Garage wall finish?

[backally]

My winter project is going to be to finish off my garage. It is presently heated, insulated and drywalled. What kind of finish should I have put on the walls? Plaster? Kalkote? Is there something I can put on, then paint with at good paint so when I want to clean the garage I can come in and just hose the walls down without damaging them? I had my kitchen updated a couple years back and they used kalkote. Fiberglass tape on the joints, spread the kalkote over the tape and any small imperfections in the drywall, looked less labor intensive than filling and sanding seams.

Thanks Backally

[DonC]

An old friend an I came up with the perfect interior wall material to facilitate cleaning -- a man's way.

The solution was to install siding! Sounds like your garage would be a good test site : )

[Norminn]

You could probably put on two coats of good semigloss alkyd paint, seal up all joints along the bottom and have it reasonably "waterproof". I certainly wouldn't hose it off, though. One of those wide "mop" thingy's for washing windows - shaped like a squeegee - would probably work very nicely for quick cleaning and rinsing without using so much water.

[backally]

OK, thanks. My Dad did construction for 40 years, and he thought the same thing. I was just curious if there were any other options.

Thanks again Backally

[DerbyDad03]

Just curious - why do you foresee a need to hose down the garage walls? What are you planning to do in there?

CSI will find trace no matter how much water you use.

[SteveC]

I've wondered this as well. I want to do it cause I would like to be able to wash the car in there in the winter. I also thought about using the drywall that is used in bathrooms, then tape it up really well. Then paint with good quality semigloss paint. Then line the bottom half of the wall with thin Pexiglass to resist "most" of the water, sealing the joints with clear waterproof chaulking.

That should be a good protection against rot.

Anyone see anything wrong with that setup?

[DerbyDad03]

re: Anyone see anything wrong with that setup?

You mean other than a sh*tload of moisture in an enclosed space? What could be wrong with that?

[SteveC]

Hmmm, I don't see any moisture getting behind the pexiglass with it completely sealed with the chaulking.

[DanG]

yea, it sounds like you're begging to grow mold big time.

[Norminn]

Yes. You are inviting moisture problems. How about hosing the car in the driveway on a sunny day, or at the carwash? Garage is heated so that the water doesn't freeze? Nothing in the garage that would be bothered by damp? Probably will stay damp or wet all winter.

[SteveC]

I don't get it, if I have everything sealed up by chaulking, where is the problem here???

Please explain.

[SteveC]

I don't get it, if I have everything sealed up by chaulking, where is the problem here???

Please explain.

[aemeijers]

There is a reason carwash bays are made out of concrete or sheet metal. There is No Way to perfectly seal a wooden-frame garage wall to make it suitable for doing wet work in there. The water-resistant garage finishes are for occasional splashes of rain and snow, and high humidity, not actual streams of water. You will get mold, and the wood will rot.

The only way to do what you want would be to backer-board the walls and apply tile or waterproof panels, like a gigantic shower stall. Even then it is unlikely to be waterproof for long, since a 20+ foot long wall flexes a lot more than a 3-foot-square shower stall.

aem sends...

[trader4]

Let's assume you could seal everything up watertight, which IMO from a practical standpoint, would be next to impossible. Now you have a garage all full of water in the middle of a cold winter. I don't know about you, but most people have all kinds of stuff in their garage. Things like tools, bicycles, parts, God only knows what. How about your car? Do you want your cars sitting in a garage bay that's going to be wet for how long till it dries out? If it's heated it will dry out sooner, but with today's energy costs, that doesn't sound like a very good idea either. You'd have to vent it or use a dehumidifier to get the moisture out and that means more energy out the window.

You can get your car washed for $10 bucks at the car wash, which sounds like a much better idea to me.

[stevethompson]

FRP fiberglass reinforced panels, 4x8 foot sheets about 1/8th inch thick I've seen white and off-white colors goes up like paneling, use recommended adhesive $30-$35 per panel at HD

[HeyBub]

Years ago, we did something similar to a computer room to cut down on the noise.

We had the walls carpeted. Nice thick nap. Worked swell.

[Nate Nagel]

I was thinking for a garage that tile backer board with melamine glued to it (and seams caulked) would be quite nice and easy to clean. Never seen it done though.

nate

[DonC]

Betcha got tired hoisting the Hoover Vac to clean it : )

[HeyBub]

Not really. We made people remove their shoes before they walked on it.

[Malcolm Hoar]

Generally, that's a Very Bad Idea.

Two things you do NOT want in a computer room:

• Fibers

• Static

I'm sure there are suitable sound-deadening materials for use in computer room applications but regular carpet is definitely not one of them.