Finishing my garage walls

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Need some advice on finishing up the walls in my attached garage.

Currently my garage is semi-finished: 2 of the 4 walls are interior facing and are already finished with 5/8" drywall and tape jointed which makes roughly 1/2 the walls in the garage. Ceiling is finished with drywall as well and is also interior facing to a bonus room on the 2nd floor.

All exterior facing walls are unfinished studs except for one panel of 1/4" drywall covering the breaker box which is right in the middle of a completely unfinished wall.

I just added some R19 insulation to the unfinished walls in preparation for this project and intend to install a mini-split AC to that wall never to the breaker box when I'm done with this.

I also intended to install some additional shelves on these exterior side walls to store bikes, extra toiletries, etc.

Questions:
- Would it make more sense to finish the exterior-facing walls in drywall or plywood? Are there any fire or code issues I need to consider with plywood vs drywall?

- Would having plywood walls on either side of a drywalled breakerbox panel look stupid or just be a stupid idea in general?

What you do guys think?
 
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a contractor, just a DIYer who has recently done exactly this.

LinuxGuru said:
Questions:
- Would it make more sense to finish the exterior-facing walls in drywall or plywood? Are there any fire or code issues I need to consider with plywood vs drywall?

- Would having plywood walls on either side of a drywalled breakerbox panel look stupid or just be a stupid idea in general?
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Nothing wrong with using drywall on the inside of exterior walls. That's pretty much what they do with the rest of the house. Pay attention to moisture/vapor barrier concerns.

As for the rest of it, that would seem to be mostly about how you're finishing it, or how concerned you are with the finish. If you want an even wall, you'll probably want to use the same material.
 
I just recently did this myself and had a similar set up. I went with insulation/plywood on the exterior walls to make hanging some things easier. Where I had plywood mating up to drywall, I used drywall mud/tape to hide the seam and painted the whole thing in high hide white
 
LinuxGuru said:
Need some advice on finishing up the walls in my attached garage.

Currently my garage is semi-finished: 2 of the 4 walls are interior facing and are already finished with 5/8" drywall and tape jointed which makes roughly 1/2 the walls in the garage. Ceiling is finished with drywall as well and is also interior facing to a bonus room on the 2nd floor.

All exterior facing walls are unfinished studs except for one panel of 1/4" drywall covering the breaker box which is right in the middle of a completely unfinished wall.

I just added some R19 insulation to the unfinished walls in preparation for this project and intend to install a mini-split AC to that wall never to the breaker box when I'm done with this.

I also intended to install some additional shelves on these exterior side walls to store bikes, extra toiletries, etc.

Questions:
- Would it make more sense to finish the exterior-facing walls in drywall or plywood? Are there any fire or code issues I need to consider with plywood vs drywall?

- Would having plywood walls on either side of a drywalled breakerbox panel look stupid or just be a stupid idea in general?

What you do guys think?
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Is it getting inspected? Just remember as of recent home inspectors and real estate agents have liability issues if you sell or transfer a structure that does not match what is listed with county. I’m seeing more issues with house sales. I could care less but just a heads up. Follow any and all codes regardless of pulling a permit so you don’t have to take walls down.
 
random said:
That's a good point.
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I might be wrong but I think that is only for walls that are shared with the interior.

Plus, kitchen cabinets are essentially plywood and carpet is highly flammable and neither is against code
 
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fsj80 said:
I might be wrong but I think that is only for walls that are shared with the interior.

Plus, kitchen cabinets are essentially plywood and carpet is highly flammable and neither is against code
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plus the drywall inside the house is probably 1/2 and isn’t fire rated. Better than plywood but regular 1/2 drywall doesn’t have a UL fire rating.
 
Far as i know, you only need the fire break against the interior walls.

Plywood on exterior walls should be gtg
 
fsj80 said:
I might be wrong but I think that is only for walls that are shared with the interior.

Plus, kitchen cabinets are essentially plywood and carpet is highly flammable and neither is against code
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I never said it made sense, just that it might be code.

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk
 
what is exposed as it sits? OSB/ply sheething and wood studs ? no fireproofing there?
 
Diablos said:
Far as i know, you only need the fire break against the interior walls.

Plywood on exterior walls should be gtg
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Not certain but maybe attached garage walls are 5/8” on walls adjoining the home and exterior is still 1/2”.
 
Garages with walls adjacent to living space is rated probably two sheets of drywall. No rating requirements for walls facing exterior.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
If you like hanging sheetrock, do it.

I hate sheetrock- hate hanging it, hate painting it, hate try to hang anything on it, hate repairing it...

If you don't care how it looks, OSB. You can paint it. It's still ugly, kind of easy to repair but you will see repair

Cheap ply wood. Covers quick, can be painted or stained. Thin stuff if you don't want it to hold weight. Thicker stuf is heavy if you are old and work by yourself like me, lol. Kind of easy to repair but you will see repair

T&G pine. Looks good, paint or stained, stronger than sheetrock and thin plywood, not as strong as thick stuff, easy to put up buy yourself. Repairs are not bad, if stained and old wall has faded might be hard to match. You can buy it on Craiglist at a good price for a nice look.

Lap siding is a pain in the butt compared to T&G to hang by yourself but if you got a hand it's a little cheaper
 
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BlackGun said:
Not certain but maybe attached garage walls are 5/8” on walls adjoining the home and exterior is still 1/2”.
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I know rules vary by state, but no fire break on my exterior walls up here. And if you want a real laugh, if there was ever a fire in the garage, once it made it to the attic area, theres no fire break there between garage and living area. So the crap below is kinda pointless.
 
Diablos said:
I know rules vary by state, but no fire break on my exterior walls up here. And if you want a real laugh, if there was ever a fire in the garage, once it made it to the attic area, theres no fire break there between garage and living area. So the crap below is kinda pointless.
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Exterior walls are not required. I believe just a thicker wall garage to house. One wall. @concepthomes1 could tell you if you are now required to separate garage and house attics. Years ago it wasn’t.
 
1/2" sheetrock in NC. Has to be floor to roof on adjoining wall unless the garage ceiling is hung. Then floor to ceiling. Exterior walls don't have to be finished at all. So, you can cover the studs with whatever you want. Plywood is Handy in a work area if you plan on hanging lots of stuff...
 
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If you're going to hang stuff anyway, why not just go with 1/2 in plywood, run some strips of 1/2 x 1 in vertically as an offset and then put some 1/2 inch pegboard on top. You can hang lighter stuff on the pegboard, they make all kinds of organizers to fit it, and if you want to hang something heavier like a chainsaw, bike, etc, then just drill out the pegboard holes bigger and use bigger hooks to anchor into the studs.
 
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