Finishing Garage Walls - What Options/Finishes do you recommend?

[Andy Shearon]

Hi all,

I'm in the midst of finishing out a two car garage. I've got the nice epoxy floor laid in, I've got a ridiculous amount of outlets (both 110 and 220), and now have to decide how to finish the walls, which are now bare studs.

I've got four goals:

1) Get a lighter wall surface than the bare studs and black felt paper protecting the outside wall to get the light level in the garage up (It's good now, but brighter is better)

2) Try to keep the look and feel of a mid-century modern house (in other words, no bead board/tongue-in-groove type siding). Large flat surfaces with little to no trim detail would work. I'm trying not to impact future resale value of the house.

3) Have some kind of natural wood finish. Why? I like the wood look. Also, wood makes it a lot easier to hang wood shop things (clamps/cabinets/jigs/etc) on the wall.

4) Budget isn't unlimited. Putting in book-matched rift-sawn oak plywood would look awesome, but not in the budget. Something in the range of $30-50 a sheet would work


I've been reading a lot, and haven't found anyone who has done something in line with #2 and #3 above. I could go with some big box 3/4" plywood and put a clear finish on it, or I could just use white paint (or coffee or some other almost white satin colored finish). I could also just go ahead and slap up some drywall and be done with it. Saves some bucks, but then I'm playing "find a stud" for the next 10 years.

Some other possibly useful info. I live in a fairly dense neighborhood, so sound isolation is somewhat important. I'm planning on putting rock wool insulation, plus a layer of sound board (http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Sound-Choice-Sound-Deadening-Board-717008/202090237#.UaVjv8qrjfU) below whatever surface I install. Ceilings are 8', so I've recessed all the fluorescent lights between the joists, and don't plan on finishing the ceiling. Ceiling dings with sheet plywood seem to be inevitable.

Anyone want to help a fellow woodworker out?

Andy

[Chris Padilla]

Take lots of pics of the bare studs to help with "find a stud" and slap up cheap drywall and paint it white. Forget the sound stuff...unless you do it right and truly isolate things, it isn't going to make any difference.

[Dale Murray]

We are in similar situations:
1963 raised ranch and redoing garage to use as a shop.

Currently mine stripped to bare studs and once I replace a load baring beam over the garage door I will begin refinishing the interior.

I will be putting R-21 in the walls and R-30 in the ceiling; the R-30 with deaden noise and keep the floors above warm - three bedrooms above the garage.

I too have 8' ceilings but will be finishing them with 1/2" drywall, walls will be 1/2" or 5/8". I intend to paint everything above the floors semi-gloss white, the paint will allow me to use strip style lights (bare tubes) and all surfaces as a reflector. I hope this will minimize hot spots in the shop.

In regard to noise. I used to have a home recording studio and outfitted it with DIY deadening panels. They were unbelievably effective and cheap.
A product such as Roxul Rockboard 80, Mineral Wool Board, 2 Inch has an absorbtion coefficient of 1.0 at 4000hz and drops to 0.90 at 500hz. They are usually purchased in 2'x4' sheets. Six sheets costs about $80.

Two kinds of reflection, direct (first refection) and indirect.
- Direct reflection is like a mirror. Machine make sound, sound hits surface, surface direct sound to ears.
- Indirect reflection. After sound passes by you and hits the ceiling, floors, walls, router table, stack of wood it bounces back at you. At this point the sound is no longer coherent; it is a jumbled mess of high frequency pain. Placing absorption materials on any inside corner surface will help immensely (all sound eventually goes into a corner). If possible try to place 1'x4' strips on the two surfaces that make up a corner (Vertical or horizontal corners work the same).


How would I apply this to a shop?
In areas of high noise - router table, planer, jointer, table saw - I would surface mount a 2x4 or 2x2 piece at the point of first reflection Items such as a table saw may have a panel above it and on close walls if any. I would also find space to place some in corners as stated above.

The material can be impaled on nails as a mounting method. Some spray adhesive and cheap fabric will make it look nicer if that is a concern.

Large shops with high ceiling can hang panels of this stuff vertically from the ceiling - like clouds. In this configuration they will reduce the noise travelling from end to end in the shop.

I know this all sounds a little over the top but if it is good enough for a recording studio it is certainly good enough for a shop.

For $80 it is foolish to not even try.

[Andy Shearon]

Good ideas. Let me clarify a bit more on the sound deadening. I'm not too concerned with noise inside the garage (I can wear hearing protection), nor transmitting into the house (that wall is finished, and has 1" thick plaster on each side with decent insulation in the middle - plus the wife is stuck with me :-) ). Plaster is wonderful at absorbing sound - I'm literally blocks away from Los Angeles Int'l, and the airplane noise is incredibly irritating in the garage, and just noticeable in the house (windows closed, of course). With the noise dampening, I'm trying to avoid irritating the neighbors living 10' away from the side garage wall. Those guys can call the cops!

On the sound deadening, I (that is my wife) has talked with some guys around here that specialize in sound insulation. The double (2x6 horizontals with staggered 2x4 studs) is the consensus favorite for sound isolation. Not really feasible to retrofit, and I don't want to take the space hit either. What they recommended for retrofit was a rock wool based insulation product between existing studs, a relatively thin foam-based isolation layer between the studs and the sound board, followed by the interior wall surface (dry wall being better than wood). They said it was close to the performance of that green glue stuff, but at a fraction of the cost.

I'm not sure if I would want to do the cloud based ceiling panels - seems like wonderful dust collection magnets.


FWIW, for the ceiling mounted fluorescent lights, I buried them between the rafters to avoid the inevitable tinkle-tinkle sound of a whacked bulb scattering glass shards around me as I moved longer boards about the shop. Works well, but practically kills the idea of a finished ceiling. I could build-out home made troffer (sp?) boxes and then finish the remaining ceiling around the lights, but that would be a crazy amount of re-wiring (I have 24x double bulb 4' fixtures already installed). You could get by with those clear plastic sleeves on the bulbs, however...

Andy

[Jim Neeley]

Andy,

You might want to google Green Glue Company. They make a product you use for adhesive between two sheets of sheet rock or other material. The glue is designed to absorb vibration and convert it into a small amount of heat. I'll be able to tell you more about how it works in about 6 months as I have some for my DC enclosure. Unfortunately, life has thrown me a few curve balls ($$$) that have slowed down my shop upgrade.

Their independent tests show good results, short of the double-thickness walls.

Jim

[Ole Anderson]

Wall and finishes are a frequent topic of discussion, as I am sure found if you did a search. You will do fine with Roxul safe and sound between the studs covered by 1/2" or better OSB. I wouldn't go any farther than that to placate your neighbors. If you are near the airport I wouldn't be too concerned with some (blankety-blank) neighbors. Let them call and then invite the LEOs in to see your shop and I can bet who they will side with. If you are concerned, just pick up a sound level meter from Radio Shack or download a dB app on your smart phone and do some background sound measurements at your property line with traffic and airplanes and then with your loudest tool running (make sure your doors are closed).

I have some OSB I left with no finish and some that I painted with a satin bright white. I like them both.

[Larry Frank]

I noticed one post saying they were redoing a garage with bedrooms above and using 1/2" or 5/8" drywall. It might be a good idea to check the local codes. In my area, garages with attached living spaces are required to have 5/8" fire rated drywall and all the seams, corners, etc well sealed. In addition, all the electrical holes in the walls that lead to living spaces are caulked with orange fire rated caulk.

There are times that I think that the codes are a little silly but in this case, it is important to protect the living spaces from potential fumes and fire. My garage was recently redone and followed the guideline and added fire protection. The best is a smoke alarm but if there is too much dust then a heat type fire alarm will work.

[Wayne Crider]

I just did some investigation into sound deadening materials for a in-house music studio for a client. What it came down to was mass; Lot's of it. The rock wool was also a favorite.

[Don Jarvie]

Agree with Larry regarding check the building code. If anywhere you want to deaden the sound its the ceiling since there are living spaces above.

For the walls 1/2 plywood is plently. Suggest to use a light tan, satin or semi gloss, not flat. Its easier to dust and wont hold the dirt.

[Andy Shearon]

Andy,

You might want to google Green Glue Company. They make a product you use for adhesive between two sheets of sheet rock or other material. The glue is designed to absorb vibration and convert it into a small amount of heat. I'll be able to tell you more about how it works in about 6 months as I have some for my DC enclosure. Unfortunately, life has thrown me a few curve balls ($$$) that have slowed down my shop upgrade.

Their independent tests show good results, short of the double-thickness walls.

Jim

Thanks, that was the company (the Green Glue Company). The locals here were saying that the foam isolation isn't as good as that, but costs about $5/sheet versus the $30-45/sheet that green glue costs (depending on whether you use two or three tubes per sheet). The neighbors have said "no worries", so I'm not sure I want to spend the extra $s for the best - I'm just trying to do to be civilized. That would definitely be better.

[Andy Shearon]

Wall and finishes are a frequent topic of discussion, as I am sure found if you did a search. You will do fine with Roxul safe and sound between the studs covered by 1/2" or better OSB. I wouldn't go any farther than that to placate your neighbors. If you are near the airport I wouldn't be too concerned with some (blankety-blank) neighbors. Let them call and then invite the LEOs in to see your shop and I can bet who they will side with. If you are concerned, just pick up a sound level meter from Radio Shack or download a dB app on your smart phone and do some background sound measurements at your property line with traffic and airplanes and then with your loudest tool running (make sure your doors are closed).

I have some OSB I left with no finish and some that I painted with a satin bright white. I like them both.

How did the painted finish end up with your OSB? I did a quickie paint test on some OSB I have under my deck, and the latex paint I used pulled the grain up and really highlighted the individual chips in the board.

I'm trying to find a smoother look than that. Did you see similar results?

Andy

[Andy Shearon]

I noticed one post saying they were redoing a garage with bedrooms above and using 1/2" or 5/8" drywall. It might be a good idea to check the local codes. In my area, garages with attached living spaces are required to have 5/8" fire rated drywall and all the seams, corners, etc well sealed. In addition, all the electrical holes in the walls that lead to living spaces are caulked with orange fire rated caulk.

There are times that I think that the codes are a little silly but in this case, it is important to protect the living spaces from potential fumes and fire. My garage was recently redone and followed the guideline and added fire protection. The best is a smoke alarm but if there is too much dust then a heat type fire alarm will work.

Thanks for the code check heads up. I checked with the local guys and as long as the walls I'm finishing aren't directly attached to living spaces, I can do as I want, and I don't even need to pull a permit to be legal. The back wall of the garage is attached to the living room and already covered with 1" of plaster and button board, so I'm good to go.

Andy

[Thomas Canfield]

This is not natural wood or fancy, but I used 3/8" flat Smart Panel, flat sheets, on the walls in my new shop and used only caulk on the joints before painting with semi gloss latex enamel. It is after all a workshop, but the walls are solid and accept screws for mounting most lighter items that do not require stud mounting.

[Andy Shearon]

Agree with Larry regarding check the building code. If anywhere you want to deaden the sound its the ceiling since there are living spaces above.

For the walls 1/2 plywood is plently. Suggest to use a light tan, satin or semi gloss, not flat. Its easier to dust and wont hold the dirt.

Thanks! the reason I've been thinking of plywood for the wall I'm actually concerned with from a structural standpoint is the one that I plan on putting some heavy duty shelves on (I'm considering putting in the Lee Valley lumber storage system to maximize storage space). I'm figuring that adding what is effectively a shear wall on that surface would help distribute the cantilevered shelf load to the adjacent wall studs. It's been way too long since college structural mechanics to trust any of my calculations at this stage of my life, but I've got a healthy respect of the moment induced by a couple hundred of board feet of lumber on a wall.

Andy

[Michael W. Clark]

Thanks! the reason I've been thinking of plywood for the wall I'm actually concerned with from a structural standpoint is the one that I plan on putting some heavy duty shelves on (I'm considering putting in the Lee Valley lumber storage system to maximize storage space). I'm figuring that adding what is effectively a shear wall on that surface would help distribute the cantilevered shelf load to the adjacent wall studs. It's been way too long since college structural mechanics to trust any of my calculations at this stage of my life, but I've got a healthy respect of the moment induced by a couple hundred of board feet of lumber on a wall.

Andy

Hi Andy, you need to attach the shelf supports to structural members, not the wall skin. If you know you are going to land between studs, add a stud now or put it some blocking to catch the supports while everything is exposed.

You can turn the OSB so it is smooth side out, this is how I did it in my shop. I didn't paint it, but others have used Kilz with success. You can probably tint the Kilz or use a top coat with the color of your choice.

Mike

[Roy Harding]

I can't give a good answer on the sound insulation factor - but my shop is finished with OSB. I painted it flat white (I didn't want dust and dirt to show too much) - and I love it. With OSB you can drive a screw anywhere you want (to hang "stuff" up on). My previous shop was finished with drywall, and while it was "OK", I couldn't simply drive a screw anywhere I wanted (well - I COULD, but I had to go through the whole drywall anchor thing).

Best of luck to you.

[phil harold]

White board panels made from masonite
but these over your osb and they will give an fast white dustable surface
can pick them up 10-12 dollars a sheet some times on sale for five dollars

If your garage is connected to your house make sure you have an hour rated fire wall and ceiling

[Roy Harding]

White board panels made from masonite
but these over your osb and they will give an fast white dustable surface
can pick them up 10-12 dollars a sheet some times on sale for five dollars

If your garage is connected to your house make sure you have an hour rated fire wall and ceiling

Great idea. Where were you when I was building my shop?

[Ron Martindale]

Just started the walls in my shop. Went with 1/2" MDF that I got for $8 sheet on Craigslist. Just butted them together and left the screws exposed in case I want/need to remove to add more electrical circuits. So far very pleased with it. Good luck!!

264687

[Steve Barksdale]

I could also just go ahead and slap up some drywall and be done with it. Saves some bucks, but then I'm playing "find a stud" for the next 10 years.
Andy

Dry wall the bottom half (4x8 sheets on their sides) and then add an inexpensive wainscoting with stiles. Line up the stiles with the studs.

Saves you money for something grand on the top half and you'll forever know where the studs are.

[Jim Neeley]

Thanks, that was the company (the Green Glue Company). The locals here were saying that the foam isolation isn't as good as that, but costs about $5/sheet versus the $30-45/sheet that green glue costs (depending on whether you use two or three tubes per sheet). The neighbors have said "no worries", so I'm not sure I want to spend the extra $s for the best - I'm just trying to do to be civilized. That would definitely be better.

Andy,

I'm apologizing for the geeky engineer coming out in me but... <g>

The absorbing of sound / vibration is highly dependant upon the frequencies you are looking to remove. Things such as foam work well for high frequencies but, for low frequencies you need something with more mass. This is where the Green Glue comes in. It provides the "spring" for the heavy mass of the drywall.

If your concern is primarily in the low frequencies in the 60 Hz spectrum, 180 Hz, 420 Hz (a 3600 rpm motor's, first, third and seventh harmonic) like mine is for my 5hp DC you really need that mass to reduce the low rumble.

OTOH this will provide little help for the high pitched squeal of a router; foam is your friend there. <g>