[AlanTA]

I am just finishing my 40x60 garage, and am trying to decide what to use for the walls on the interior. I've thought of sheet rock or metal. I think I'm going to do metal on the ceiling for sure, but am concerned about being able to hang stuff on the walls with the metal.. I am going to have one section where I can wash cars inside, so the metal would work good for that. Does anyone else have anything else they would recommend? or pro's and con's to the above? Oh it is a 12' ceiling too. I'm sectioning it off into a 20x40 foot workshop with lift, and a 40x40 "showroom" area.

Thanks!

[85citation]

I would definitely recommend using slotted boards for hanging pegboard accessories from. That would make it easier to hang anything anywhere anytime, including cabinets and tools.

Just a thought.

[AlanTA]

Can you find that at a local home store? I think I know what you are referring to. It just has horizontal grooves right?

[85citation]

That's right.

It should be available in 4X8 sheets at any local home store. It makes for great modular storage, and can even be painted to match the decor of your garage. It's even strong enough to hold small cabinets which will move again later if you need them to.

[Beenaway2long]

Pros and Cons:
1.) Metal Panels- somewhat more expensive than OSB. Great for ceilings, as they don't require as much framing to hold up. 4' on center is OK, so long as its perpendicular to joists.
For walls, its expensive and you will need to furr out any cabinets, or wall mounted accessories. Tightening a cabinet directly to metal will crush the ribs. You will also need to run horizontal blocking to fasten metal to.

2.) OSB- Running $18./sheet, add in for OIL BASED Killz and 2 coats paint or it will bleed through. Not a show room finish, but its sturdy and holds up well. Easy to attach things to it. Studs recommended 16" on center. Great for shops, not so great for showrooms. Need additional bracing for ceiling applications.

3.) Drywall- Relatively fragile, easily marked up. Not great in varying temperatures, humidities as joint compound will crack from temperature cycles. Good for showrooms, lousy for shops.
Need 16" o.c. for ceilings and walls. Ceiling must have blocking at ends of sheets.

[wheel-7]

I think if I had to do it again I would use the peg board from the floor to the ceiling. You can get it in white or brown color at Lowes or Home Depot. You can hang hooks anywhere. Plus, if you wanted a shelf it easy to find the studs and nail it up.
The sheeting is cheap and dosent look bad at all.

[bigbird]

My shop is 30x40 with 12 foot walls and an open ceiling with only 3 rafters. (pole barn type building) I first insulated the walls with pink foam sheets and then covered that with plastic and then with wood chip board (looks like actual woods chips) Then I painted everything with two coats of white.

There's a couple of pictures in my gallery when I first built the shop. Lot's of changes since then though.

I know I could keep it warmer and brighter if I hung a ceiling but I'd rather spend the extra money on the car.

Fred

[Kevin45]

I've had drywall in my garages and have had no problems. When you get tired of the color on the walls they are easy to paint over. The only regret I have is not having a smooth ceiling. I got a heck of a deal on with a guy doing drywall work and I ended up letting myself being talked into a textured ceiling. It looks great but is a huge dustweb catcher. Also as far as drywall goes...if anyone goes that route, put something else at least 2-3' up on the walls other than drywall. Main reason being that is you ever wash out a garage with a hose the splash will go up a foot or so even if you are careful. Drywall can be misted a time or two if painted but if it gets damp too many times it will start to deteriorate. I have had no problems yet but I think I will cover mine with something a little more waterproof in the future. Also if you hang drywall make sure you paint it to seal it up. I learned from a drywaller why the ceiling cracked in my garage on the house. It is not heated and that is where we park our main cars. Snow melts off in the winter and any heat at all makes the garage more humid. (It is not heated but draws heat from the house walls, etc. so it never really gets below 40*) The humidity soaks into the drywall and if I ever have the doors opened for a prolonged time in the winter the humidity in the ceiling will freeze. He told me that if the ceiling was painted it would not have done that. Anyways the constant cycling of warm and cold has cracked the joints. So now the only remedy is to retape, remud, probably popcorn, and paint to seal. It's not too bad looking now except for two long joints but since it was also textured it cannot be matched exactly. Like they say "It's always sumpthin"

Kevin

[daimon1054]

IMO 3/4" Ply-wood is the best, you can hang stuff anywhere and it is cheap.

[Partsman]

Metal would be excellent for the ceiling.

You may want to check out the material they use in livestock buildings. There is a white panel that is water-proof and very tough. It would be great for using in a car wash area, remember to seal the edges so water does not leak under a wall.

The slat wall panels are great, they look better than pegboard and will dress up the area that they are used in. Plus, you can hang stuff on them as well.

Some of the farm magazines have had specials on shop ideas, so that might be a source of ideas.

Don't forget to design the wash area to drain into a sediment area that you can clean out. It will save some headaches later.

Hope this helps
Partsman325

[Kevin45]

The only real downfall I see with pegboard and slatted walls to hang stuff is that everywhere you hang something in a garage it is a huge dust collector. If you plan on painting anything you have that dust to contend with first. That's why I like everything in cabinets. And the fact that roaming eyes don't see what you have with cabinets. You never know who want t grab somethingwhen it's out. I am thinking about redoing my ceiling with metal though just to keep down on the dust webs.

Kevin

[85citation]

FYI:

There are cabinets that will hang on the slatboards. They even lock into the slats and have locks on the doors for security.

[daimon1054]

Well at 40 buck a sheet for slat board VS 20 for 3/4 plywood sure it looks better but twice the cost? Add to that the outragious cost for all the hangers when you can just screw or nail anwhere you want with plywood. Then slat board is not waterproff and will swell if you get it wet. I just can not see it being worth it to put slat board.

[85citation]

If you shellac or varnish the slatboard it becomes fairly water resistant.

Ever watch Hot Rod TV? Unless I'm blind, their walls are covered with the stuff near their benches.

Besides, who wants to look at holes in the walls after 10 years of moving stuff around??

[daimon1054]

Hot rod TV has a million bucks and the host changes his shirt every 2 seconds so he looks clean. If a wall board gets dirty they chang it so long lasting is not a big concern. Last I am sure they did not even buy the slat board the slat board folks gave it to them so you would buy it, it's called advetising.