Garage interior finishing advice, ideas, etc.

[speede5]

I need some advice. A friend would like me to finish her garage, spruce it all up. It is an attached unheated garage, built in the 80's. Drywall was put up but not mud/taped. It is wavy in a few spots and has pulled away from the studs in a couple others. So, she wants it painted white, and has suggested texturizing the walls, just like you would a ceiling, to kinda clean it up and hide whatever irregularities are there.

I was thinking I can fix up the drywall, but I'm wondering how mud/tape will hold up in the unheated environment. Am I wasting my time mudding and taping joints and corners? Is it just going to crack after the next winter?

Any thoughts, ideas, experience? I like the idea of a quick coat of mud and a spray texture, followed by paint, should brighten it up considerably.

[Bindair Dundat]

If the drywall has been unprotected since it was installed in the 1980's, it is going to be in very rough shape. The paper surface and gypsum core has been absorbing moisture and products of combustion and this "stuff" has thoroughly permeated it.
Are the walls insulated? Vapor barrier installed?
If you want to tape this existing drywall, then you are going to have to seal the waterborne contaminants into the paper surface (prior to taping) or adhesion will be a HUGE problem...so will staining, as the mud will pull the contaminants up into itself.
I would recommend:
1) Screw off all loose sheetrock and remove "popped" nails.
2) Prime all the drywall with two coats of oil based "Enamel Undercoater" ("Original" KILZ, the stinky one). Allow for a full cure (24 hours) between coats. This will seal most of the "nasties" away for good.
3) Pole sand all surfaces and remove dust.
4) Tape/finish the joints. Use proper setting mud (Yellow box) to set your tapes or you WILL have adhesion problems going over the primed surface. Repair any damaged areas in the "field" at the same time.
5) Re-prime with another coat of Enamel U/C and allow for full cure. Closely examine taped areas for any signs of contaminants in the mud; they may still have been pulled from between the sheets by the water in the taping mud. This last coat of oil should lock any stains that did appear away for good.
6) Shoot your texture as per normal. Check for stains, spot prime if required.
7) Finish paint with a high quality semi-gloss exterior grade acrylic latex. Two coats would be recommended.

OR...

1) Tear the ####ty rotten drywall off and put it in the dump where it belongs...If the ceiling is blown with loose fill, board over the crap drywall with a second layer.
2) Check insulation on exterior walls; repair as required. If there is a vapor barrier, it will be 4mil; tear it off, caulk all the wood joints with acoustical sealant, and put up 6mil poly.
3) Board/tape/texture/prime/paint as per normal...done.

Drywall must be finished asap in such a situation. Leave it more than a year and you're going to have problems...leave it for 30+ years? Then try to finish with water-based products?



Ron

[speede5]

Great post. Thanks. I've never dealt with drywall in an unheated enviornment. Thanks for the advice. We'll see what she wants done.

[Caged Great]

Definitely rip down if possible, it's a little more work (not much actually), but in the end it's a lot less of a pain in the ass working with new than fiddling with all the nuisances involved.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I wish I had done my garage in plywood instead of drywall.

If you are going to rip in out anyway give that a thought. Painted it looks almost the same, but you can hang most stuff anywhere.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

I wish I had done my garage in plywood instead of drywall.

Why is that? One of the reasons I went with drywall instead of plywood or OSB was for the extra fire resistance.

The only benefit I could think of would be that you can put a screw anywhere. However I would think being handy with a stud finder would circumvent that.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Why is that? One of the reasons I went with drywall instead of plywood or OSB was for the extra fire resistance.

The only benefit I could think of would be that you can put a screw anywhere. However I would think being handy with a stud finder would circumvent that.

I didn't even think fire. Good point.

Might be a 'grass is greener' thing for me as my uber organized handy man father in law has it. Finding a stud isn't hard but it feels like I could use the wall space a lot better

[Northendzone]

Plywood will be the most expensive option. OSB gives some nice options when it comes to installing racks, hooks and other stuff to the wall. Both will be a little harder to work with than drywall.

A friend of mind went OSB and then used siding over to the top. Looked very nice when done.

[speede5]

Plywood and OSB are out, she want's this to look really nice, no seams, etc. They aren't mechanics or shop types, just want a clean neat garage. They are considering all new sheetrock, Uggh, more work for me!

[ken0042]

Are you getting paid for the work? I agree that you should do it right and replace all the sheetrock; however I wouldn't expect a friend to do all that work for me for nothing.

[woob]

Garagejournal.com might be of help too.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Are you getting paid for the work? I agree that you should do it right and replace all the sheetrock; however I wouldn't expect a friend to do all that work for me for nothing.

Haha, ya, I do reno jobs on the side, but I really try and avoid drywall! Just too heavy, messy, and time consuming. If she does this I'm gonna try and sub the boarding out.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by woob

Garagejournal.com might be of help too.

garage p@rn......very nice!!!

[Bill Bumface]

My garage interior is white vinyl siding, walls and ceiling. It's... interesting. Makes it nice and bright, does well with all the moisture in the winter, but hanging stuff on the walls can get a bit awkward.

[Sliver]

Has anybody used these floor tiles? I'd like to do this in my garage, but I was thinking a grey/black checkered pattern.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

My garage interior is white vinyl siding, walls and ceiling. It's... interesting. Makes it nice and bright, does well with all the moisture in the winter, but hanging stuff on the walls can get a bit awkward.

What did you do in the ceiling with respect to insulation, vapour barrier etc?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

What did you do in the ceiling with respect to insulation, vapour barrier etc?

It was done by someone who owned the house before, but there is fiberglass insulation and vapor barier above the siding on the ceiling.