*
I’m still a few years from building our “dream house,” but wondered if anyone here can suggest a better alternative to drywall fodry wallnside wall surfaces of a garage, shop, utility room, etc. I plan to use ICF for thIFxterior walls, will likely use steel studs for interior walls.
For a garage, the “finished look” of taped drywall is not necesdry wallCompared to drywall, is there sodry wall that is sturdier, lighter/easier to install, inexpensive, and has the fire resistance of drywall?
Thanks. I’m new to this board, there are plenty of great ideas here. I’ll try to keep the strange questions to a minimum.
Mark Waldron
Replies
*
Mark:
If you you use ICF for the exterior walls you may well have to use dry wall. Code requires that foam be covered with by a "minimum of 1/2" gypsum board" as a thermal barrier.
Chase
*Mark,Code will also require a fire rated wall between your garage and the living area of your house. If this partition wall is framed you will need to put 5/8" fire rated drywall on the garage side. From your post, I can not tell if you are concerned about appearance, durability, or cost. In some areas, it is customary to "finish" the drywall in garages by taping the seams and nail heads with one coat of mud and walking. For a few bucks more you can have it finished to interior standards. Paint it and it will look like a million bucks. If you are worried about durability apply an OSB or plywood wainscoat over the drywall. Even with the recent price increases, drywall is still the most cost effective wall covering available.Steve
*If you put OSB over the drywall you get two things: fire rating and durable surface.A painted drywall in a garage will look nice for about a week, until you move in with all that stuff!An unpainted drywall looks a little better, with all the dings and nicks blending in.In either case, I recommend to wait to paint until you sell your house. As Steve said, painting it will make it look like a million bucks.Just not for very long...But Mark's question was not durability, but cost savings. Does anyone know anything cheaper than drywall that provides the fire rating?
*"But Mark's question was not durability, but cost savings. Does anyone know anything cheaper than drywall that provides the fire rating?"Nope
*As far as cost goes, I would imagine that there's little that rivals 5/8 drywall for satisfying the fire code over foam. The shortage is apparently over, as the current sale prices are getting down to almost within 150% of what they were a year ago. Place drywall with sugar, coffee, and anti-freeze for never, ever getting back to its original cost, despite ample supply.An idea would be to glue tileboard over the drywall for great looks. Only about $15 a 4x8, and it'll go great with black and white checkerboard tiles for the floor. Perfect for that '60 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible. A few period Packard pictures on the wall, some new Snap-On tool chests, and you're ready for TNN's shade tree mechanic's show. Also, ring the garage with 150 watt halogen work lights to show you're more than amateur.My own garage has two hundred watt bare bulbs to illuminate the equally bare studs, but it'll be something, someday, as soon as my wife runs out of interior house projects. I even have two unused twenty amp circuits to dream about.
*
I'm still a few years from building our "dream house," but wondered if anyone here can suggest a better alternative to drywall fodry wallnside wall surfaces of a garage, shop, utility room, etc. I plan to use ICF for thIFxterior walls, will likely use steel studs for interior walls.
For a garage, the "finished look" of taped drywall is not necesdry wallCompared to drywall, is there sodry wall that is sturdier, lighter/easier to install, inexpensive, and has the fire resistance of drywall?
Thanks. I'm new to this board, there are plenty of great ideas here. I'll try to keep the strange questions to a minimum.
Mark Waldron