Replies

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 28, 2009 11:42am | #1

   I clad my shop walls with 3/8" plywood. On the wall where I hung cabinets, I used 3/4".

   Chris @ www.flairwoodworks.com
   and www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Aug 28, 2009 04:18pm | #3

   Chris,

   Ditto here.  In addition I installed 3/8" French cleats across the wall so I can hang thangs anywhere.  Chisels, rasps & rifflers, files, screwdrivers, etc. sit in fabricated boxes with corresponding cleats so I can move them anywhere on the wall.

   In my tool tray there is a 3/4" batten that runs the length of the tray so I can prop up the boxes right in front of me at the vise(s).  Slicker 'n a trout.   

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Aug 28, 2009 07:43pm | #4

   Bob,The French cleat is an excellent idea - giving you freedom to move stuff around. Did you know that the Gamble House has horizontal moldings about 6' high on the wall with a French cleat profile on the top? They are can be used to hand pictures among other things without punching holes in the walls.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

2. 
   noviceneil | Aug 28, 2009 03:35pm | #2

   I used 11/16 OSB 4X8 sheets and then put bead board over the top of that to dress it up a bit...turned out OK for a guy who'd never done anything like that....or course it was an old garage, sitting ..no, sliding down, the top of a hill..so nothing is close to square...I just put alot of stuff on the walls to distract from the skewed lines...eventually I had to bite the bullet and get some foundation specialists to fix the moving shop... the end product is very functional.. I love my shop ...would rather spend two weeks there than in Hawaii..

   Neil

3. 
   JohnWW | Aug 28, 2009 10:32pm | #5

   Anything that would hold a screw well would work of course but some materials are certainly more attractive than others.

   1x4 bought from a lumber yard would get expensive in a hurry, but locally milled rough sawn would be reasonable.

   I would want to use T&G or ship lap if possible for a tighter fit which would require a lot of work if starting from RS. I use T-111 in my shop and it works well and looks good. The ability to securely hang anything anywhere is a huge time saver.

   If your shop is covered by building codes you will need probably need to have sheetrock for fire resistance either under or over the wood sheathing. You can put ugly, but cheap, OSB or CDX on the studs and hide it with the sheetrock. The one advantage to the sheetrock is that you can patch it and repaint it easily. I put plywood behind the sheetrock in the walls of kitchens of kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms because it makes mounting cabinets, shelving and fixtures so simple later on.

   John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998-2007

4. 
   mike4244 | Aug 30, 2009 03:36am | #6

   I used 7/16" osb with the smooth side towards the shop.

   mike

1. 
   RalphBarker | Aug 30, 2009 06:49am | #7

   Now, imagine a 50# cabinet filled with 100# of Festools pulling the screws through the OSB, and falling to the concrete floor. Oh, my. I guess I'll have to buy new ones. ;-)It might be better to engineer the wall to hold the loads that will be placed on them after you've forgotten what the wall is made of.

1. 
   roqqytop | Aug 31, 2009 09:38pm | #10

   cant hit the studs with your screws?

1. 
   RalphBarker | Aug 31, 2009 10:39pm | #11

   Nope. Mine are too short these days. ;-)The objective was, I believe, a screw-it-anywhere wall. so using the studs would be cheating.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Sep 01, 2009 04:20am | #12

   Ralph,

   Mine are too short these days.

   Go for the French cleats.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

5. 
   YesMaam27577 | Aug 30, 2009 03:53pm | #8

   Teh walls in my shop are done with 5/8" T-111. At the time I was building, T-111 seemed to be suffering in the sales and style arena's, so one of the local yards was closing the stuff out. I think I got it for around $5 a sheet.

   And I've never regretted it. I can hang anything anywhere.

   But don't use particle board -- the stuff won't hold nails or screws.

   Sheathing ply is good, flooring ply is good, T-111 is good, even OSB will hold nails and screws.

   I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
   And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
   I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
   So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)

1. 
   boilerbay | Aug 30, 2009 05:16pm | #9

   Someone put OSB in my garage and it's the worse stuff I've ever seen with sheet rock screws, full thread or bugle. Even a moderate length bugle head just spins. Full thread sheet rock screw -- the same. I use other screws for that junk. Hate OSB. (OSB = Obviously S**t Board). Fine for outside sheathing on houses and house wrap fin/nails but not on shop walls.Used CDX and T-111 for shop.If putting shop in garage, with garage door (not reframed and sealed as a room),assuming a steel door to house as per fire code, common wall has to be covered with sheet rock for fire delay.
   All IMHOBoiler

6. 
   d | Oct 18, 2009 03:29am | #13

   I built my last shop and did the inside with 7/16 OSB primed and painted with oil based white paint.  I worked in that shop 10 years and never had a problem with things falling off the wall.  I hung the OSB smooth side out.  In fact it works so well I am going to do the same thing in the new shop I am building right now.  The key to using OSB is to keep the edges dry during construction.

   David

   
   

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   Edited 10/17/2009 8:31 pm ET by D