Garage Shop Walls: Drywall or OSB?

[Steve Canada]

OSB = Orientated Strand Board

There are a few types, but essentially is those plywood boards which look like a million wood chips pressed and glued together.

[Laurie Brown]

Laurie,
OSB is oriented strand board. It is made up of chips / chucks of wood scrap and glue. It is oriented in random directions for strength.

Scroll up a little to my post with the picture. It is the brown stuff on the ceiling that is still unpainted.

Joe

Ahh, ok, thanks for the clarification. My dad made an entire shed/shop out of this stuff, using it for the exterior walls. He painted them red and white like a barn, and the thing has been standing for over 20 years. Never knew what that material was called. If you put screws through it won't it tend to chip or shred pieces?

[Matt Day]

Okay okay, enough people have said what OSB stands for!

My opinion: it's a shop=OSB, you'll make holes in drywall by accident=OSB, you can nail into it easier to hang stuff=OSB, it's cheaper=OSB.

Just watch out for splinters, they're particularly nasty on that stuff!

[Jerry Strojny]

If you put screws through it won't it tend to chip or shred pieces?

No really Laurie, there is some "blow out" from screws, but all wood has some of that. There is so much glue in OSB it holds together just fine.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Check with your insurance company. Your choice of materials may determine your rates. For me, drywall was the less expensive option in a stand alone shop.

[Leo L. Lariviere]

Hello Kurt...
Wonderful garage...I have a few questions for you,
1 - What did you install first...the tin on the ceiling or the OSB on the walls?
2 - Did you install a vapor barrier (plastic) before installing the tin?
3 - Is your tin painted or galvanized?
I am about to undergo a similar project with my garage; however, I have a tin roof and it sweats with condensation....

Recommendations?
L3 in Sudbury

[Mark Blum]

Welcome Leo. You may not realize it but you are replying to a thread that is 6 years old. You may want to start a new one to ask your specific questions.

[Marius Titulescu]

OSB is the way to go, no doubt about it.
__________________________________
Marius

[Gregory King]

Yep, an old topic for sure but still good reading. I am working a bit in my Garage/shop repairing some cracks in the joint fill on the walls. Building was new in 2000, 40' x26' with 10' high walls. Covered everything with 1/2" drywall. Made a big mistake and used mesh tape on the butt joints on the ceiling. As you might guess, wrong move. Cracked badly. Going to pull the old stuff and replace with the paper tape. A joint filler told me so just a week after I installed the dang stuff. After I repair and paint, I'm going to try my hand at some PVC conduit on the wall surface. Intend to run a couple of 20 amp. 220V receptacles for my 14" planer [ I have] and for the 8"jointer [ I hope to get after x'mas] . Greg

[Chris Padilla]

Folks,

This thread was raised from the dead so be aware of that. I don't think this forum existed way back then so I moved it here from the GWW/PT Forum.

[Terry Wawro]

Just finished my new 15x25 attached garage / shop about a month ago. After debating the sheetrock vs OSB etc around for a month I went with sheetrock. It is a clean white surface that reflects light well, easily repairable and will enhance the resale value if we ever sale. If I end up needing to hang something heavy between the studs I can always throw up a sheet or 1/2 sheet of plywood first.

[Patrick Harper]

Are there any other options that provide the fire resistance of sheet rock but the convenience of OSB/T1-11?

[Tom M King]

Patrick, I used an exterior panel in our dogroom that goes up just like T111 with the rabbeted edges, but has a primed surface that's ready for painting. http://www.starbornhavanese.com/images/DSCN5733.JPG

Here is the link for it. It's not as cheap as sheetrock, but you would have to try really hard to knock a hole through it, and it does take a lot less time and mess putting it up through finish painting. I hand nailed it with 6 CC sinkers, hit the nailheads with oilbased primer so they wouldn't bleed through, and sprayed it the same day. No sanding of any kind. I wanted to be able to find the studs easily without bothering with a stud finder, and you have to look for the sinker heads in the wall texture.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/SmartSide...7874/100055901

I also used it in closets in the latest addition on our house.

[John K Jordan]

I went with 1/2" plywood on shop walls and ceilings on 2x6 stud wall with PT bottom plate on concrete. I like being able to mount anything anywhere. If I smacked it with a board it wouldn't make a hole. I raised it about 3/4" off the concrete. My ceilings are 9' so I added a band around the top. Far easier to paint than OSB. I bought a whole bundle for a discount.

I put up all plywood with deck screws. This lets me take sheets down easily if I need to get to wiring, AC drain pipe, or compressed air lines. I took one piece down to run an extra power outlet.

JKJ

[Art Mann]

I believe I used the same product as Tom King several years ago and it has worked out very well. Actually, the primer looked good enough that I didn't paint it at all. I really like John Jordan's idea of using screws to mount the sheets. I have wished a hundred times that I didn't have to pull nails to get to the wiring in the walls.