I got a pallet of 20ft drywall for cheap as the corners were damaged...so... drywall it was. For the ceiling I used celetex with the aluminum foil surface. Makes a good reflecter and is light enough to handle alone.
LP Smart siding is a good durable, low maintenance option. I used it in mine but only for a small office in my shop.
Per fire code I had to do drywall on the wall adjoining the house for fire resistance. The rest is done with plywood which I sealed with semi-gloss polyurethane. I like the rustic look of it, and it's easy to put up shelves etc.
It's the grade of the plywood. A means that it doesn't have any imperfections on it...then B and C as the finish is less perfect....basically the knots have been filled and you can see it but it doesn't hurt a thing and you'll barely notice it once painted. It's way less expensive than A plywood. This is B/C...perfect for your application. all the vaults in fallout 4
OSB isn't bad and it would probably be OK for your application. It's used quite often for roofing and decking but I'm just not a huge fan of it for walls simply because I'm a picky bastard. Let me make this a little simpler...OSB is used in places that you can't see it. It's covered by shingles on the roof and finish flooring over it on the deck. I think it looks like crap if it's used on the walls and then painted. And it takes a lot of paint to cover because it soaks it all up.
1/2” OSB, 1/4 round the corners, painter’s caulk all the joints and fastener holes, 1 coat of stain blocking exterior primer, and 2 coats of semi-gloss exterior paint. This has the durability to withstand thrown wrenches, yet, has a finished look to satisfy critical visitors.
The thing I don't like about OSB is that you can usually see the texture of the boards under the paint and I think that looks bad, but that looks great.
If you go OSB, hold it an inch or so from the floor and finish the gap with some trim. The OSB will wick up moisture from the concrete, and any spills or water if your washing the floor or equipment.
It’s not that bad. Sherwin-Williams stain block/bonding primer is pretty thick and provides a nice base. Apply two coats to further smooth it, if needed. Topcoats are always thinner than primers, but, Sherwin-Williams paints are better than most. Texture over OSB looks fantastic. You can hardly see the OSB, beneath it. That’s what we did in my neighbor’s shop. If I were more OCD, I’d fix the fastener divots. The caulk shrunk and I wasn’t too bothered by it. But, you can see the one pic where the seam between sheets is almost nonexistent.
I'm liking the OSB. I think it looks good when painted. Also cheaper than anything else including drywall. Did you gents use OSB on the ceiling as well?
Yeah, that was brand new just after the "last thing" (painting the floor) was done and I could start moving stuff into my new space. It is full o' stuff now, but still a project in work. Trying to keep it that clean, but we'll see how that goes... That is 1/2" "B"-grade plywood (filled in a few places) with no prep before painting. I wasn't too concerned with how it would look, just wanting a durable, "OK" painted surface (it looked pretty grim in there unpainted). I was surprised how well it turned out. Part of the new space is a gym/home theater, and the rest is bike/shop space. That's under air. The rest is "garage" with lawn tools, cars, Christmas decorations in the rafters, etc. Will be shopping for a lift pretty soon, but trying to stem the money flow at the moment. When I get home, I'll try to put up a couple of "what it looks like now" pictures. This is the original before and after rough digital layouts I did before getting with the contractor.
I wanted a good paintable surface, mostly. In my prior minor garage remodel, I used the OSB and was not happy with the results as a wall surface (for the reasons RD400racer mentioned and more). I opted for a drop ceiling placed very near the rafters. This allows easy access for wiring and such and allows using cool stuff like the drop-in LCD panel lights. I went overkill on those and am extremely satisfied with the result. Used food-service grade ceiling tiles, which are cheap and easy to clean up if necessary. I had to be convinced to use ceiling-mounted speakers, but went with high quality stuff and was very impressed with the results.
Sounds like a great idea with any wall material. Use 5-7" PVC trim with a bead of silicone around the bottom and you could hose the floor down to clean.