New Shop - Wall question

[Hans Reed]

I am building a new Garage-mahal and would like a litte SMC input. I have been a long time member, but absent here for a while...

I insulated my new shop, and hung 1/2" ply for my interior walls. I was thinking about leaving them raw and wanted some input. I have been debating whether or not I should "tape and float" the joints as you would with dry wall, or leave them. If so, what would I use, silicone similar to a window or door, or other? If I seal them, then does it force my hand to paint as wouldn't your eyes be drawn to the color of the sealed joints? If I paint, do I need to texture? If texture, what would you use to ensure it sticks to the ply wood? Anyway, you should get the idea of my debate...

What have others done with plywood walls?

See attached for reference.

[Jamie Buxton]

Construction plywood strikes me as a good wall surface in a shop. I'd leave it just as it is.

If you do want to tape or texture or paint, the plywood is so rough that its texture will telegraph through. You should probably apply sheetrock over the plywood, and then paint it. Seems like a bad idea to me.

[Matt Meiser]

I'd paint what you've got myself. That's what I did with my OSB walls.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

If you do anything with the seams, they will be glaringly obvious, painted or not.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Whatever floats your boat:

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[Jerry Olexa]

the beauty of ply walls is you can hang tools anywhere...I'd paint or seal.

[Roy Harding]

My shop is finished with OSB. I did nothing on the seams, but did paint it a flat white (I think I actually just used a primer - can't remember how many coats). I wanted the brightness imparted by the white, but didn't want glare from a sheen. Five years later, it's stood up well.

Having looked at Bill Edwards photo, however, I MAY (if I ever get time) do something similar to what he did with the seams - it just looks neater. I'd still go with the flat white paint, though.

[Michael Heffernan]

I hung 1/2" AC ply on my garage shop walls, then painted them with a satin latex. I used a light 'champagne' color for the walls. Better light reflection than unfinished ply, which is good for when you are sanding & finishing pieces. Also cleans up better.
IMO, I wouldn't seal the seams, it'll just look bad. I screwed the ply on, so if I ever have to re-run wiring, I can pull panels off with no problem.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Whatever floats your boat:

278759

I like that, will be stealing that idea!

[Hans Reed]

Thanks guys...decisions, decisions. I like the idea of raw, but some of the best sides also had the nice lumberyard printing on them so I wasn't sure if it would eventually be a source of aesthetic frustration...hence do I paint.

@ Roy...how is the white with incidental bumps and scuffs? i was thinking a light Tan/Khaki color to hide that a bit...i should have plenty of "bright" with the tin ceiling once i get my final lighting installed.

@ Bill...very nice! Do the raised seams ever get in the way?

@ Steve...that is my concern...i don't want them to pop out, but I also don't want to leave them raw and then regret adding all my tools, benches, and wall art to then be frustrated by the mill printing.

[Roy Harding]

Thanks guys...decisions, decisions. I like the idea of raw, but some of the best sides also had the nice lumberyard printing on them so I wasn't sure if it would eventually be a source of aesthetic frustration...hence do I paint.

@ Roy...how is the white with incidental bumps and scuffs? i was thinking a light Tan/Khaki color to hide that a bit...i should have plenty of "bright" with the tin ceiling once i get my final lighting installed.

...

There have been some scuffs over the years, but nothing serious. If they bother me, I can always spot paint them.

The BIGGEST problem has been the light coating of sawdust that builds up on them. (I have good dust collection and air cleaners - but there's no such thing as "perfect" dust collection/cleaning). It doesn't become noticeable until I rub some off the wall by brushing by it, or whatever. (Kind of like the dust on your television or computer monitor - you don't notice until there's a clean spot). When that bothers me, I vacuum the walls.

I like your idea of a khaki colour - it would hide the build up quite a bit - and over time the walls take on a tan hue from the dust anyway.

[Matt Meiser]

If you paint a light color it will make a huge difference in brightness. The day I painted mine it was like turning lights on as I went. I've repainted once was I did a significant rearrangement--I'd just do a section at a time. Other dings/scuffs/screw holes get touched up when I have white paint handy.

If you really want it to look good, just put drywall over it. You still get the advantage of the plywood underneath and you can get a good initial finish and use regular techniqes for repair of dings.

[Hans Reed]

Thanks Michael...do you have any pics of your walls? I also screwed mine on...but I ran my wiring vertical to junction boxes in the attic, so I have no horizantal runs...the idea was I could pull and re-run or even add w/out having to pull the panels off. Of course that is the theory...time will tell how it works in the real world.

[Lee Reep]

My shop is half drywall, and half concrete wall. It is half of my basement, and oustide the shop is a finished room that was our kids playroom, and now that they are grown and on their own, the room is more of an exercise and crafts room. (It is carpeted and trimmed like our upstairs, so I have not convinced my wife yet that my shop needs to be expended into this space.) :)

The shop's drywall walls were painted white for years, and frankly, I got sick of them. Too sterile. I have a lot of lighting, and the basement escape window with window well is in the shop, so some natural light comes in. I ended up painting the drywalled walls a medium blue. I do not have a picture of the entire shop, but I did snap a picture of the sink area. It was pretty ratty, with texture missing from splashes. I decided to tile, and that meant fixing up the wall texture, and painting. At first jsut this was was blue, and then it spread. You can see that the walls outside the shop door are white, and I'm guessing we wil leave them that way for now. But I really like the darker colors in the shop. This woudl not have been such a great idea, I don't think, without having a lot of lighting in the shop to make it easy to see what I was working on.

I left the concrete walls natural, and they actually look pretty good with the blue. At some point they make get drywall, but I need to devote more time on remodeling other rooms of the house first. By the way, having a sink in the shop is a MUST, in my opinion. There is a restroom adjacent to the recessed utility sink, just outside the shop. But for cleanup, and especially cleanup of painting equipment like roller trays, it is really nice. I still plan to trim out around the sink with some maple trim I bought on clearance, but those little projects always seem to get delayed.

Regarding the plywood, I think I'd maybe leave it as-is. Maybe add some slats to make your own slat wall system for hanging cabinets, tool racks, bins, etc.? There are some great ideas in woodworkign magazines on slat wall systems. The other option, if you wanted a relatively cheap coverup, which can be painted, is bead board. We did our kitchen walls half way up, trimmed the top edge, and painted white. I think the sheets are still in the $10 range, so it is pretty cheap, and looks very finished with just paint. They come primed white, too, so they do not take much effort to finish,and would look OK plain for awhile.

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[Zane Harris]

My shop ceiling is OSB and my walls are mostly poured concrete, partially drywall. On both the OSB and the drywall, I ran two inch masking tape across all the seams, for the sole purpose of controlling dust infiltration. Then I painted the ceiling and every wall with latex primer. That gave me enough reflectivity in the room that I didn't do any more. Been this way for 17 years now. Since I didn't mud over any of the screw heads, wall or ceiling, if I need to get at something it is not a terribly big project (so far this has only happened once, and it was a false alarm at that). I did use painter's caulk at the joints between wall and ceiling, and where the drywall butted up against the poured concrete. And then painted over that also.

[Val Kosmider]

I like that, will be stealing that idea!
The walls really look good with the battens....but....when you do that, you interrupt the smooth plane of the wall, so cabinets, tool boards, or whatever does not fit tight to the wall. If you slide a bench to the wall, it will stand proud of the wall by the thickness of the batten. And every time a tool slips off the back and falls "down in the somewhere", you will be cussing. Just a thought.

[Jim Foster]

The first garage shop I had, I paneled with pine. It was nice, but dark. My new shop has sheet-rock walls painted or primed white. I prefer the brightness the primed walls add to the room. If you leave them as is, you can always roll a coat of paint on later.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

@ Bill...very nice! Do the raised seams ever get in the way?


No. I've even used it for hanging tools, etc.

[Steve Friedman]

Hans,

One of the nicest I have seen was done by Wilbur Pan with the walls lined with 1x12 pine boards. Here's the picture from his blog:

http://giantcypress.net/tagged/roubo/chrono

I have also seen some amazing shop walls lined with T&G boards. I know it's overkill, but you're the one who referred to the shop as a new Garage-mahal. I priced out the 1x12 for mine and it was cheaper than I expected. That said, I haven't taken the next step (actually spending the money).

Steve

[Jim Neeley]

If you decide to paint the plywood, a flat paint will decrease the noticability of surface variations.

[george newbury]

I prefer white walls when possible. In one shop I've put up 2 sheets of white pegboard, from about waist high to waist high plus 4' standing out from the walls on furring strips. 16' of places to hang stuff and it brightens up the area. Plus hanging pegboard is easier to me than painting.

I then put several boxes of peg board hooks up. Works well so far.

[Michael Heffernan]

Hans,
I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow and post them. Good idea to run vertical lines. I don't anticipate having to run any new circuits or move receptacles, as I put multiple circuit 110 and 220v boxes everywhere. But I definitely wanted the option when I built out the shop.



Thanks Michael...do you have any pics of your walls? I also screwed mine on...but I ran my wiring vertical to junction boxes in the attic, so I have no horizantal runs...the idea was I could pull and re-run or even add w/out having to pull the panels off. Of course that is the theory...time will tell how it works in the real world.

[Jeff Erbele]

The walls really look good with the battens....but....when you do that, you interrupt the smooth plane of the wall, so cabinets, tool boards, or whatever does not fit tight to the wall. If you slide a bench to the wall, it will stand proud of the wall by the thickness of the batten. And every time a tool slips off the back and falls "down in the somewhere", you will be cussing. Just a thought.

True but if one decided to add cabinets the battens could be removed, cabinets hung and reinstall the battens cut to length, butting against the cabinets. Same with a table or bench.

[Hans Reed]

Thanks for all the quick thoughts and suggestions. I am still not sure which way I will go, but browsing all of these old posts is sure getting me motivated to finish! Thanks!

[Mike Wilkins]

Color me jeaulous of all that space. I have to get by with 16 X 24. My shop walls are covered with OSB, primed and painted with a light tan color. Construction grade plywood is not very attractive, so I would add prime/paint.

[Charles Wiggins]

I'd paint what you've got myself. That's what I did with my OSB walls.

+1. I have a basement shop with no natural light, so I used a bright flat white to reflect as much light as possible. You'll be surprised what a difference that will make in your overall light levels. I have two block walls and one stud wall that I insulated and sheathed with OSB. I painted all three. I didn't seal or tape the joints - no point. At one end I have an open walkout into the garage area. I just hung a heavy plastic curtain at that end to help with keeping the heat in in the winter and out in the summer.

[Rick Moyer]

Primer first, then whatever color you like, but I chose white as the eyes are not as good as they used to be. Something to keep in mind depending how old you are or will be before you ever leave that shop.
I would suggest putting French cleats around at several levels while you have a blank canvas, too.

[Brian Tymchak]

..i don't want them to pop out, but I also don't want to leave them raw and then regret adding all my tools, benches, and wall art to then be frustrated by the mill printing.

I would think using a decent stain-killing/covering primer would stop any of the printing from showing through the requisite 2 coats of paint. If you have an offcut leftover with the printing on it, it would be a quick and relatively cheap test to buy a quart and try it.

[Hans Reed]

Thanks Mike...My wife was tired of parking outside, so I was granted permission to build when we moved to our new place, but it has left me w/out a shop for just over a year now... :( I am going from a 2 car attached shared with household storage to a dedicated 24x60 space. I have it walled off about 22" from the end for a dedicated office, bathroom, and "other space TBD" at the moment. My open shop area is about 24x38 with a 9' two car door at one end...and 10' ceilings. I will try to get a copy of my plans and some pictures out here shortly. I had the shell built by a contractor, and I am slowly completing all of the internals myself. It is slow going with my day job and two kids...but i am enjoying every minute. I have handed my first drill down to my son who's toy bench is in the corner of the picture above...his projects also take precedence over mine.

[Tom Bloom]

I have had the opportunity to build two home shops and remodel two commercial truck shops. The best thing I have found for the walls is a high gloss white trim paint and a white or light gray floor epoxy paint. The gloss finish cleans well, and reflects most of the light. It takes about an hour to get use to the brightness then you wonder how you ever lived without a white shop.

The white floor is great you can see the nails, screws, and tools that get dropped and if you are parking a vehicle in the shop you can identify any dripping fluids. White floors don't show dirt as bad, like a white car.

[Eric Kipker]

I used OSB aluminum foil backed on the walls and ceiling, attached with screws, in my 3rd stall workshop. A little reluctant to paint it as with my basement workshop, I had to remove some OSB more than once, to revise the wiring and relocate water and gas lines. Maybe a wash coat of white.

[Gilbert Vega]

I'll be doing something very similar in the new shop that will be built along with the new house. I plan on using either 1/2" OSB or Plywood then covering with sheetrock. I will tape and float then paint using high gloss white/light tan enamel on walls and ceiling white on ceiling.

Any thoughts on how well screws hold on OSB compared to Plywood?

[Joe A Faulkner]

I like that, will be stealing that idea!

Run your sheets vertically and you only have vertical seems every 4' assuming 8' walls. I don't see any outlet or switches in the walls - these might conflict with the horizontal seams at 4'. Just something to consider. Though I agree it looks very nice.

[Bill McNiel]

I have 3/8" plywood (shear resistance for siesmic) on three of my walls and drywall on the 4th (window wall). I much prefer the unfinished plywood to the drywall. Easy to hang tools and jigs and it just feels more like a shop to me, GWB walls are a more institutional / commercial feel. I do have a lot of north facing windows that help brighten things up (my bench sits in front of 8'-6" wide by 9'-6" tall 4 window aray).

Really liked the look of the 12" pine walls though.

[Ed Weiser]

I did exactly what Bill Edwards (2) showed in his posted photo in my shop. Despite the size (20 x 24 with 10+ ft ceilings painted white, it does not feel small and the plywood makes it easy to hang anything. (If it's heavy you still need to hit the studs!) The battens give a finished look and do not get in the way. In fact they provide a stand off from the wall for conduit, dust collection duct, etc. I finished the wood surfaces with several coats of catalyzed lacquer which is really smooth so that dust does not settle on the walls much at all. Given the chance, I'd do it again exactly the same way.