Can I use drywall to install partitions in a prefabricated steel garage?
Our prefab garage was installed on Monday. We chose a large capacity prefab steel garage with dimensions of 6x9m. Now we want to install a partition wall.
I would like to work with metal profiles like drywall. I would bolt the OSB boards to them first, and then either sheet rock or cement fiber board. Now to my question: is this possible in an unheated garage where there is a certain amount of moisture? Is it possible to use OSB boards, for example? And is it really necessary to use fiber-cement board or will impregnated drywall suffice as well?
I'm mostly afraid of mold.
Answers
We have a 9-foot double steel garage, too.....
Bikes, kids toys/cars, gardening tools, some tools/workbench – and lo and behold, the backside is full.
I reinforced part of the garage wall with OSB boards to hang my garden tools there. Since my garage has no slab but asphalt, the moisture originally came in mostly from below, and when it rained hard, the moisture on the sides would sometimes penetrate up to 10 cm between the asphalt and the garage. So I separated the OSB panels from the sidewalk at the bottom. This has worked for several years without any problems. But I wouldn't use drywall either.
Why would you need such a huge steel garage?
It has limited use as a cellar replacement room. Climatically it is a stalactite cave. What is the point of a (closed) partition?
If you want to leave the car parking gate open during the day, I'd prefer to fence off the area for lawn mowers, bikes, etc. with steel mats.
We have a garage like that too, measuring 5x6m. We store suitcases and camping gear in it, as well as lights for outdoor decor, etc. It works very well. It works very well.
It is not a drip cave as it is well ventilated. Occasionally a few drips collect on the ceiling, which also drip down when you put a wet car inside. This year we used them for other purposes and put all our boxes of stuff on one side and only the bikes on the other. There's nothing wet down there.
But actually to the question: I wouldn't use drywall. I'm not a construction expert, but I have a bad feeling about it. We once had a piece of drywall left in our garage. It didn't get moldy, but it completely sagged.
OSB would certainly do the trick. But I would probably use trapezoidal metal sheets. For me, that would be the best.
