The Shop #6: Just another brick in the wall

OK, I lied. There are no bricks. There are however, walls. OSB walls to be exact. Oh, and shiny stuff. Let me back up a bit.

The “walls” in the old garage were 2×4, spaced every-so-often. No real “on-center” here. That, and some thoughtful placement of 45 degree cross supports pretty much limited my insulation choices to:
1. spray foam
2. netting and blown in
3. Something Different

I went with Something Different. I’ve already got (working from the outside in), T-111-like panels, Tyvex, old 1×10 boards. So, I went with a thermal insulation. Basically it’s a foil-foam-foil product. It only gives me an R factor of 7 or so, but I figured it was better than nothing. It was VERY easy to work with. Cuts clean with a utility knife. Very flexible and light weight, and less than 1/4” thick. My and Mr. Bostitch the stapler had lots and lots of fun. When in was done, I felt like I was inside a space ship. It was still cool (30s-40s) when I installed it, and I had my Mr. Heater (that’s it’s real name) propane heater running. The difference was fantastic and immediate. I had to turn the thing off, as it was getting too hot in there – that was a first (other than in the summer, of course).

So, I am now sort of insulated. Now for the walls. I’d love to have T&G paneling, but it’s just not in the budget, so at $5 or so per sheet, 1/2” OSB will do. After all, it’s my shop, not my library or den. Of course during the installation, I had to question myself: “Why did I put in so many outlets??”. Sure, it’s easy to nail them to the studs, and running the 12/2 wasn’t too bad, but cutting out all the openings in the OSB was a bit of a pain. Let’s just say that a few mistakes were made, but since I’m not posting pictures of said mistakes, they didn’t really happen, did they?

I also dry walled the peak area of the front and back walls, and decided to have a little color. Since those parts are not as thick as the walls, I was left with a 2” ledge. What to do? Why, make a shelf of course. It was a little more complicated than that. The peak areas were made with 2×4 laid flat, furring style. So, I covered them with my lovely shiny insulation, then nailed 1×10 shelves in place, then more 2×4s (also helps to secure the shelves), and finally drywall.

Those of you who have been paying attention will also notice that I have installed the ceiling fan, and the lights. The ceiling fan is your average fan, 52”, and the lights – well, let’s just say that it’s plenty bright in there – even for middle-aged sawdust maker. I have 4 fixtures, and each one has 2 110W 8’ long fluorescent bulbs. Yep, if my math is right, that’s 880 watts. Sure, it will make the meter spin some, but more importantly, I CAN SEE! Of course, they’re also the kind that start in cold temps.

That’s it for today.

-- To do is to be