Lining out a garage: ply, MDF, chipboard...?

[Bert Coules]

My garage-workshop conversion has reached the stage where the internal walls are ready to be battened and lined out. As suggested in an earlier thread,

2"x1" tile battens will be perfect and relatively inexpensive (an important consideration for the whole project) and can be screwed and/or glued to the concrete wall-panels leaving room for 2" Celotex or similar behind the lining. But I'm not sure about the best choice of sheet material. Shuttering ply was recommended, also standard WPB ply, both at 18mm thick. But is there any reason why I shouldn't also consider MDF and chipboard?

My local timber yard mentioned that shuttering ply "has more of a flex to it than 'ordinary' ply" and would require more battening. But given the relative costs of ply and battens, that might be a good trade-off.

I'll be painting the walls, probably matt white, and I'm not after a perfect living-room-type finish. Heavy fixings can be screwed through to the battening, and 18mm should be thick enough for lighter attachments, shouldn't it?

Thanks as ever for any thoughts.

Bert

[TMC]

Did not see the earlier thread referred to in your post but 2 x 1 battens set edge on to to allow a 2 inch gap would in my opinion be no use for what you intend as they are to narrow to join 2 sheets togther. either 2x2 battens or 2 x 1 set face to wall giving a 1 inch gap would be a better option

Being old fashioned I would prefer screws for the battens rather than glue if possible

Further with decent battens you have the option to fit shelf brackets

Sterling board would be my choice probably at 11mm

regards

[Bert Coules]

I was thinking of using two battens together (ie to make 2"x2") at board junctions, with single battens in between. The costs work out cheaper than using 2"x2" timber, which in any case is under that size which would be a problem for the Celotex - the tile battens I've looked at are an exact

2"x1".

You haven't tried drilling into my garage walls! But I'll use screws where I can.

I've never heard of Sterling board: I'll look it up.

LATER...

Oh, *that's* what Sterling board is. I've seen it, of course, in boarded-up shop fronts and similar, but I've never looked closely enough to tell what the surface is like: is it smooth enough to paint successfully?

Thanks for the reply.

Bert

[Frank Erskine]

Don't forget though, that the more battens you have, you'll have less insulation material :-)

[Bert Coules]

Hardly enough to make any appreciable difference though, surely? Or is that the reason for the ":-)" ? Thanks for that thought!

Bert

[TMC]

I have done so

One coat of sandtex white about 12 years ago due for another coat when I have time

yes you can see the texture of the board surface

Regards

[Bert Coules]

That shouldn't matter overmuch: as I said, it's a workshop, not a living room. I'll investigate; thanks.

Bert

[MuddyMike]

I used OSB, its cheap enough and looks like this;

a couple of coats of the cheapest white emulsion I could find. That's a very close up picture taken today, but painted when I built it 4 years ago. If you look through the pictures in that workshop album you will see what the OSB looked like before it was painted.

Mike

[John Rumm]

When I did mine, I skipped on the battens altogether - even cheaper! Just screwed through the board (1/2" ply), through the PIT (50mm) and into the block. Bought a couple of boxes of 5 1/8 12 gauge quicksilver screws from SF for the job.

(WBP) Ply is moisture resistant - and so will far better if it ever got damp out there. Chip is harder to screw into and screws do not hold as well - so makes shelf fitting etc less easy.

I used shuttering ply, and fixed with six screws per sheet. Not had any difficulties. The one particularly heavy set of shelves (using spur style brackets) have the struts run floor to ceiling, and they aree screwed through to the blockwork.

As would 12mm to be honest.

[PeterC]

OSB3 is the least to use as it's resistant to water

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that. I'm having trouble getting onto that site ("We've encountered an error... we will try to fix the problem") but I'll persevere.

Bert

[Bert Coules]

It's working now and I've looked at the pics. I was momentarily confused by the fact that they run from 1/20 being the finished article through to 18/20 which shows things before work began, but it's a fascinating collection and a very nice job, as well as showing the Sterling board/OSB. Thanks.

Bert

[Tim Lamb]

You could use adjustable screws and have an air gap over the insulation. I have only used them for fixing through insulation into wood and don't know how big a problem fitting the plugs would be. If the hole is big enough for the screw and plug it might be too big for the *back thread* to work.

regards

[MuddyMike]

Hmmm, I see what you mean about the sequence, strange that. If you go in by this link

flow correctly.

Mike

[NT]

If the OP does use battens, you can use cheaper non-rigid insulation. I dont know how much you'll heat it, and thus what insulation would get you the lowest TCO.

MDF costs more than chip and has no advantage over it, other than fine texture and thus mouldability. Shuttering ply has a rougher surface than WBP, but OSB is almost as strong. OSB2 is moisture resistant, OSB3 more waterproof. Chipboard would work fine if you can trust it to stay dry. Its a good bit weaker than OSB but also far cheaper, so going up to 18mm high density chip would give you a fairly tough result. Its a common flooring material.

Be sure to screw brackets to the battens as well as the chip sheet. Use brackets with 2 holes at the top not 1, and use the widest screws that will fit.

Flex depends entierly on thickness. 9mm shuttering flexes all over the place.

You could use lime paint then, plenty good enough for a workshop, and supremely cheap.

NT

[Bert Coules]

NT thanks for all the thoughts. My local timber yard also recommended OSB and I think that's the path I'll take.

Talking to them about rigid insulation, they told me they stock not Kingspan or Celotex but a comparable product called Quinn Therm. I must investigate...

Bert

[Bert Coules]

I assumed it was an idiosyncracy of the site rather than the way you arranged things. It was mildly disconcerting at first but hardly mattered once I twigged.

Bert

[John Rumm]

Yup, there are loads of makes of PIR foam boards. Kingspan and Celotex are the well known trade names, but they usually have prices to reflect all that brand awareness!

I figured with my workshop, a decent level of insulation would mean the reduction in ongoing cost of keeping the temperature high enough in there to prevent rusting of tools would pay back eventually. It also means that its quick to get it to a comfortable operating temperature in the winter.

[Bert Coules]

They quoted the 2" Quinn Therm boards at £18.28 per 8x4ft sheet. I don't have any other builders' yard prices, but that's less than Wickes charge for a 1" sheet of Celotex, so seems not too unreasonable.

Celotex seconds would be cheaper but the two suppliers I know of both impose a hefty delivery charge which knocks out the advantage.

Incidentally, it looks as though while I can get 2" of insulation into the walls, the limited headroom means that the roof will be limited to 1". I'm hoping that will be better than nothing.

Bert

[fred]

Wickes 10 up price for 50mm is 19.98 a sheet so maybe there is a bit more room for negotiation in the BM's price.