Woodshop Ceiling Suggestions??

[Steve Goetz]

I am in the beginning stages of refurbishing my older 24x32x12 pole barn. My goal is to someday get a woodshop up and running. It was built by my grandparents and I back in the early 90's and has been a "catch all" area storing misc. items since then. It currently has T1-11 siding (which I hope to wrap with vinyl soon), 4 windows, large 12x12 sliding door (which I hope to change to an overhead door when the money allows!), one man door, and a concrete floor. I have natural gas and 100amp electric to the barn, but other than that I'm working with a clean slate!

I'm going to frame out the walls with 2x4's making them flush with the inside edge of the 6x6 posts to give me a 6" wall that I can insulate. Not sure yet what I will cover the walls with. My question is this- my engineered wood trusses are spaced 4' o/c. Does anyone have any suggestions on a ceiling covering? I thought about drywall, but then I would have to run purlins every two feet to support the weight. I want something that is fairly easy to take care of once installed and somewhat easy on the budget. It also has to be able to support any insulation I put up their. Has anyone used pole barn metal on their ceilings? Not sure if it will span that distance either. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

-Steve

[Robert Engel]

Wow that sounds like a nice space. You may want to consider adding windows I think the more natural light the better.

My shop is also in a rehabbed horse barn space. The structure is 2x6 rafters and metal. I have never covered them and it works out ok.

If I had your space with trusses, I would definitely cover the ceiling, tho.

I bought some 1/2" ply from someone on CL for $3/sheet but it wasn't enough so I used OSB to cover some of my walls. I wasn't happy about using it but $'s were an issue at that point in the build. With a couple coats of paint I have to say it was quite acceptable.

So that's my recommendation for walls and/or ceilings - 1/2" OSB (not 7/16). Its cheaper than drywall. I ran a bead of caulk on the edges before installing the next piece and that worked out well. I would definitely rent a drywall lift.

I've seen roofing metal and also fiberglass panels but that would be quite expensive I think.

You will definitely have to fir the rafters regardless of what you use . Not that big a deal with an air nailer ;-).

[Jim Andrew]

I rehabbed an old pole barn for my shop as well. The trusses were not strong enough to carry a ceiling, so I built a scaffold and added lumber to the trusses, along with plywood gussets before finishing the building into a shop. The trusses need to be strong enough to carry whatever you plan to add to the load. I used a suspended ceiling, as was able to find a ceiling during the remodel of the bank I use. The company was planning to take it to the dump, so I asked if I could help take it down and have it. They helped me load it on my trailer after removing it. You can buy 2'x4' batts that fit above the tiles.

[Steve Goetz]

Robert, the space is nice....or should I say it has the potential to be nice once I get the many years of junk cleaned out of it! OSB is likely what I will predominately use on the walls due to it being fairly inexpensive, but I think I want something a bit more "pleasing to the eye" on the ceiling. Thanks for the insight!

[Steve Goetz]

Jim, the thought of a drop ceiling has crossed my mind, but I am likely to heat the shop once I'm able to be up there more often, and I feel like I'd loose too much heat through the tiles.....not sure though. Is your shop heated?

[Jim Becker]

Steve, insulation batts can be laid on top of the drop ceiling to deal with the heat loss issue. That's actually quite common in flex space type commercial where you have the office with the drop ceiling separate from the wide open industrial/manufacturing/storage space.

[William Batdorf]

Hello Steve,
Many good suggestions above but I went a different route. My trusses are 24-inches O.C. I too wanted a nice looking ceiling and being able to clean it was a benefit (I don't have dust collection). I use a product called Ag-Tuff PVC liner panel. It is predominately a product geared toward poultry and dairy buildings in that it is cheap, lightweight, and can be washed down. I had no problem adding R-19 batts on top of the material. In my case, I screwed it directly to the bottom chord of the trusses although you may find that the addition of lath installed perpendicular to your trusses on 24-inch centers may be beneficial and cost effective. Color matched self-tapping screws with a factory installed rubber washer are provided with the material. It is very thin and lightweight (cannot be loaded or walked on). Also, there is no fire resistance (an interest we both have in common judging by your by-line). The only difficulty to using the material is that it is very flexible until it is installed. I ordered 22-foot and 30-foot lengths lengths to span the entire width of the two rooms of my shop. I ended up cutting it shorter since I didn't have a lot of help to install it. You'll need several helpers to hold it in place while others install the screws.I realize that being in Ohio you won't want to buy it from my source, but start your research at http://www.abmartin.net/building-sup...ram-pvc-panels. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the product and would use it again.


IMG_0265.jpgIMG_0266.jpg

[Jim Laumann]

Steve

You most certainly use steel for a ceiling - interior walls as well. I did my shop in 2010 - its 40x30x12. Trusses are 10' OC - there were additional 2x4s installed between the trusses to support the ceiling panels. I had 14-16" of glass blown in to insulate it (poly vapor barrier, etc).

Here is a link to the thread that I posted about it's build - pics included...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...pix)&highlight=

Hope this helps

Jim

[Jim Andrew]

Yes my shop is heated. I have r30 batts over the ceiling tiles.

[Jason Zondor]

Hello Steve,
Many good suggestions above but I went a different route. My trusses are 24-inches O.C. I too wanted a nice looking ceiling and being able to clean it was a benefit (I don't have dust collection). I use a product called Ag-Tuff PVC liner panel. It is predominately a product geared toward poultry and dairy buildings in that it is cheap, lightweight, and can be washed down. I had no problem adding R-19 batts on top of the material. In my case, I screwed it directly to the bottom chord of the trusses although you may find that the addition of lath installed perpendicular to your trusses on 24-inch centers may be beneficial and cost effective. Color matched self-tapping screws with a factory installed rubber washer are provided with the material. It is very thin and lightweight (cannot be loaded or walked on). Also, there is no fire resistance (an interest we both have in common judging by your by-line). The only difficulty to using the material is that it is very flexible until it is installed. I ordered 22-foot and 30-foot lengths lengths to span the entire width of the two rooms of my shop. I ended up cutting it shorter since I didn't have a lot of help to install it. You'll need several helpers to hold it in place while others install the screws.I realize that being in Ohio you won't want to buy it from my source, but start your research at http://www.abmartin.net/building-sup...ram-pvc-panels. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the product and would use it again.


IMG_0265.jpgIMG_0266.jpg

That looks really nice! I may have to look into using that on the interior walls as well.

[Steve Goetz]

Jim, How did you attach your 2x4's to the trusses? Joist hangers or just nailed through the side of the bottom cord of the trusses? I can't tell from the pictures. Thanks, Steve

Steve

You most certainly use steel for a ceiling - interior walls as well. I did my shop in 2010 - its 40x30x12. Trusses are 10' OC - there were additional 2x4s installed between the trusses to support the ceiling panels. I had 14-16" of glass blown in to insulate it (poly vapor barrier, etc).

Here is a link to the thread that I posted about it's build - pics included...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...pix)&highlight=

Hope this helps

Jim

[Steve Goetz]

Wow, that is very nice looking and appears easier to handle than pole barn metal. Thanks for sharing....I'm definitely going to look into this product!

Hello Steve,
Many good suggestions above but I went a different route. My trusses are 24-inches O.C. I too wanted a nice looking ceiling and being able to clean it was a benefit (I don't have dust collection). I use a product called Ag-Tuff PVC liner panel. It is predominately a product geared toward poultry and dairy buildings in that it is cheap, lightweight, and can be washed down. I had no problem adding R-19 batts on top of the material. In my case, I screwed it directly to the bottom chord of the trusses although you may find that the addition of lath installed perpendicular to your trusses on 24-inch centers may be beneficial and cost effective. Color matched self-tapping screws with a factory installed rubber washer are provided with the material. It is very thin and lightweight (cannot be loaded or walked on). Also, there is no fire resistance (an interest we both have in common judging by your by-line). The only difficulty to using the material is that it is very flexible until it is installed. I ordered 22-foot and 30-foot lengths lengths to span the entire width of the two rooms of my shop. I ended up cutting it shorter since I didn't have a lot of help to install it. You'll need several helpers to hold it in place while others install the screws.I realize that being in Ohio you won't want to buy it from my source, but start your research at http://www.abmartin.net/building-sup...ram-pvc-panels. All-in-all, I'm very happy with the product and would use it again.


IMG_0265.jpgIMG_0266.jpg

[Steve Goetz]

Thank you all for the information. Hopefully soon, I can get started on this project. For those that have metal...or the like...as there ceiling material--which direction did you run your material? My barn is 24x32 with the large sliding door on the 24' side and a man door on the 32' side. Not sure which direction to run the metal to be more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

[Doug Filo]

Thank you all for the information. Hopefully soon, I can get started on this project. For those that have metal...or the like...as there ceiling material--which direction did you run your material? My barn is 24x32 with the large sliding door on the 24' side and a man door on the 32' side. Not sure which direction to run the metal to be more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

We used durapanel on the ceiling and drywall on the walls we were going to put the panel on the walls but makes it alot harder to hang stuff on the walls. https://www.menards.com/main/buildin...4448673649.htm

[Steve Goetz]

Doug, how was the price for this product?

We used durapanel on the ceiling and drywall on the walls we were going to put the panel on the walls but makes it alot harder to hang stuff on the walls. https://www.menards.com/main/buildin...4448673649.htm