Cladding the interior of a wooden pavilion

[Dave N]

I've been helping a local charity get a large wooden pavilion (about 12 x 6= m + veranda) put up. It's just been delivered and put up, so we're ready t= o fit it internally. The main structure consists of 8' modular panels cons= tructed around a 4 x 2" timber frame and there is a suspended wooden floor.

The pavilion suppliers recommend 5.5mm plywood sheets for the interior clad= ding because is is more flexible and the joints don't need filling, but bei= ng on a tight budget we are thinking of using 12.5mm plasterboard. The fin= ish doesn't have to be perfect, so we're not planning to skim the plasterbo= ard. We appreciate that the joints between sheets of plasterboard are like= ly to crack as the building flexes, but could perhaps use a flexible filler= such a decorators' caulk.

Does anyone have experience of cladding the interior of a wooden pavilion w= ith plasterboard? If so, was the result satisfactory in the long term or d= o you wish you'd used something else?

TIA,

David.

[charles]

Plasterboard, even with a skim, can get damaged very easily. As a consequence it will start to look tatty very soon.

[Nitro®]

veranda) put up. It's just been delivered and put up, so we're ready to fit it internally. The main structure consists of 8' modular panels constructed around a 4 x 2" timber frame and there is a suspended wooden floor.

cladding because is is more flexible and the joints don't need filling, but being on a tight budget we are thinking of using 12.5mm plasterboard. The finish doesn't have to be perfect, so we're not planning to skim the plasterboard. We appreciate that the joints between sheets of plasterboard are likely to crack as the building flexes, but could perhaps use a flexible filler such a decorators' caulk.

plasterboard? If so, was the result satisfactory in the long term or do you wish you'd used something else?

Unskimmed plasterboard is easily damaged, IMO go with ply.

[Tim Lamb]

Yes. Just think of all those American films where a fist goes through the *rockwall*or even consider the effect of an over high stack of chairs falling backwards.

Have you considered insulation?

>

[dneale123]

The pavilion has been supplied with 100mm rockwool insulation already insta= lled. There is enough space for about 30mm additional insulation behind the= cladding if we choose to fit it. The building is likely to be used less i= n winter, so optimum insulation isn't considered top of the priority list.

If we use plasterboard we would add a dado rail in the areas that are more = likely to get knocked.

One possibility we have is to use ply for the walls and plasterboard for th= e ceilings (just thinking that ply might be more likely to sag when fitted = horizontally). A decision hasn't yet been made about whether to add a susp= ended ceiling or keep it at eaves height.

David.

[GB]

veranda) put up. It's just been delivered and put up, so we're ready to fit it internally. The main structure consists of 8' modular panels constructed around a 4 x 2" timber frame and there is a suspended wooden floor.

cladding because is is more flexible and the joints don't need filling, but being on a tight budget we are thinking of using 12.5mm plasterboard. The finish doesn't have to be perfect, so we're not planning to skim the plasterboard. We appreciate that the joints between sheets of plasterboard are likely to crack as the building flexes, but could perhaps use a flexible filler such a decorators' caulk.

plasterboard? If so, was the result satisfactory in the long term or do you wish you'd used something else?

If money is really tight, you could use hardboard, with a view to replacing it with something sturdier once it gets manky.

[Owain]

adding because is is more flexible and the joints don't need filling,

If going with plasterboard I would suggest the vinyl faced stuff with jointing strips. But that is likely expensive.

What about structural strawboard?

Does the internal finish have to have any class of fire retardency?

Owain

[stuart noble]

Insulation will help keep it cool in summer

I'd try shopping around for a good deal on the 5mm ply. Nothing else would work IMO

[fred]

Seconded, it should last and last and a bit of damp wouldn't be too much of a big deal. Should be under a tenner a sheet in volume.

[dneale123]

Thanks for all the suggestions - will probably go with plywood for the wall= s as suggested since it's more resistant to knocks. If cost is a real prob= lem I'll suggest a compromise of plasterboard for the ceilings only, which = should be less vulnerable. At this stage the charity's trustees are still = discussing whether to add a suspended ceiling to improve energy efficiency = or leave the vaulted ceiling for a more spacious feel to the building.

David.

[charles]

I suspect you will need the inner skin of ply on the roof to help the rigidity of the structure. A suspended ceiling will have no structural strength in itself, indeed it might put a load on the main structure which it was not intended to carry. What do the suppliers of the building say about it?

[SteveW]

Yes. A friend of mine had a hole just to one side of his monitor in his home computer room, from having a frustrating night where things just wouldn't work.

SteveW

[Dave Liquorice]

Ah if that's what they say. I was going to suggest that 5mm ply seems a bit thin and flexible but it depends how well suported it is. How often are there noggins between the studs? Think I'd prefer 12 mm.

Is this pavillion going to be unheated for periods of time? Plasterboard will absorb moisture and it will sag between the fixings to the ceiling joists.

[dneale123]

Thanks for the advice, Dave. Looks like I should be persuading everyone of = the benefits of plywood cladding throughout - as you say, during winter the= building may be left empty for some time and the moisture build-up could c= ause plasterboard to get damp. We expect to take the extreme chill off wit= h a frost thermostat on the heaters, but this may not be enough to keep moi= sture levels down.