Just finishing up our new 32' x 28' garage. I am trying to decide what we want to use to cover the interior walls and ceiling with. My first thought was drywall, but then I started thinking about possibly using OSB board.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

 

OSB is durable and it will hold up shelves and nails for hanging things.

 

After insulating the walls, I hung 7/16 OSB 4 foot high by 8 foot long and put 1/4" white pegboard up the rest of the way up. I then painted the OSB white to match the pegboard. The white will help reflect the light, and the OSB will take the abuse of bumps and various stuff that happens to fall against the walls.Bob

 

T-111, 4"oc, stained to match exterior.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will go with the 7/16" OSB. Cutting out for the plugs, switches, and light fixtures will be more work though.

Later,

 

i would go for osb drywall does not belong in a garage. i wish mine was osb, but dry wall is better for fire protection. here in cal it is against the building code to use that much exposed wood in a home. all the walls leading into the home must be a firewall. most use 1 layer osb 1 layer aluminum faced osb then 5/8'' drywall.

 

I used what they call "jiplap" around here. It's like drywall but a little heavy'er and is grey. You have to watch for putting holes in it just like drywall but it is very fire resistant.

 

FYI about OS&Y......it is made from 2 different plants, one uses a water resistant glue the other does not. If you do get a fire and water is applied by either fire hoses or fire sprinklers (if you have them), the radient heat from the fire combined with the water which some turns to steam, re-liquifies the glues and causes failure- very rapid failure even in areas where ther would normally be little damage. Personally, I would use exterior grade plywood, using drywall mud, tape all corners and spray a single coat of drywall texture over it (detached garage of course). Strength, fire resistiveness and solid to attached anything you want.

 

i have 13' high walls in my shop. i covered then with 1/2 plywood standing them on end 8 foot high. then went over the joints and inperfections like knot holes and screw holes with some drywall mud. lightly sanded them and painted them. can't tell it's plywood no more. the other 5 feet i hung drywall. figure i wouldn't be hanging much up there. as for the ceiling i use the same stuff as on the roof. white coragated steel sheets. they came 28 feet long so there is only one seem on a 48 foot long ceiling.

 

i am in the process of drywalling my 30 x 60 x 12. i thought about white liner panel steel or osb but opted for the drywall for sound proofing and insulating qualities. its gonna be alot of work but it will look nice and clean in the end...

 

For sure you should check the codes. If it's attached to a dwelling, drywall or steel barrier is required in most locales. The shop is the most likely ploace for a fire to start..

 

I vote drywall for several reasons that were already mentioned, fire resistance, sound deadening, and appearance. I spend most of my at-home time in the garage/shop, I want to be comfortable. Give sound deadening serious thought if you plan to do a lot of work in the garage, steel liner panels in particular will reflect a lot of noise back at you. Drywall will not only reflect less noise inside the garage, it will prevent noise from traveling into adjacent rooms or living space.

 

the steel liner does not reflect as much noise as you would think. the walls and other stuff in the shop eat up alot of the sound. and even with a powerstroke with 6" exhaust or a 6.9 turbo diesel with twin 5" stacks reving up in there it's not as bad as you would think. only other BIG problem with drywall down low is when you toss something out from under the truck or roll your toll box against the wall or someone smashes there knuckles and the tools take flight across the shop they will bounch off plywood but the will imbed into drywall.

 

Several recomendations:
If you are going to be doing any hot work such as welding or cutting, use firetreated plywood a minimum.
If you can afford the added cost, use a layer of 5/8" gyp over the treated plywood. The wall will still gouge if a sharp object hits it, but you won't be able to punch holes in it and you can attach shelves without a problem. This is also the best route to go besides metal panels.

 

I was going to do OSB up to 4' then drywall the rest.