Garage workshop wall–finished with sheet rock (or plywood), or unfinished with studs exposed
Highdesertwoodworker
| Posted in General Discussion on
Would finishing garage walls with sheet rock (or other sheet products) be better than unfinished with studs exposed–for the purpose of wood working with consideration on ease of storage and utility etc.
I live in a mild climate so thermal insulation is generally not an issue. About 2/3 of the walls in my 2-car garage shop is finished; I wonder whether I should finish the rest.
Replies
If there is no need to insulate then the choice is your preference. From my experience, I put sheetrock on one wall when I built the shop and I'm rather disappointed that I did. It severely limits the ease of hanging stuff. The other three walls I covered with pegboard and I love it as I can hang anything anywhere at the drop of a pegboard hook. Some like plywood or dedicated hanging systems for the same reasons. I think I would be likely to not do anything (leave the studs bare) until I needed something hung. Then I would put up what ever is needed to do the job.
I would opt for plywood, and paint it white. It helps to brighten the work area, and you can hang things anywhere. I would also run any wiring you might want first. You can always run wiring in conduit later, but it's cheaper to run it behind the wall before closing it in.
If it's the wall connecting the house to the garage, check fire codes first. They usually dictate what kind of walks have to go up.
John_C2's suggestions is spot on. I did this in my shop and it's worked great !
I second the recommendation for plywood painted white.
I would insulate it however. First, it reduces the noise that might bother your neighbors. A whirring router at 9pm is generally not welcomed.
Second, a shop with a well-controlled environment is a good thing. It helps prevent corrosion on your tools (rust never sleeps). It also makes finishing easier. All finishes go on easier if the temperature and humidity are constant.
Third, your lumber will be happier if it isn't seeing big swings in temperature and humidity.
Fiberglass insulation is cheap and very easy to install. The stuff that is encapsulated is also much nicer to work with than bare fiberglass.
Agree with sheet goods of your choice and painted at least semi-gloss white. the improvement in lighting in my shop adding nothing but paint was remarkable.
I use a cleat-wall approach so I don't need the sheet goods so I can hang stuff. Everything hangs from the cleats. This let me use 7/16" OSB, well primed (Zinsser BIN) and rolled with inexpensive semi-gloss white.
- a white or similar wall surface will, I believe, add to the lighting and visibility in your shop,
- I went with white 1/4 " pegboard when I built my shop several years ago, with flexibility and overall storage capabilities in mind. However, my needs have expanded and changed. Initially, I liked it a lot and, well, frankly I liked seeing my "tool trophies" in full view. My walls are now cluttered with tools and supplies that I don't use all that often, with those I do use regularly fighting for space on those same walls. I've come to believe that I need to eliminate much if not all the pegboard in favor of a solid surface product to better facilitate the building and hanging of enclosed storage (or shelving) which should provide for more organization in my instance,
- pegboard pretty much eliminates my ability to store tools, etc. in all but one dimension (a flat surface). I've got a lot of wall space currently being consumed for example by a 1 1/2 sq. ft. area being dedicated to, for example card scrapers. If I construct a till to hold those same scrapers safely, then I can reduce the wall space consumption down to something under 1/2 a square foot.
- I believe even properly sized pegs in pegboard are a problem in that frequently when I pull a tool from the wall, the peg fixture flops around at a minimum and often ends up on the floor.
- The pegboard space behind any stationary or floor standing equipment is typically wasted and encourages a "dusty" or dirty wall.
- that said, I will be pulling down a good bit, if not all the pegboard and replacing it with 1/4 inch plywood (to be painted white) which will allow for construction of purpose specific storage space, whether in the form of tool specific cabinets or purpose built open shelving where appropriate.
- plywood or a similar surface will be more forgiving to shop related dings, etc. than sheetrock will be.
- insulation is a relatively inexpensive aid to minimizing temperature and moisture fluctuations (the latter especially being important for tool and raw material storage). I hadn't thought of the exterior noise issue, as in my instance - living in the country with neighbors a fair distance away - but it may be significant in your instance.
- Go with what matches your known and near term needs! After all, you can always swap out one finished surface for another when needs change.
Just my personal experience.
Curmudgeon said:
- pegboard pretty much eliminates my ability to store tools, etc. in all but one dimension (a flat surface). I've got a lot of wall space currently being consumed for example by a 1 1/2 sq. ft. area being dedicated to, for example card scrapers. If I construct a till to hold those same scrapers safely, then I can reduce the wall space consumption down to something under 1/2 a square foot.
- I believe even properly sized pegs in pegboard are a problem in that frequently when I pull a tool from the wall, the peg fixture flops around at a minimum and often ends up on the floor.
I have hung several cabinets from french cleats (screwed through to studs) directly over the pegboard with no problems.
I have developed a technique of using soft wire to tie any floppy hooks to the pegboard. Takes only seconds and is cheap. Of course, there are commercial devices that do the same.
Thanks for the comments.
I think I will finish the topmost part of the wall, because at level above my head protruding out 24 inches or so will be less of a problem.
At head to waist level, a bit of room can be a good thing. Here I am also thinking about using the 3.5 inch space of the stud to make dust collection conducts/rectangular channels. Also, an extra 3.5 inch is good for dust collection hood for my RAS and more room for my sliding miter saw (if I get one). I will make the channels openable for unclogging saw dust. I will not squeeze 4" diameter hose into 3.5 inch space as if a clog develops it will be very bad.
As a small aside. Rectangular ductwork is not recommended for dust collection due to increased turbulence hence lost efficiency.
I would check with building and fire codes before you 'plywood' a garage wall.
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