Oklahoma Homestead 40x80x12

[Jim Becker]

I've become a big fan of PEX and it's all I use now when I need to do repairs in our home, especially since we have slightly acidic water and even type-L copper will eventually pin-hole. I would have used it in our addition, but in 2008, there was still a local ordinance that forbade it. Fortunately, that's no longer the case.

[Jefferey Scott]

I've got almost everything hooked up with pex except for the water heater. I still need to trench the run from the meter to the building, but the weather has not been cooperating, so onto drywall this week. Below are some random pictures of the pex install and some Friday night shots of the property and a new drone video flyover of the property.

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[Jim Becker]

That manifold looks really nice.

And what's not to like about what's outside? Beautiful area.

[Jefferey Scott]

Thanks Jim.

As soon as I get this turkey finished, I hope to share some woodworking content. I'm chomping at the bit to get my shop finished and my machines and tools moved in and operational. Unfortunately, we've got to have a place to live in first.

I'm planning on what to sheath the walls of the shop with right now. I was going to go with metal liner panel and a 4' wide plywood band laid horizontally around the whole interior with metal on top and bottom, but now I'm thinking maybe just going all wood. T1-11 5/8" ply is 21 bucks a sheet here and that is about the same price as "plan A". I could go drywall also, but I'm not keen on that much mudding and taping. I would need approximately 84 sheets of 4x8 plywood to complete.

Just not sure what I want to do yet. Thoughts anyone?

[Jim Becker]

Half of my shop has T1-11 panels for the walls and I like the look. You'll want to decide before you move stuff in if you want it "finished" or not...it's easier to do that if you can spray and spraying is a lot more pleasant if there's nothing in the way to "mask off" other than covering the floor. I left mine bare. In this photo, you can see how it darkened up a bit over time...that closed up window area is "new" material.

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[Jefferey Scott]

I think that's the direction I'm heading now Jim. T1-11 mounted vertically. I've got 12 ft (or almost) ceilings and I'm going to put a "wainscoat" of 4' boards along the bottom and full 8 ft sheets on top of them. I'll hide the horizontal seam with the 1x4's. As far as paint, I'm not swayed either way at this point. I like the naked look as well as painted. As you suggest, if I paint, I'll do before I move anything else in.

Good suggestions, thanks!

[James Biddle]

We did a similar thing, but mounted the full sheet below and the cut sheet above. We cut the 1x4 on a 45 and had an instant French cleat 8' high all around the shop to hang things.

[Jim Becker]

We did a similar thing, but mounted the full sheet below and the cut sheet above. We cut the 1x4 on a 45 and had an instant French cleat 8' high all around the shop to hang things.

This is likely how I would do things in the same situation...the uninterrupted full sheets on the bottom for me, too. The cleat idea is stellar, too!

[Jefferey Scott]

We did a similar thing, but mounted the full sheet below and the cut sheet above. We cut the 1x4 on a 45 and had an instant French cleat 8' high all around the shop to hang things.

Neat idea James!

[Tom M King]

Just another option to think about: In our dog room, I used the hardboard equivalent of T111. It has a fake woodgrain texture, but the good thing about it is that it comes primed, so if you're going to paint the walls anyway, all you have to do is nail it up, and spray it. I think it costs about the same as T111, but what's sold around here as T111 is really rough, and has a lot of footballs on the face. While this stuff has the texture, the surface is very smooth to the touch.

To install this board, I just hand nailed it with 6cc nails, hit the nail heads with oil based primer, and sprayed the walls with an airless sprayer. You have to look close to find the nails, but if you need to find a stud, a stud finder is not required.

I avoid sheetrock. I have also used a smooth faced version that has V joints every 8", but I had to buy a whole bundle of that.

[Mel Fulks]

I used the stuff Tom posted about in our basement stair well. Builder left the insulation uncovered. The coated surface is pretty tough.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, what's the thickness of the primed hardboard product you show? That would be material for a shop wall.

[Tom M King]

It's been a number of years since I built that addition on our house, so sorry, I can't give an exact thickness. I'm pretty sure it's a little less than a half inch, but could easily be wrong. It's on the shelves in the plywood, and siding section in Lowes, and probably Home Depot. Lowes even had a couple of choices the last time I looked. It's the same density as hardboard (Masonite), so fairly heavy.

I ended up hand nailing it because any kind of gun leaves little craters to deal with later, whereas the sinkers finish flush with the surface, so you're done once it's nailed up.

As with any hardboard, it's not really made for holding nails, other than hanging pictures, but with the nail heads find-able, with your face close to the surface, and being right beside one of the vertical grooves, studs are easy to find with your hands full.

Everyone that's seen it has commented on how nice it looks. I know fake woodgrain is not the most desired surface in a shop, but it looks many times better than OSB, or plywood.

Pick through the stack with a helper, and make sure you don't get one with a bruised edge. The meeting edges are rabbeted, but the thin rabbet looks pretty vulnerable until you get it on the wall, so careful handing is needed all the way to the wall.

It's a two person job putting it up. Start with the first nail at the top of the overlapping rabbeted edge. Use a little spacer block under it, to start with, and then take the block out after the first couple of nails are driven home. Work your way down from that top corner, and it will come out nice and flat against the studs. I have seen some put up with bulges from a poorly planned nailing order.

I also used it in two walk-in closets in the same addition as the dog room. It's really nice to put something up, and be done with it so quickly.

Ceilings in the dogroom, and closets were also anti-sheetrock. Beaded board plywood, with MDF covers to all the joints in the beaded sheet edges. The ceilings were a little more trouble than the walls, since many feet of MDF edges to caulk, but still better for me than finishing sheetrock overhead.

[Tom M King]

Here's the room with the smooth stuff on the walls. It was a lot more trouble to put up with no nail holes to show on the smooth surface. I forget the manufacturer, but it's one of the common, major ones. The coffers have MDO panels. If someone didn't like the fake woodgrain, this might be an option, if you don't mind the extra work that nail holes require, or rig up a way to glue it up.

This room has a 10' ceiling, and the vertical v-joint board is above a 3' high wainscoting.

Did I say that I hate sheetrock?

[Mel Fulks]

I just checked the thickness of the scraps ,3/8 inch. I think it's called Smart Side