.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

I've got T111 in the 'old' section of the shop, drywall in the new section. When I build the NEW shop one day soon (I hope), I'll use 1/2 drywall on the lower and T111 up high, with some cheap molding to cover the transition. You can get a really cool 'antique' look by putting a coat or two of cheap paint (WalMart brand) on the T111. One coat really soaks in and kinda looks more like a whitewash...the second coat covers more but still leaves some 'yellow' showing. Very attractive, IMO.

KC

[Jim Izat]

I've had painted drywall on both my shops, but when I get everything set up I hang so much on the walls that I don't see that much of it. It's cheap, easy, and good practice.

Jim Izat

[Spence DePauw]

I used 3/4" OSB, overlaid with 1/8" masonite with a white surface ($8/sheet at Menards). Very strong, reflects a lot of light, and best of all, I didn't have to paint it! Keith, I'm in Washington IL. If you want to come look at it for an example, let me know.

Spence

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

I used varnished 3/4" plywood on 1x4 stringers everything screwed. I made the chase over the electrical panel easy to access. I can open any wall down the road for rewiring, etc.

I paid $25/sheet for cabinet grade meranti plywood. The walls in the storage area and down one side are corrugated sheet iron. It's dirt cheap and goes up quick. One side of my shop will be elegant, the other ordinary.

[Mike Brewster]

I haven't installed anything in my shop yet, but after considering all the alternatives, I'm going to use 5/8" drywall. If you look around the web, shop fires are not unheard of. Many, including Ellis from WC have lost everything. Drywall may not stop a fire but it won't spread as quickly.

Mike

[Jim Baker]

I used 1/2" OSB and sprayed on a texture (to mask the seams), then painted it all white.

[John Wadsworth]

When we put the shop-within-the-barn together ten years ago, I went with rough pine board and batten walls (for reasons that seemed good at the time).

Every time I go to hang something on these walls, I rue that decision--the bats are always in the way. Plus, it's amazing how much floor space you lose because that bats push everything out from the wall a fat 3/4".

[Lynn Kasdorf]

I really dislike drywall. Especially in a shop, where you will be hanging things everywhere, drywall would make me crazy.

I am lucky in that the walls of my shop are 3/4" rough sawn oak! The builders used this for the exterior and interior of this garage/barn/workshop. It makes is easy to hang things anywhere I want, although I need to drill pilot holes before driving drywall screws, lest they snap off.

I have drywall on the ceiling, and boy what a hassle it is. The stuff tears so easily. I really woudl like to have wood on the ceiling painted white, but I'll deal with it...

About the only good thing about drywall is the fire retardant characteristics.

So- I'd suggest any of the wood alternatives, like plywood or t-111.

I like Dr. Zack's approach- being able to unscrew a panel in the future for easy access.

[Tom Gattiker]

Drywall is fireproof (for 30 min at least), cheap, easy to cut and it is also better than most sheet goods for reducing noise transmission to the outside (this was a big deal for my shop).

You can mark the studs on the DW as you hang it in order to loate them later for haning stuff.

[keith zimmerman]

I saw in yesterday's paper that one of the local big boxes has 1/4" luan plywood on sale this week for $6.66. I may use that stuff on my walls because it is cheap and has a smooth surface. I figure I can do all the interior walls for under $200.

Thanks again

[Randy Miller]

Quarter inch plywood is not going to give you a nice smooth finish for very long. The seams will not look that good, and it can break very easily. I don't think it offers much in terms of screw holding power either. Given the choice, I'd prefer drywall to quarter inch ply.

Just my $.02

-Randy

[Ron Taylor]

OSB and very happy!

HD sells 1/2" OSB for less than five bucks. It is WOOD, cuts easily, and hangs easier than drywall. No taping and mudding.
It is all screwed with drywall screws for down-the-road mods to electrical, etc. Right now, it is still bare, but I intend to paint most of the walls white to reflect light. Some I may cover with TG Poplar since I have several thousand sq ft of it reclaimed.

I can screw, drill, cut, paint, undo, and redo to my hearts content cuz OSB is the cheapest per sq ft that I found and it is sturdy enough to handle most anything I throw at it (sometimes literally).

[Paul D. May]

This is one of those tails or pins first questions or which planer should I buy :-)

I use drywall cuz I have done a lot of it and it looks good painted. Since I built the new shop (http://www.geocities.com/paulncath1/shop.html) late last year in a residential area, I was looking at resale value as well.

[Von Bickley]

Keith,

I have OSB on the walls and ceiling. I have been well satisfied with mine. I only wish I would have painted everything before I built shelves, work benches and cabinets. I still plan on taping everything off and spray paint everything white. I like being able to hang things anywhere on the walls, regardless if there's a stud there.

[Lee Schierer]

I have 1/4" peg board on my walls aroung the upper part of the shop. You should still cover the insulation underneath with something like drywall, OSB or T-111. Exposed insulation is not good. It damages easily and defeats the purpose when it gets poked full of holes.

[Scott in Douglassville, PA]

Thank you, Lee! Pegboard, pegboard, pegboard. Hafta think how many square feet of it I used - it's a lot. And came primed white. Looks good, relatively cheap, and every trip to dePot's like Christmas 'cause I can browse the pegboard goodies!

[Lee Schierer]

Didn't paint mine, would have made the shop brighter. Too much work now, I'd have to take down all the tools.