Whats on your walls?

[Greg Urwiller]

What does everyone use for wall covering in your shop? Sheetrock or something else such as OSB? I suppose sheetrock is probably the preferred material, but I hate to go to all the work of taping/mudding/sanding just for a shop. Greg

[Bill LaPointe]

Greg,

My shop is in my basement. Poured walls. I put pegboard across the top 4' the full length of one wall. (50') Very flexible and fixtures easily moved. Well worth the effort.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Without a doubt, OSB is among the cheapest and most versatile. You can hang just about anything just about anywhere on it without needing a stud or expanding fasteners - DC ductwork hangers for example. 1/2" sheets are now about $6.40 at the Borg.
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[Bill Leonard]

I used 1/2 inch ply. I can drive a nail anywhere I want.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I used 1/2 inch ply. I can drive a nail anywhere I want.

I can drive a nail anywhere I want also, but with the cost of gas and all.... I prefer he just stays home and plays cards or watches TV.
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[Greg Urwiller]

Also for those of you who use "wood" for the walls, do you paint them to help brighten the room, or leave them alone? I was in a shop not too long ago where the guy had OSB on everything, ceilings also. He only had a window in the door, seemed to be well lit. While it wasn't dark in the shop, I can see why people like painted sheetrock. I don't know if there's anything in our city code about wall/ceiling coverings, but I realized after the fact, that both contractors that bid my shop stated that they would insulate and sheetrock the ceiling and insulate the walls. When we initially discussed the construction I told them I would do all the inside work (sheeting and insulation). I didn't think about it at the time, but both bids included the ceiling complete and wall insulation. Just another question I'll have to ask about. Now that it's a done deal, I'm thinking of a lot of specific questions I never thought to ask about before. Greg

[Paul Pavone]

+1 for the OSB.
I recently decided to paint mine. Wow, after the first coat, it looked like someone spilled milk on it. It completely soaked up the paint. The second coat was just ok. I used cheap WalMart paint. Maybe someone here has a better idea?

[Mike Cruz]

Yup, I used OSB. No, I didn't paint it. I like the "wood" look rather than painted. I did paint the finishing room white, though...to make sure it was bright enough. The rest of the shop didn't need it.

One thing to consider... When you sheet rock, you patch (mud and tape) all the seams, making the walls air tight. If you use OSB, unless you caulk the seems, air may be able to pass through the cracks. Just some food for thought. Of course, it all depends on your walls... if you have cinder block or poured concrete walls, I doubt a whole lot of air will pass...

[Chris Damm]

OSB painted white. It was 1/2 the cost of drywall at the time and I can hang up anything anywhere! Use a stain blocking primer for the 1st coat.

[Darius Ferlas]

I have drywall and I can also drive a nail anywhere I want. It's just that some won't carry a lot of load.

[Matt Meiser]

I can drive a nail anywhere I want also, but with the cost of gas and all.... I prefer he just stays home and plays cards or watches TV.
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More wild turkey, huh?

Also for those of you who use "wood" for the walls, do you paint them to help brighten the room, or leave them alone?

+1 for the OSB.
I recently decided to paint mine. Wow, after the first coat, it looked like someone spilled milk on it. It completely soaked up the paint. The second coat was just ok. I used cheap WalMart paint. Maybe someone here has a better idea?

I have OSB, primed (which looked horrible after 1 coat too) and painted with contractor grade paint from Lowes. After 6 years, I've been repainting some areas as the paint has yellowed a fair amount. I didn't really notice until I touched up one area. Some flakes delaminated during painting so i either pulled them off or just painted them down.

As I painted it was like someone was turning on more lights so definitely worth it.

I have a ribbed steel ceiling

[glenn bradley]

Part drywall, mostly OSB. Primed with a high quality primer and painted semi-gloss white (brutal, typing paper white). If I did it again I would go gloss over the semi. The increase in light distribution is substantial. I wish I had a ceiling to paint too.

[David Helm]

Mixture of open walls and sheetrock. I can't imagine OSB being cheaper than sheetrock. OSB is generally 7to 13 dollars a sheet depending on the market. During Hurricane Katrina it went up to 21 dollars. Sheetrock is still only 4 to 5 dollars for a 4 X 8. Mud is cheap and tape is cheap. For a shop you don't need to do fancy finish mudding, just tape and a light overcoat. Since you cut it with a knife, it's also faster.

[Jim O'Dell]

First check codes...you may be required to use to use drywall as a fire suppressant, especially if it is attached to the house. My shop is detached, already had just peg board on the walls and 1/4" ply on the ceiling, so when I redid everything, I used 7/16" OSB on everything, except the areas I have some Slatwall material for hanging things. I used the rough side out to have some texture and painted with 2 coats of Kilz water based primer, no top coat. It's white enough for me. Yes, the OSB does lift in spots. Not sure if the oil based version of the Kilz would keep this from happening or not.
If you have to do drywall, you could still top it with OSB, or other wood of your choice. You could do a basic job to tape and bed the seams, wouldn't have to be pretty, and maybe prime it. Then cover with what ever you wanted to use. I originally wanted to get the Lumber Liquidator's scrap mixed hardwood packs (pallets of pieces they couldn't use) and mill it to make my own covering, and mount it at a 45 degree angle on the walls. It would cost just a LITTLE more than the OSB to do that though. I guess if you got a killer deal on some floor laminate, it could still work. Jim.

[Matt Meiser]

If you wanted nice, but fast (and no drywall taping for those of us who can't stand to do it) you could use beadboard plywood or T1-11 siding. When I did mine I came close to using something called Plybead which was thick enough to use as a wallcovering because at the time OSB was way up in price.