Should I paint my drywall???

[Gary Chester]

I rebuilt the shop, put in new drywall, but I can't decide if I want to paint it. Well I know I don't WANT to mud, sand, prime and paint...

Anybody else go thru this decision? Any big advantage to painting other than looks?

One thing that would be a bit of a pain is the lights are up and dust collection piping is on the wall... and no way is any of that coming down so I'd have to work around it.

I know it's a personal decision only I can make.....

Today I don't want to, yesterday I wanted to, day before that I didn't, day before that I did.........

Did you?

[Jerome Hanby]

Not sure if there is any durability reasons to paint, other than than that only reason i can think of would be to brighten the shop. nice white with good shop lights would make things nice and bright.

[Don Jarvie]

I painted but didn't tape, etc. I used an off white but looking back maybe a light tan would make the shop feel a bit warmer.

[Heather Thompson]

I would suggest to paint the drywall, even though you have dust collection there will be dust accumulation in the shop and it is just easier to take the air hose and blow it out the front door, it will come off the walls easier that way. As far a color selection goes, I used an eggshell white that will let me wipe it down with a wet spong if needed.

Heather

[Glenn Kramer]

My first shop was taped drywall that I painted white. My new shop is taped drywall and my wife chose the color. I am pleased that she selected a pale brown, sort of like coffee with to much cream. By cabinet work is standard birch prefinished ply.

I totally enjoy this space and my wife enjoys it so much, she likes to come out and help me with the sanding and finishing work. White was good, but with good lighting it is to bright for my eyes. I do not think there is anything more visually depressing than unpainted drywall. Paint......it's cheap and also makes clean up easier!

[Dave Sepucha]

Funny you should ask... My "shop" is in my garage which was unpainted drywall. Just this weekend I painted the wall that is my primary work area and I am thrilled with the difference. (My wife is a big fan too) This wall has my lumber rack and DC on it which was a pain to deal with, but I'm very happy with the decision to paint it. Now I can't wait to finish the rest of the room.

The existing tape and mud on the walls was a bit rough, so I did a quick and dirty skip trowel finish (no sanding) to hide the lines and imperfections, but didn't spend time trying to make it perfect. A coat of primer is a must on bare drywall, and since my paint color isn't too different from the primer, I just did a single coat of paint.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[ray hampton]

Dave,I hope that you can paint better than I did when my primer and top coat were similar so I change the primer color, two coats of primer so I could see where I stop painting

[Chris Tsutsui]

I think taping and mudding can help seal the walls to help with insulation (sound and thermal), also help with fire supression.

Adding a drywall texture spray and paint can affect the acoustics slightly and add light reflections if you use a glossy or light colored paint.

Though personally I would probably not do anything because it will be a lot of work. :) The only negative I really see is bare drywall will start to get ugly because it's like having paper on the wall.

My garage has a combination of painted and mudded drywall, then one area is painted and caulked seams OSB wall for mounting my lawn and garden stuff.

I would definitely look or call around for "oops" paint to use as that will save you a lot on paint. Drywall primer is usually the cheapest primer.

[Peter Aeschliman]

My shop has un-finished drywall. I considered taping, mudding, and painting... but my wiring is in my walls. Although the location of my machinery is mostly figured out, I've changed them around enough that I wouldn't want to have to tear out the drywall to move an outlet. Plus i've done taping and mudding and it's very low on my list of things I ever want to do again... which would only make having to rip it down to get to my wiring even more painful.

As it stands now, I can just unscrew the drywall... easy peasy. Sure, it ain't pretty... but it's a shop!

[ray hampton]

why don,t the drywall company apply a primer and paint top coat at their factory ?

[Jim Andrew]

Only downside I can really see is, if you don't paint drywall, the paper yellows to a basicly light brown. And shows stains from any moisture. So my shop is painted. If you do want to tape it, use a tool called a banjo, maybe there is a diy version out there, that you basically mix the mud thin, and put tape in, it applies mud to both sides of the tape, and you just pull it out, put it on the seam and use a knife or your hand to make sure it is stuck well to the wall. Have seen it done both ways, really works much better than putting a coat on the wall and then applying the tape. Using a wide knive for the filling coat is much easier than using a trowl. When finishing my drywall, found these tools very helpful.

[Bernie May]

I did the initial tape and mud job on my walls, skipping sanding and mudding coats 2 and 3. I primed and painted with a flesh colored eggshell finish. four yeas later I still love it. unpainted drywall is definitely not going to look as nice long term nor reflect light adequately.
-bernie

[Paul Merrill]

I would recomend priming and painting, then add some type of latice strip over the butt and tape joints.

[Mike Henderson]

Around here, you can get someone to mud and texture your walls for a decent price, if the drywall is already hung. While I really dislike finishing drywall, it's not so terrible that I wouldn't do it.

Mike

[Trinna Langdon]

I went through this too. I had untaped and unpainted drywall in my shop for a few years. Turns out there are little bugs that like to eat the paper off the drywall. I'd finish the job if I were you before the bugs claim it.

[Rich Harman]

I've just finished painting all the drywall in my shop. One coat of drywall primer followed by two coats of eggshell white. Before hanging the drywall I installed many new outlets and fiberglass insulation followed by 1" foam insulation over the top. I put in a dozen canned lights in the ceiling and will be blowing in R30 cellulose in the attic. Next up will be to paint the concrete floor with epoxy floor paint - white of course.

A couple years ago I switched from the paper tape to the adhesive mesh tape. It is so much easier. If you want a little bit of a shortcut you can just do two coats of mud and finish using a texture gun. For my shop I used three coats of mud and it turned out near professional quality - or better than professional depending on who the professional is. My previous workspace I textured both the walls and ceiling. I was surprised that the texturing really didn't affect my ability to keep it clean. I opted not to texture this time mainly because it was not practical to move everything out of the way in order to spray the texture in one go.

My goal is to have a nice, clean, warm, well lit and organized shop. Mudding/painting the drywall was mandatory.

[Troy Turner]

Yeah, tape and mudding is a PITA...but the end result is worth it.

If your tools aren't back in the shop yet, should be a weekend project. Don't necessarily have to texture it, but if you wanted to, HF has the guns for about $20 or so. We did our whole house with one. And depending on the size of your shop, you could spray the paint on the walls. Even if you decided to roll it, still think it can be done in a weekend.

As far as primer goes, it does make the paint go on easier, but you could just put two coats of paint on it and call it good.

Anyone see any reason he couldn't paint his duct work to blend in with the walls???

[Joe Angrisani]

....As far as primer goes, it does make the paint go on easier, but you could just put two coats of paint on it and call it good.....

If you tape and mud, you MUST prime if you decide to paint it. Regular paint will not stick to the areas with mud.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Do it. Do it once, do it right, and sit back and admire your work. Otherwise, every time you go into the shop you will have that nagging regret/question lurking in your head "Wonder what it would look like it I did it back then . . . . ?"

You won't regret it if you do it; but you will regret it if you don't do it.

Get off the computer, go do it, and then post a picture of the finidhed product! NOW.

[Gary Chester]

Yikes!!!

Y'all are a tough crowd, but I know you're right. I guess I know what I'll be doing today.

Thanks for the push.

Once begun, the job is half done.... I'm tryin' to get goin'... really I am...

Will I still get some turkey if I'm not done by Thanksgiving??? or Christmas???

[Rich Engelhardt]

Tape it, mud it, and sand it - then prime and paint it.
Taping painted drywall down the road is an experience you don't want to list on your resume of "things I have done in llife that sounded like a good idea when I did it, but later on found out wasn't all that hot of an idea"....

It's certainly not as bad as painting over mudded seams, then going back and trying to sand them ------

Or

Filling nail holes with an oil putty, then going back and staining the surface....

Those two are things you do that @ some point you wonder if you dad meeting your mom was such a hot idea......

[Kevin W Johnson]

Why not paint the drywall, and seal the joints with caulk? Seems like a better solution than taping and mudding a shop area.

[Jim Andrew]

I had a buddy who used the adhesive mesh tape on a remodel, and it cracked on every joint.

[Rich Harman]

I had a buddy who used the adhesive mesh tape on a remodel, and it cracked on every joint.

How long did it take for the cracks to appear?

[Troy Turner]

If you tape and mud, you MUST prime if you decide to paint it. Regular paint will not stick to the areas with mud.

Haven't had any problems so far. Just used regular latex paint. Some eggshell some semi-gloss. Sprayed the mud for texture, then two coated it. 5 yrs later and still going strong :)

I do agree that if you don't do it, you'll have that in the back of you mind everytime you walk into the shop.

And yes, you can have some turkey for Thanksgiving, but if it's not done by Christmas (and with pictures) then no turkey and a lump of coal for you :D

[Joe A Faulkner]

I don't remember the wood working text, but somewhere along the line I read something to the effect that "your workshop is place you should look forward to returning to time and time again".

I encourage you to finish the drywall - it's not that hard, and paint. While I say it isn't that hard, it is rather easy to do it poorly. Do a little research, and give it a go - take your time, and it will turn out well. Good luck!

[Jim Becker]

Painting will even up the light distribution and also help with keeping things clean. The unfinished surface of drywall is somewhat "rough" and will hold dust a lot more than satin/semi-gloss paint will.

[Jamie Schmitz]

Sounds like you are going to paint and I think it is a good call also. If you do not want to hassle with painting around pipes/lights one choice would be to tape a straight line with some low tack tape-1 1/2" blue. Also one particular problem with painting that you have to watch out for is making sure that the nails or screws do not rust. This can be a problem if you do not mud over them, and even if you do. The problem happens if the mud does not dry quick enough when topped w/mud or also if they get painted without being primed on a dry day. Not to sound to paranoid but it is really annoying when they rust and hard to fix. Jim made a good point also.

[ray hampton]

a coat of oil paint over the nail or screw heads will prevent rust
[ I hope ]

[Ole Anderson]

Would you leave one of your wooden shop projects unfinished? To me, my shop is one of my prized projects. Not a means to an end. That being said, I haven't gone back and painted my unfinished walls in the older portion of my shop yet, too much stuff on the walls, but now that I put it in words, it is now on my list. But those walls are not unfinished paper surfaced drywall, they are either pegboard or OSB. My newer OSB walls are painted with a pure white satin finish.

[Phil Thien]

I had a buddy who used the adhesive mesh tape on a remodel, and it cracked on every joint.

Probably used pre-mixed mud. First coats should be hot.

[Ken Cohen]

Just finished taping, mudding and painting newly built garage area shop. Incredible nuisance, but result makes it worthwhile. Successful mudding requires skill and experience -- and, boy, do I lack it.

One big lesson learned. DO NOT use adhesive perforated tape (from HD, of course) as a taping short-cut. Yes, it saved time. But every joint cracked, not just the tricky butt joints, but every joint. After this fiasco, I found an online post that said that mesh and perforated tapes are not well suited to garages which must endure significant temperature changes. I leave it to others to comment, but it looks like old fashioned taping and mudding is required in an outdoor setting.

[marcia ellen]

I have a taped, painted, and vented workshop started. I have a friend who is helping me outfit it, but it was like an Abbot and Costello routine. I have the space but not the skills yet. Ready to learn, so finishing the small shop inspires me to go further and learn more.

[glenn bradley]

It's a shop, If you don't want to tape, don't. That said, I did. Priming and painting with a gloss or semi-gloss white really increased the light output and cured shadow issues through reflected light. If anything were to drive me to paint, my experience of before and after effects on the lighting would do it ;-)

[Michael Perry]

Do it right mud it tape it and paint it you are going to spend a lot of time there.Mine had bare drywall the dust really likes to grab that.i fixed the hundreds of holes looking for studs and prime and painted it.It now has a much warmer feeling and I want to spend more time there.like mike Holmes says do it right.....

[Gary Chester]

UPDATE!!

I'm sure you are all very curious as to the status of my drywall situation... yea right... drywall... scheesch... BORING... chuckle...

Well I've taped, mudded, sanded and primed. There's still a bit of touch-up, but painting isn't that far off... if I can just get the mud in the corners to dry...http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon8.png

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Doing the ceiling is a great way to stretch your neck muscles,

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A new tool makes a not so fun job much more tolerable,

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I bought a HEPA type filter for sanding the drywall, it worked great but got clogged too often... so I bought a Dust Deputy to filter the dust BEFORE it gets to the shop vac. Works GREAT! No dust anywhere, can't even smell it. Highly recommended. And it's a hoot to watch the drywall dust swirl around!!

[Peter Aeschliman]

Well done!

That picture of you sanding makes me cringe though. Talk about an aching neck and back!!!

Having done drywall before, that is most definitely a job I will pay a professional to do from now on!!

[Gary Chester]

Well it's DONE!!!!

Actually it was done over a month ago... really!!!

Before

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Finished

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Color choice was a peaceful gray.

Very glad I did it, totally worth the time. Being in a nicer environment makes me want to do better quality work, so hopefully there will be less "quick and dirty, git'er done " kind of approach to projects.

The twisted crusty old beam got worked over as well and I really like how it turned out.

Crusty (partially sanded)

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After

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And yes... the beam is a bit twisted... but at least it's plumb in the middle... and then twisted the other way at the other end. It's got character.

The dust collection piping is back up, tools are back to where they should be (probably), all the other stuff is getting organized (sorta). Still need to build some cabinets... that will have to wait until the projects for "the woman" get done.

So, if you're trying to decide on painting or not... I say DO IT!!

[Ken Luning]

I had a buddy who used the adhesive mesh tape on a remodel, and it cracked on every joint.

I used the mesh tape in my Den remodel. No cracks in any of the tape joints. It's all in how you use it.

[Joe Angrisani]

I used the mesh tape in my Den remodel. No cracks in any of the tape joints. It's all in how you use it.

Inquiring minds want to know.....

[Patrick McCarthy]

way to go! looks great. Aren't you glad we "nudged" you along when you were debating whether to do it or not?