Shop-building guys - what do you think of this?
 

I'm getting ready to sheetrock in the next day or so. I plan to install a workbench along this wall, about 16' long, as well as an overhead storage shelf. The bathroom occupies the corner shown on the left, and the top of the bathroom was sheathed over with plywood; I will basically extend that storage across over the top of the workbench.

So, to support that, I attached some 2x6's across where the workbench will attach and where the big shelf will attach. I was going to have them sheetrock up to the edge top/bottom of these pieces.

Is this a good or bad idea? One thing that popped into my head was 'how do they attach the rock between the studs. I don't know enough about sheetrock to know if this is an issue.

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Hmmm...I don't see why it wouldn't work...? 1/2 sheetrock on the wall is plenty stiff between the studs when you butt the pieces up between your 2x6's...

What is the distance between 2x6's? Will a 4x12 sheet of sheetrock fit uncut or will they need to trim out? One thing that concerns me is the edges of the sheetrock. To keep a nice edge, they may need to use more sheetrock than they ordinarily would.

In the past, if I wanted to hang a shelf, I usually put the drywall up first, then put the supporting 2x6 on over the sheetrock. I'd say that the hassle associated with cutting the 'rock wasn't worth the marginal extra strength gained from hanging it closer to the studs. Your plan ought to work just as well, though.

Just out of curiousity, you make it sound like someone else is doing the sheetrock -- why aren't you doing it yourself?

Dan

It will work fine the way you have it if you are usin 1/2" sheetrock. Just make sure where the sheetrock butts each other is in the middle of one of your studs.

I'm using 5/8"

The term 'shelf' might be a misnomer. I'm going to build it with supports down to the ground, so I can stash heavy stuff up there, which is why I wanted to go straight into the wall, and not on top of the sheetrock.

Yes, I'm having someone else do the sheetrock. I have the skills to do it myself - BTDT, but I decided it was worth the $400 to have a crew come in and do it, rather than try to persuade several friends to come over, plus beer, plus a lift, plus... you get the picture.

Makes sense to me. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product, myself. :) I always like drooling over somebody else's nice shop, knowing that all I have is an itty-bitty garage that I'm sharing with my room-mate so he can store stuff, and hoping that nothing heavy falls on top of my car ...

Dan

Here's the bathroom. Notice how it's sheathed on top. I plan on extending that to the right as a heavy-duty shelf.

http://66.34.72.138/garage/updates/image/2100473.JPG

While I'm sharing, here was last week's project: insulation!

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Full frontal:

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Wow, I'm green with envy. I'd give my left ... uh, eyetooth for a garage like that.

You could consider protecting the bottom edge of the sheetrock, where it meets your 2x6 nailer with an 8" high piece of 20 gauge galvanized sheet metal (kind of like a backsplash on a kitchen counter). It would also provide a good place to magnetically attach sketches, notes, etc while your working.

Good idea; I saw one shop where this was done with polypropyline (I think) plastic sheet about 1/16" thick.

Most large home improvement stores (HD) carry a fiberglass material that is 1/16" for covering walls. Comes in 4x 8 or 4x10 sheets. If you go into a new gas station bathroom you'll see the stuff covering all the walls. Its tough and hard to write on so they like it. Really can take a beating. I used it in our laundry room/dog's room. You may want to look into it.

Paul

What is generally done to provide that kind of support to attach things to the wall is to cut the 2x6 into blocks and attach between the studs so the drywall is has no seams or plate the entire wall with plywood and then drywall so where ever you try to hang a shelf or screw something in , it has backing
Jerry