related to sheetrocking ceilings – what do you all recommend for covering interior walls? Sheetrock would likely get pretty beat up. I’ve been looking at the studs for a few years – it’s time to insulate and cover the walls with something.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
Whatever you use on the inside of the walls, I would first put OSB or plywood on the studs, then cover with drywall or whatever you use. putting a stiff panel up that can hold fixtures, shelves, tool racks, cabinets, etc will make using the shop much easier and will give more flexibility on where things go - no more finding studs.
Check with the local building codes to see if plywood can be an interior wall. It may well make a difference if the garage is attached or detached. Rules are much stiffer in some areas for attached garages (ones than may set the house on fire.)
I agree with Telemike, also as stated for the cieling, paint the walls white to add illumination and make the shop brighter. One thing I did, was mark on the foundation with a laundry pen where the center of each stud was (used a cheap 12" combo square), so that if/when I needed to know that it would be easier to find them.
I recommend that you use white gloss or at least a semi-gloss paint. The reflective qualities are superior to flat latex paints and it make a big difference in brightening the shop as well as making it seem larger.
Edited 2/9/2006 10:37 am by DougF
Doug.. I know squat about shop lighting other than if you don't turn on the lights it is kinda dark. Several years ago there was an extensive article in FWW about this very topic. He was a professional in the lighting industry. His recommendation for paint was a flat white as opposed to any gloss for a shop wall. This was a surprise to me as I thought as you suggested in your thread. I do not have personal experience with my shop as I find it hard to paint 6 mil poly over Roxul insulation. Just passing along what I had read.
Brian
Thanks - that information is certainly counter-intuitive but often conventional wisdom turns out to be only conventional. I'm happy with my semi-gloss and I think the paint handles wear and tear better than flat latex.
Edited 2/17/2006 9:31 am by DougF
Dear Deer?
I just finished up my shop couple years back. Put in sheetrock everywhere (5/8ths) and painted it. Ceiling white, but walls a sort of lighter brown color. Reflects light (it's semi-gloss) and isn't quite so harsh on the eyes with contrast differences between the gleaming white walls and whatever I'm working on.
Haven't yet dinged the walls. I don't generally throw stuff around that much (unless I screwed up something and am ticked off of course) so it doesn't wind up as big a problem as you might imagine. Made it a lot quieter too! (for folks outside....stops a lot of sound transmission)
Good luck
Hi ALL,
My shop is on the second floor and as such, two of the walls have an 18" kneewall and then the walls slant upward following the pitch of the roof. These two walls are covered w/drywall, top to bottom, as I didn't forsee needing plywood reinforcement. The other two walls go straight up to the ceiling. On these, I mounted plywood 8' up to allow attachment of cabinets, shelves, etc. Above the plywood on there is drywall up to the ceiling.
Vertical walls are light grey and the others are semi-gloss white. The ridge runs east-west so I installed two shop made glass skylights using recycled glass doors from an old slider. The combination of natural light and my flourescents makes the shop light and airy, not to mention the solar gain.
Also, being on the second floor makes DC a cinch as the collector resides downstairs. Return is ducted back into the shop under the workbench.
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Deer...
When I started covering my walls, I went with "Hardiboard Soffit" sheets. They are 1/16" thinner than the standard 4X8 sheets with the vertical seams pressed into them. The soffit sheets are somewhat lighter in weight and I wanted NO 1950's Knotty Pine look.... My ceilings are the exterior grooved engineered sheeting. In full sheets, the Hardiboard was too heavy to lift overhead, so I cut it in half where it was needed near high heat areas.
In one corner of the workshop is a small 9' X 15' room where my wife's electric ceramic kiln sits. On the two walls, I chose to use the metal studs, on 12" centers and packed with pink fiberglass. Then I used sheetmetal screws to hold the Hardyboard to those walls with a layer of metal directly behind the kiln. (Side Note: When the wood stoves hit the market on the East Coast in the '70's, those that used nails into wood studs behind their stoves found a surprise. The nail heads were attracting the stove heat and letting it travel down the shank of the nail. That conducted heat charred the nail holes black and the nails worked out or could be pulled out with little effort....)
I used EXTERIOR semigloss paint for the INSIDE walls. Along with the tough and fireproof Hardiboard, this type of paint takes bumps and lots of scrubbings should you have splatter marks. Plus, the wall surface cleans easily with low pressure compressed air... On a lucky day, you can find "Oops" paint returned at Home Depot. They sell the 5-gallon drums of Behr's exterior semigloss paint that normally sells for over $100, for only $15....just because it wasn't the right tint.
As for color, I used a closeout paint of Sears Weatherbeater. The color is A-081, an "Eggnog" color, but at $5 a gallon, it's really reflective and easy on the eyes when all eighteen 4-tube light fixtures are turned on. Here's a Picture of a light color and part of my shop cooling.
Bill
The bottom 4' of my walls are plywood, with sheetrock above. Here's a couple of pics.
Alan & Lynette Mikkelsen, Mountain View Farm, est. 1934, Gardens & Fine Woodworking, St. Ignatius, MT
Many thanks Alan for the photos. Great idea to put plywood below and drywall above. I think I will do it. I am starting to realize that it takes years to get a shop set up correctly.
Hi
I expanded my shop 2 yrs ago and one of the best things I did was to hang 3/4" ply on the walls and attach with screws. Takes paint well, will take a real beating and you can hang just about anything anywhere on it without having to go serching for studs (within reason) except lumber racks
Marty
Deer,
I used 4X8 OSB sheets, and painted it with white semi-gloss. I used screws so I could get back into the walls for upgrades if I need to. I've been pleased with the outcome.
I am just about done with my new shop, and did sheetrock all over, ceiling, walls, all around. I did put in a lot of light, and have seven windows to let natural light in. I am pleased with the amount of light inside with my ceiling being white and walls being a real light yellow, almost white. I have never had problems putting things on walls, even in my old shop I had no problems doing that, and also never banged up the walls with wood or even an occasional flying part. The idea of putting some kind of plywood on behind the sheetrock sounds like a good idea, but for a large shop might be a bit expensive. One other thing that comes to my mind, when I get moved into my shop, likely as not there will not be a lot of free space on the walls, so the covering may not even be a real big deal no matter what it is.
I used OSB in my shop, but now there is only $1.50 difference between 1/2" OSB and 1/2" BC ply. There is a new gypsum product that is meant for exterior use, but will be great in a shop. It is similar to drywall except it has a fiberglass reinforced skin instead of paper. It resists beating with a hammer and costs around $12 a sheet.
Mike
I got a deal on very nice 1x12 #2 pine for .45 cents a foot. I shiplapped the edges, finished with Minwax varnish, (both sides), and installed on the walls. It was a little expensive but sure is cozy, kind of like being at the cabin. The ceilings are 5/8" wall board painted bright white.
I am on my 3rd shop in 30 years. All had drywall walls. I have never had any problems with any of them. if you do get a ding you can normally fix it with out much trouble or just have a semi true story to add to the character of the shop.
Good luck with your new shop. Just make it twice as big as you can afford and maybe you won't talk about your 3rd shop.
Bob
Thanks to everyone for your input. Bob, you are right about making the shop big. My shop is 24x44 and is feeling pretty crampt - mainly because I repair old structures and usually have stacks of long lumber inside. Am planning on a 24x36 addition which better do it.
I had my shop walls done in drywall which were then painted. Have had no problem with dings etc. A friend used OSB which was sealed, but it seems too dark, he probably should have painted it.
I didn't do the ceiling at the same time as the walls so DC ducting could be added.
With the housing boom in our area, drywallers are in short supply, so I considered alternatives for the ceiling. Ended up using white 29 gauge ribbed steel which I did myself with a rented drywall lift. It can be ordered to any length you want. For ease of handling, I used 3 pieces to go the length of my shop. The price ended up about the same. It gives a high quality reflective ceiling and it was done with minimal mess.
Good luck,
Bob
I put white prepainted metal roofing on the ceiling of my shop, installing it with the same screws that are normally used for roofing. You can get it in pretty much any length your want (or can handle) and it makes for a nice reflective surface. It goes up very quickly with a couple of people and impact drivers. I had 8" of cellulose blown in on top if it in the attic, so there are no sound issues.
I used 1/2" OSB on the walls, and painted it (two coats) with latex-based white barn and fence paint from Tractor Supply (cheap, and it covers really well). This was a couple of years ago when there was a dip in the OSB prices, so it was not that much more expensive than hanging sheetrock, and it was certainly easier (no taping of seams - I just ran a bead of latex caulk in the joints between sheets).
My shop is 26 x 60, and it is already too small after 2 years!
-Chuck
My retirement shop is a 32 x 20 pole building. It has 9 ft walls and a trussed roof. I had 1/2 in foam insulation installed above the rafters and on the walls next to the metal siding. The foam has aluminum foil on its face so it reflects light. Trusses are 8 ft apart so I have overhead storage in 2 areas. I have no ceiling in my work area which helps when handling long stock. Low ceilings and long boards don't mix. I live in a small town with no law enforcement so I only have 2 small windows. I would prefer several large windows but they might invite breakins. I have an 8 ft overhead door and one solid walkin door. In nice weather I keep the overhead door open for light and ventilation. I have 6 Florescent lights 4 ft long w/ 2 bulbs each.
Since security is an issue, why not make sliding panels that are basically like what would be on a barn, but just for the windows? You could make it so they lock from the inside and use carriage bolts to attach the mechanism to the walls. Or, if it's just natural light you want, those light tubes that have a reflective aluminum flexible duct going from the dome on the roof to the reflector would work in all kinds of daylight.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I also have built several shops. Divorce is tough on (retaining) shops. My previous shop building was a 30' X 42' pole building with twelve foot walls, the last two feet of the wall height was done with translucent fiberglass panels to let daylight in while keeping prying eyes and hands out. That was one of the best choices I've ever made on a shop building (aside from the commercial steel roll up doors). Plenty of daylight during the day (?) and relatively safe. That building was WAAAY out in the country and I did not live there full time, I was concerned about breakin's as well, never had one. I'd do that again if I were to build another building like that, great way to add plenty of light cheaply...
It's funny, every time I build another shop building, they keep getting taller and wider than the previous building....;-)
Jumpman
To foil an attempt to kick the entry door down I installed a cross bar. And just enter and exit through the roll up door upon first arrival and last departure of the day. But I also have two perimeter alerts and one internal sensor.
Good idea.
My shop is located in the basement. Drywall covers metal studs and 2" foam board insulation up to the 4' height. It's 1/2" plywood from 4' to 8' height to nail and mount "stuff". And stuff has filled that space.
Electrical conduit runs just above the 4' height - I read a thread somewhere that said to consider allowance for placing 4' x 8' sheets along the wall and still have the ability to access outlets. I haven't had the need to place plywood against those walls. but it made sense.
If, and when, the floor epoxy is placed I'll probably pick a light gray color.
My shop is 36' x 16' with a 9' ceiling height. The floor is concrete with 2 coats of two part industrial epoxy in a light greyish silver tone to reflect light. Both 36' long walls are peg boarded from 36" up. One wall has a 26' long work bench attached to it with shelves under neith for storage of cased tools. The other 36' wall is blocked to 36" as it is a retaining wall. It too has the same application as the floor. Only in a light yellow to reflect light. Roll up doors on the end walls give great air flow. The only windows are on the side the sun is on most of the day ( about 9 hours, 9-5 or so ) They are the narrow 12" x 4' type, laying horizontal in line, spaced evenly apart on the benched 36' wall. At 14" from the ceiling. They don't open, and a burglar couldn't get through them unless he was an elf. But they let in alot of light. The lighting is high out put 8' flouresence becuase the come on in the cold unlike the other types. I have alot of great light all day and night. What ever color you put inside, use a wipeable paint. Like Deveos' eggshell. The wipeable factor will help reflect light and won't collect dust as bad as the laytex.
I recommend a knight heat / air unit combo unit real efficient and has a built in timer program, along with other great features. Mine is the 2 ton model.
One post mentioned space, yes it seems you out grow the shop before you move in. I can only build in length, hense the 16' wide becuase of the septic field. But that addition is coming someday. Prob will go to 56'. Hope this gives you some ideas
Edited 3/10/2006 9:47 pm ET by csacoe
I'm about to break ground on a new shop. Could you tell me what the Knight heat/air unit is? I haven't found it on google.
Thanks
Woodlark, The system is made by Heat Controller, Inc. p.o. box 1089 Jackson, Mich. 49204 517-787-2100
Energy Knight wall mounted single-zone, mini split system. air cond. / heat pump
5 year warrenty, delay start, pre-set stop, air circulation modes 4, and jet cool operation
It's a great system. cost me w/ installation about $ 3,200.00. Actually, I traded an old 1984 Porsche 944 for the unit nib and installed.
Thanks for the info.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled