Drywall Vs. Plywood For Shop Walls?

MARVIN GARDENS

MARVIN GARDENS

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Hi.

I have another project in the planning stages and was hoping for some opinions from the members. My home shop consists of a little over have of a extra deep two car garage. The situation I've run into here in California's Central Valley is that it is either too cold or too hot to work in there except for the five or six seasonal days we get. It was 115 degrees in the garage today. There is no space on our lot to build another structure so the the garage is my only option.

I am planning on intstalling a insulated roll up door on the side of the garage which would lead to a coverd welding/gringing area. Our garage doors are nearly forty years old and I plan on replacing them with insulated models. The current drywall on the walls is coming down so insulation can be installed, There is do drywall on the ceiling rafters so the plan is to insulate and install insulation in the ceiling along with some canned lighting and some moveable, ceiling mounted surgical lights that I scrounged from a clinic that was being gutted. Eventually I would like to install a central air system in order to keep the inside temperature between 45 and 90 degrees. I have a roll-around swamp cooler but I don't like the effects of the moisture on my tooling plus I am very susceptible to sinus infections and end up with pounding headaches every time I use the cooler.

The electrical outlets will be run via conduit over the walls and ceiling as will the pipe for the compressed air. My question now is should I cover the walls with 5/8" drywall or just go ahead and cover the walls with plywood? The drywall would obviously be less expensive while the plywood would be less susceptible to damage and provide a better anchoring surface.

Any thoughts?

Regards.

Bob
 
MARVIN GARDENS said:
Hi.

I have another project in the planning stages and was hoping for some opinions from the members. My home shop consists of a little over have of a extra deep two car garage. The situation I've run into here in California's Central Valley is that it is either too cold or too hot to work in there except for the five or six seasonal days we get. It was 115 degrees in the garage today. There is no space on our lot to build another structure so the the garage is my only option.

I am planning on intstalling a insulated roll up door on the side of the garage which would lead to a coverd welding/gringing area. Our garage doors are nearly forty years old and I plan on replacing them with insulated models. The current drywall on the walls is coming down so insulation can be installed, There is do drywall on the ceiling rafters so the plan is to insulate and install insulation in the ceiling along with some canned lighting and some moveable, ceiling mounted surgical lights that I scrounged from a clinic that was being gutted. Eventually I would like to install a central air system in order to keep the inside temperature between 45 and 90 degrees. I have a roll-around swamp cooler but I don't like the effects of the moisture on my tooling plus I am very susceptible to sinus infections and end up with pounding headaches every time I use the cooler.

The electrical outlets will be run via conduit over the walls and ceiling as will the pipe for the compressed air. My question now is should I cover the walls with 5/8" drywall or just go ahead and cover the walls with plywood? The drywall would obviously be less expensive while the plywood would be less susceptible to damage and provide a better anchoring surface.

Any thoughts?

Regards.

Bob
Click to expand...

I have used 7/16" OSB (usually used as exterior sheathing on stick built buildings) with good results. It provides good holding for screwing shelving & other items to the wall. I tie more stringent load items into studs. It takes paint well and is more economical than plywood.
 
Plywood will fair a shop invironment better than drywall.
I am doing the same thing to my shop. Im doing one wall at a time to keep cost to a minimum.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker
 
I put plywood in my shop and have never regretted it. A good coat of white paint really made a difference on lighting. Go for the plywood.
 
A typical home shop is mostly made out of wood. If you put drywall on the interior walls, that buffers a potential fire hazard a bit. If you continue the wood construction with putting more wood on the interior walls all you have done is add more wood to the fire. I understand the convenience of a wood wall and your ability to hang all your toys on it. But my vote is to prevent a fire disaster. I would rather have drywall and have a “ little” more safety…Good Luck, Dave.
 
I framed, the inside of a shipping container for my shop. Insulated and sheeted with 3/4" OSB toungue and groove.
Advantage of 3/4" is I can hang just about anything within reason anywhere. No need to find a stud to screw, nail, or bolt to.
FYI: It ran me about $800 in materials to complete on a 20' shipping container which included a 36" industrial storm door I picked up on sale at Menards.
I can heat/cool it easily with a 1500 watt electric heater and 5000 BTU widow AC unit.
I used the shipping container mostly for security and property tax reasons and due to wanting to move in the near future.
Little cozy and filling up fast. Almost wish I'd went with the 40' one.
 
uncle harry said:
I have used 7/16" OSB (usually used as exterior sheathing on stick built buildings) with good results. It provides good holding for screwing shelving & other items to the wall. I tie more stringent load items into studs. It takes paint well and is more economical than plywood.
Click to expand...

Ditto


Stan,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Use both....Plywood on the walls first then rock over them. The plywood helps with impact protection and the rock does the fire and noise reduction.
 
I used 3/8" BC plywood on my shop walls. It's been plenty strong for hanging racks and hooks. Things like wall cabinets were attached at studs. The plywood and insulation do a very good job for noise insulation.

With plywood, it is a good idea to prime and sand before putting on the finish coat to keep the walls smooth so they won't hold dust. Unless you prime and then sand they will have a texture similar to sand paper.

I did some research about wall color in working environments. White is actually not ideal for good lighting and visibility. It can cause eye strain and excessive glare. Some muted color on the walls is preferable to create pleasant work space. I used a color very close to institutional green which I find to be very soothing. It is a light olive drab. Light muted blues are also recommended.
 
If it is an attached garage code most likely requires drywall and might even require thicker than 1/2". It might not bother you but if you sell it might cause problems, and if there is a fire it will surely case you problems.
 
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