Guide To Your Workshop's

Walls, Ceilings,
Floors and
Insulation

pg. 1
Contents
Chapter 1: Walls and Ceilings ................................................. 5

Drywall...........................................................................................................7

Wood paneling ...........................................................................................9

Moisture Barriers .................................................................................. 10

Chapter 2: DOORS ..................................................................... 12

Separating workspaces ....................................................................... 14

Shop Security ........................................................................................... 15

Electric openers ...................................................................................... 16

Padlocks ..................................................................................................... 17

Screws and bolts .................................................................................... 18

Chapter 3: Floor Treatments................................................. 20

Concrete Floors ....................................................................................... 21

Floor Mats and Cushioned Tiles ..................................................... 22

Painting Concrete .................................................................................. 23

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 Wood Floors ............................................................................................. 25

Laying a floor over concrete ............................................................. 25

Subfloor systems .................................................................................... 28

Chapter 4: Insulation ............................................................... 30

Insulating conventional ceilings ..................................................... 32

Chapter 5: Sound Abatement ................................................ 34

Reducing Machine Noise .................................................................... 35

Smart Ways to Reduce Machinery Noise.................................... 37

Windows and Doors ............................................................................. 39

pg. 3
T he first shop I set up had paper-thin walls and a dirt

floor. The room was cold on foggy mornings; and, it would

become hot in sunny afternoons. The dirt floor was often

damp at best, while quickly becoming wet or muddy
whenever it rained. My tools and equipment rusted quickly

without little to no protection from these elements. I would

occasionally come and find tools or machines missing, since

my shop hadn’t a closeable door. I actually built pretty nice

pieces there, but I must admit that I was young and
somewhat foolish. For a long time, I didn’t realize how much

the shortcomings were costing me.

Now, I want a comfortable and cozy workshop: one that

protects all possible shortcomings, and most importantly, a

shop in which can be a safe space while I am working.

pg. 4
Chapter 1:

Walls and Ceilings

pg. 5
While the walls are the most basic parts of a workshop and,
in fact, the most important, you can easily take them for

granted. Sam Maloof, a noted furniture maker, once told me

that building his first proper shop; he took almost two years
between putting up the roof and walls while then putting on

the siding and sheathing to enclose them. In the interim

period, he would work in the workshop daily, covering his

machines up during the nights to protect them from the

morning dew.

While many workshops have walls sheathed on the exterior,

most small shops including sheds and home garages, often
have bear stud walls inside. Covering the walls on the inside

makes the interior feel and look more comfortable besides

also improving the quality of your workspace.

Light-colored interior walls will bounce around artificial and

natural light. This improves the effectiveness of the light

pg. 6
getting in through skylights, windows, doors. It also includes
the artificial light from the light fixtures. Covering the

interior presents an opportunity for adding some insulation,

making your shop even more comfortable.

Drywall

Drywall is readily available and affordable. It is quite easy to

install, and most importantly, it prevents a fire from
spreading in a building. This is the reason most building

codes require people to use it on interior surfaces. While it

can be quite a task to install drywall on the ceiling and high
walls (because of its heavy weight), its density significantly

reduces the noises escaping from the shop as you work with
various machines. You may choose to skip the taping,

painting and texturing. These, after all, are usually the most
difficult parts of drywall installation.

pg. 7
If you are able to cut and fit pieces together and mount them
on the ceilings and walls using the drywall screws, you can

cover a small workshop within a day and end up with a

clean-looking off-white interior.

However, the trouble with drywall is its effect on the sound

quality in your shop. Hard and smooth drywall usually tends

to reflect high-frequency sound waves very efficiently, which

can make sounds from running machines like a table saw
with, say, a whiney blade very unpleasant.

Fortunately, you can add cabinets, shelves, or machines into

your workshop to help dampen the reflected sound. If the

shop has a large and open drywall surface, you could

attenuate the interior noise through installing a sound

channel. Furthermore, you could cover the surface with, for

instance, a sound board or some heavy pleated drape that’s

pg. 8
made of fabric, like burlap.

Wood paneling

Thin wood paneling-typically made from inexpensive

plywood or a composite board that’s covered with some

“photo-grained” vinyl which makes it look like real wood- is

affordable and relatively light. Some less popular styles like
the “marshmallow ash,” which you can find in most local
lumberyards, are more inexpensive. It is advisable to choose
a light-color finish since it will help in diffusing and bouncing
light. If you like a more traditional look and feel, then go for

darker natural-wood finishes. They can also make your

workshop feel warmer. But again, it’s perhaps, best to install

dark paneling on only one side. Paneling the whole shop can
make your space feel more like a cave.

It is easy to cut and also stream wood paneling; you can nail
pg. 9
large pieces or stable them to joists and studs in minutes.
However, wood paneling will not prevent noise transmission

as drywall does. Since the thin material may resonate from

the low-frequency noise, your machines produce, running a
bead of some construction adhesive along the framing

members before you nail the panels is a good idea. This will
prevent the wood paneling from buzzing and rattling.

Moisture Barriers

In certain climates, you need a moisture barrier before

installing wood, wallboard, or drywall paneling. Some
insulation will come with some form of facing such as Kraft

or foil paper. This acts as the vapor barrier. A vapor barrier

keeps the moisture within your shop from finding its way

into the insulation chamber. Choose barriers that are

continuous for maximum effectiveness. Again, consider

pg. 10
getting barrier with clear materials so that you can easily see
through when you staple it on to rafters and studs.

pg. 11
Chapter 2:

DOORS

pg. 12
In case you are working in a single or double car garage, you
probably have no problem getting in and out of your shop;

the garage’s door is wide enough. Now, it is advisable to fit a

door at least 36 inches wide if you are setting up a shop in a
shed or an outbuilding. Again, you might also want to

consider installing double doors, if possible. You will be

using one for your day-to-day comings and goings. The other

will prove important, for instance, when you need to move in

wide items like machines or large pieces you built outside.

Big sliding doors like those on most modern barns also offer
a lot of access. They usually run on over-head tracks. You can
size them as needed, even up to the entire length of your

shop wall. However, note that such large doors require

substantial physical effort to open and close them, so they

can be a little tiresome with which to deal. Again, locking

them correctly can be time-consuming, which could be a
security factor. You can, however, solve this problem by

pg. 13
adding a smaller entrance door through the big slider. Just
cut out some part and fit in a small hinged door.

Separating workspaces

If your shop has multiple rooms, you will need to ensure that

dust coming from the machine room does not waft into clean
spaces like your design room, offices, or bathrooms. The dust
issue is a major problem particularly for in-home
workshops. Dust can easily get into your living spaces. One
way to solve this issue is to keep the doors closed. Consider
fitting spring-loaded hinges instead of standard ones, or

better still; you may build an automatic door-closing

mechanism using some pulleys, a length of cord or cable, and

some old sash weight.

pg. 14
Shop Security

Doors and windows are the most common routes for thieves
unless your shop is attracting a burglar having a serious
attitude, and such equipment as a wall-cutting chainsaw. To

protect your investment as well as the valuable machines

and equipment in your shop, it is imperative to put all the

necessary security measures that will prevent burglars from

gaining access to your shop. Most doors are locked by bolts,
which secure into some wooden door frame. They open

inwards, thus providing very little resistance to, say, a

battering ram or strong kick.

One way to make your workshop doors more resistant is

making them open outwards and reinforcing the jams. So, if

someone tried to kick in, they would be kicking against the

whole doorstop. Fit the entry doors with non-removable pin
door hinges and mount a steel security plate over the entire

pg. 15
lock area. Also, you can add reinforcing plates in the jams
and also around the door’s lock assembly to make the entry

doors even more resistant. You can protect your other doors
(especially those opening onto passages and alleys where a
thief can hide) by, for instance, barring them. Steel bar

brackets that take a 2x4 bar must be through-bolted using

heavy carriage bolts or carriage bolts to strong studs.

Electric openers

Electric openers not only add security to your shop but also
come with convenience. The door cannot be lifted without
activation through a key switch or a remote whenever using

an electric opener. For even greater security, shut the door

openers off or flip their security switches on each time you

leave your shops for long periods. This is important because

there are electronics-whiz burglars that can crack the
remote-control code. If you have wide doors, which a crook
pg. 16
can easily twist to gain entry, consider adding some hasps
and padlocks or latches on either side.

Padlocks

If you are using padlocks, do not scrimp on the strength and

size of the locks. Often cheap locks can easily be knocked off

using a sledgehammer or any such tool. Again, you will need

to find the best locks and hasps specially designed to protect
your padlocks’ shanks from tampering. However, it is worth

noting that while a hardened lock shank is resistant to

shearing, it may still be shattered through quick freezing
using canned Freon and then being struck with, say, a

hammer.

Usually, thieves will not bother removing a padlock; they

will just pry out the whole hasp assembly. This is the reason
you need to see to it that you have mounted the hasp

pg. 17
securely to the lamb and door. Also, a through-bolt hasp to
both the lamb and the door with a carriage bolt using a large

washer inside will deny thieves access to your shop.

Screws and bolts

If you cannot install electronic security for your windows,

install screws and bolts that cannot be opened from outside

even if the glass were to be broken. While there are many

window designs with keyed locks, it is often cheaper to just
drill holes and then add bolts or screws via window

members. Screws and bolts are easy to open from inside

your shop; therefore, you can open your windows when you
want. You may also open the windows partially to allow in

fresh air without compromising your shop’s security.

Aluminum sliding windows can be very vulnerable to

pg. 18
thieves. In case you are installing them, consider adding bars
which will prevent them from sliding. However, note that

this is still not enough; a thief can pry the whole window out
of the frame. Screw the windows’ frames to avoid this, or
better still, add bars for even greater security.

Steel bars

Steel bars are great for better protection. Crooks won’t get

into your shop even when you forget to close the windows.
Steel bars are usually through-bolted from the outside,
preventing removal. The bars can as well be fitted inside the

window openings just behind the glass, making your

workshop look less fortress-like.

pg. 19
Chapter 3:

Floor Treatments

pg. 20
Well, woodworking in a workshop with a hard and damp
floor isn’t something you want. It is uncomfortable. It may

make your feet, the ankles, knees, and even hips start aching
after sessions of average work in the shop. You have to
realize that having a comfortable floor to stand and work on

is as important as putting on sturdy shoes which fit

correctly. Thus, you need to very carefully select your

flooring when setting up a new workshop. If you are

currently working on a poor floor, make an effort of
improving it.

Concrete Floors

Concrete is arguably the harshest flooring you can ever have.

Besides being hard on your feet, it is the least flexible

flooring material. For instance, you cannot route pipes or
wiring under its slab, unless of course, you do it when

pouring the concrete.

pg. 21
A concrete floor is also cold, which can be an advantage if

you are living in a hot climate, but mostly a disadvantage.

Concrete floors can transmit dampness, resulting in raised
humidity. Dampness also makes slick surfaces more

slippery. A concrete slab can crack, which is a factor you

should consider, especially if you are in a country prone to

earthquakes.

However, concrete flooring is less expensive than most

flooring systems. It is also very hard to clean. A concrete

floor can bear very extremely heavy machines when it is
correctly installed.

Floor Mats and Cushioned Tiles

pg. 22
You can easily improve your shop’s concrete floor by adding
cushioned tiles or floor mats. The most affordable way is to

get enough mats that will cover a large area of your shop.
Rubber mats often come in a range of sizes, so you should
quickly get any size you need.

Painting Concrete

If you have a concrete floor, you may have noticed that

moisture travels easily through the slab. This makes your

shop unpleasantly damp as a direct result. Just two coats of
quality floor paint can go a long way preventing this
problem, so that the moisture in the workshop will drop
significantly.

Painting a dark and dingy floor using light-colored floor

paint (like light-gray) will not only hide ugly stains but also

help in reflecting light throughout the workshop, resulting in

pg. 23
way better illumination.

Before painting, make sure to vacuum and scrub the floor

clean (using a strong cleanser like tri-sodium
phosphate).Then, let it dry. Ensure that floor is completely

dry before you start painting. The appropriate temperature

of the floor before painting should be around 50ºF. It is

advisable to paint in warm weather. If there is some water

seepage that keeps the floor continually wet, treat it with
some masonry water-proofer. Before painting a super-

smooth concrete floor, treat it with some muriatic acid wash

to rough it up so that the paint can stick.

Mix a nonslip grit or sand into the paint to avoid slipping on

smooth, concrete floors. Or, apply high-friction tape strips,

which you can get at most home centers or hardware stores.

pg. 24
WOOD FLOORS

If you are setting up a new shop, installing a wood floor can

be a good investment. It will make your shop warmer and
cozier. It feels better to stand and walk on as well. If,

however, you presently have a concrete floor, then you can

add a plywood floor right on top of it. This takes more effort

than installing mats, but it is worth it since it will allow you

to add some vapor barriers for reducing moisture in your
shop. It will even offer you an opportunity to run plumbing

and electrical wiring underneath.

Laying a floor over concrete

When laying a new floor over existing concrete, begin by

installing a good moisture barrier over the concrete and then

laying the new floor. You will have two choices: using a
pg. 25
penetrating sealant like Sinak to coat the concrete or
installing plastic sheeting. If you settle for plastic, begin in

the center then proceed towards the walls. Make sure to

leave enough around the baseboards which you will trim off
later. Seams should be overlapped by about six inches. Then,

seal them with, say, duct tape (use denatured alcohol to

clean the seam area before sealing). If you seal your floor, be

sure to thoroughly wash it first and then apply two light

coats of paint.

Note that the cold air close to the concrete, and the warmer
air inside your workshop, can lead to moisture issues
beneath the floor. It is vital to both seal your floor and install

a moisture barrier in case you are living in a wet

environment and expect moisture issues.

It is worth mentioning that this type of floor is not the

greatest idea, especially if the ground in your workshop is

pg. 26
wet. You have significant seepage problems in your slab.

The next thing to do is laying down wooden members (called

sleepers or screeds). Then, fasten them over the sealed
concrete or moisture barriers. Depending on the amount of

under-floor space you want, you may use 1x4, 1x3 or 2x4
members - either edge or flat. While pressure-treated

lumber is relatively more expensive than most standard

construction-grade lumber, often, it is way more resistant to
decay. It is an excellent choice for sleepers.

Space the sleepers twelve inches to six inches on center.

Then, fasten them to the concrete with concrete anchors,

concrete screws or powder-actuated fasteners. Concrete

screws are often easy to use and require just a small hole

drilled using a masonry bit.

Besides driving the fasteners, be sure to avoid penetrating or

pg. 27
damaging the plastic moisture barriers while you work. In
case you do, you should immediately tape up the accidental

tear. Add sleepers underneath the bases of heavy machines

to give them more support. You can also lag-bolt down the
machines to the sleepers after you lay down the floor.

Subfloor systems

A raised wood floor presents many advantages. You can run

compressed-air piping, electrical circuits, and if there is

sufficient clearance, you can even route dust collection
ductwork underneath the floor.

Run them in conduit in case you want to route electrical

circuits. You can use some water-proof materials, attaching

them to the sleepers they run along. When wiring has to

cross a sleeper, run a narrow channel. However, avoid
pg. 28
putting flush-mount electrical boxes underneath the floor as
they often accumulate sawdust, which can pose a fire hazard.

After running your plumbing or wiring between sleepers,

what follows is the application of a tongue-and-groove

underlayment grade plywood flooring. Be sure to plan the

cuts you will need to make such that the butted ends have

mating grooves and tongues. Screw down the floor using

galvanized deck screws. This will not only prevent floor
squeaks, but it will also allow easy pulling up of sections of

the floor repairs and fixes if, for instance, there is a moisture
issue underneath.

pg. 29
Chapter 4:

Insulation

pg. 30
You may have noticed how expensive it is heating up an un-
insulated workshop. Your space will feel very uncomfortable

if your furnace system isn’t working correctly, especially

during the cold winters.

Adding good insulation to your workshop, especially on the

walls and ceiling, will be to your benefit. And what’s more?

The job isn’t difficult. It is inexpensive, and you can do all of

it by yourself. For instance, if you are working in an
outbuilding with an existing ceiling or in a wood stud garage,

then insulation is likely to cost you less than a dollar for

every square foot of your floor area.

Walls are usually a lot easier to insulate properly than roofs

and ceilings. Don’t stress yourself about ventilation; the size

of wall studs will determine what insulation to use. Often R-

11 or R-13 work best for 2x4 walls, whereas R-19 or R-21 is
great for 2x6 walls. The R-value here indicates how well the

pg. 31
material insulates; the higher number indicates that it is a
better and thicker insulator. Your shop can still have the

insulation blown in if it has already been dry-walled or

paneled. An insulation contractor should help you with this.

Since heat rises, your shop will hardly benefit from floor
insulation, except in scenarios where the floor’s underside is

exposed. This is the case when your shop is built on piers or

some hillside which drops away.

Insulating conventional ceilings

Insulation becomes even simpler in case your workshop has

an attic space over it or a drywall ceiling. Just lay bats of

fiber-glass insulation between those ceiling joists. However,

you will need to ventilate the attic space to avoid moisture

problems. The climate in which you are living, and the
average temperature you want to work in are some of the

pg. 32
factors that will determine the R-value of your insulation
material. Search “Regional Insulation Recommendations for

Residences” on Google for more information about the

recommended insulation for various climatic zones. You
should get the right material for insulation in most hardware

stores.

pg. 33
Chapter 5:

Sound Abatement

pg. 34
If your shop is within a residential area and you want to limit

neighbor complaints, then you’d better control the noise

coming out your workshop. The doors, windows, and walls
of your workshop offer the basic way of containing the

machine noises. But what if your shop has thin walls, it is

near your cranky neighbors, and you have to run noisy

machines at night? Well, you will have to make alterations to

your workshop.

Reducing Machine Noise

Try isolating the bases of the noisy machines from the floor
to minimize the noise transmitted through wood floors. For

instance, you could put the bases atop some dense foam or
rubber. Get an anti-vibration pad for machines like central
dust collectors and compressors which have to be bolted

down.
pg. 35
You can also reduce the noise transmitted outside and inside

the shop via the reduction of the sound energy transfer

through direct or air vibrations. You might have noticed that
shutting the windows and doors before you turn on a noisy

machine (such as the table saw) actually makes a difference.

Now, you can reduce the noise further by blocking off all the

unnecessary openings between the outdoors and the shop.

Consider applying sound-deadening materials into your

shop’s inside walls to minimize higher-frequency noises like

that generated by portable power tools. Soundboard is one
of the most affordable materials, which you can nail or screw

to studs of the shop’s unfinished walls. However, attaching

them to the top of dr1'wall will be more efficient.

Soundboard will not only cut the noise leaving your shop,
but it will also significantly reduce the noises in the shop
through absorbing high-frequency sounds besides also

pg. 36
decreasing their reflections off the walls. Unfortunately, the
noises produced by such deep-throated roar devices as

shapers, planers, and jointers are somewhat harder to

control.

Smart Ways to Reduce Machinery Noise

The fewer decibels the machines in your shop generate, then

the fewer get their way out. You can make a substantial

difference by changing bits, cutters, and blades. For instance,

table saw blades vary considerably as regards the decibels
they generate.

You can also quiet your machines through the addition of

some sound-deadening insulation. Note that enclosed metal

stands can contribute a lot to the amount of noise coming
from machines. Consider gluing soundboard or insulation

foam inside the metal stands, or you can just stuff them with
pg. 37
Styrofoam.

One of the most effective and easiest methods of reducing

both low and medium frequency noises is by isolating
paneling or drywall from ceilings and walls. Proceed this

way:

Beginning with ceiling joists and bare stud walls, attach

some strips of a sound channel (also called resilient channel)
to the joists or studs at regular intervals.

Screw the drywall into the furring strips that will prevent

sound vibrations from being transmitted from the drywall

into the walls’ studs and subsequently to the outer

sheathing.

Add one layer of fiber-glass insulation between studs before

you apply any wall covering to make your shop quieter.

pg. 38
Windows and Doors

Doorways and windows are other channels for noise to

escape your workshop. You can quiet the existing windows

by fitting double-glazed replacements that work the same

way as double walls to prevent vibration transmission.

Inexpensive hollow core doors can also cause noise issues,

which you can avoid by installing soli-core doors.

If you are setting up a new workshop, note that the location

of windows and doors can also significantly determine how
much noise problems you will cause. As much as possible,

avoid placing windows on sides that face noise-sensitive

areas.

If you have already dry-walled or paneled your shop, you

can reduce the noise problem by adding mass. Fasten
pg. 39
another layer of drywall on top of thin wood paneling to
minimize noise transmission.

pg. 40