New workshop - has anyone used cedar plywood on their walls?

[Ed Popiel]

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of planning a new woodshop - a 16' x20' attachment to our 2 car garage - I'm really psyched.

However, need to get a variance from the town to put it in since it will be within the limits of how close to the road - another story for another time.

Anyway, I was out in Peoria this weekend visiting a friend's wife's baby shower party (yes there were alot of guys outside drinking beer )
And he used ~ 1/8" cedar panels to line the barn's bathroom - it looked and smelled great.

So I was thinking, instead of using just plywood on my walls, I would insulate, put up OSB and then cover it with the cedar panels. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Ed

[Pat Germain]

My thoughts are it would look and smell great. If it's in your budget, and the cedar is readily available, why not?

[Nick Abbott]

I just use OSB.

[Chris Damm]

I used OSB and painted it white. White walls really brightened the place up. You wouldn't want to paint the cedar so I would not use it.

[Thomas Williams]

If you want to use cedar, by all means do so. There may be cheaper wall finishes, or painted walls may make the shop lighter. But, it is your shop and if you like the cedar on the walls, put the cedar on the wall. You will still be able to use your shop wall space for tool racks and storage just like any other walls. May leave some scars if you make changes. I have plain OSB and feel that it is a serviceable wall covering, but not real pretty.

[Jim O'Dell]

Not me. I'm allergic to cedar. I worked in a stereo store for 8 years with rough cut cedar on the interior. I was miserable!
+1 on painted OSB. Although the knotty pine tongue and grove paneling looks great! Jim.

[phil harold]

+1 on the cedar allergy

I will always remember a video of a waste paper can fire in a room with walls and ceiling of osb VERY SCARY

cover the osb up with sheet rock

paint ceiling and walls white or cover with white hardboard (marlite) panels

[David Christopher]

one thing great about the cedar is that it will keep bugs to a minimum

[Don Bullock]

...
However, need to get a variance from the town to put it in since it will be within the limits of how close to the road - another story for another time.
...

Check to see if the building codes will allow you to line the interior walls with wood. Since you need a variance due to the proximity of the road there may be specific things that you can and can't do that a special to your situation. For example, since my new shop is within 25 feet of the property line skylights were required to be tempered glass instead of plastic so I left them out of the final plans. I had to put leaf/debris covers on my gutters and the interior had to be drywall.

[Michael Campasano]

I used 5/8 sheetrock on half of my workshop and finished the rest with 1/4" white peg board. this gives me an option to put up a variety of hooks that hold my hand tools and bins.

Mike

[Bartee Lamar]

Why Cedar ???

I would use OSB painted white....

Paint every thing you can white. It really makes the shop look larger and obviously brighter.

Look at pictures posted of shops. Those with unfinished walls are just dark.

[Tom Hargrove]

I presume you are talking about the aromatic cedar panels, and not western red cedar, which is also available in paneling or beadboard strips. If you want the smell/scent/odor of cedar, you don't need to do the entire shop. You can put panels here and there and still have plenty of cedar aroma in the shop. It will diminsh over time, and will need to be sanded to renew the smell.

I would be concerned about too much of a good thing. If you cover all or most of the walls, the odor could be overwhelming. I know it would be to me. Imagine living or working in a cedar chest. Too much exposure might bring about an allergic reaction even though you are not overly sensitive to cedar now.

I would also worry about flame spread issues if you cover all the walls in cedar of any kind. Dry cedar really takes off when ignited.

[Nick Abbott]

Why Cedar ???

It would sure look good!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Code called for drywall on mine--insurance also required it.

[Ed Popiel]

Thanks guys - alot of things I never thought about!!!

Biggest thing I think is that alot of people have allergies to cedar so I guess if I have someone over to work with and they are allergic to cedar....they wouldn't spend too much time in the shop - so I guess it's not a good idea for me.

I was laso thinking about using the plywood that has grooves cut in it every 8 or 12 inches - that would probably be my best bet. Unless of course code is an issue - we will see and I will let everyone know how the variance issues go - I'll know July 13th when I petition the local board of BLue Ash Ohio.

Thanks again for all the input much appreciated - I'll also try to show pix along the way to show progress - cheers!!!