Hello,

A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the 
walls and put up some sheet rock.

Couple of questions.

1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some 
places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is 
slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the 
bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor 
that 4x8 sheet?

2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe 
it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the 
garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I 
also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway 
about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak, 
drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it 
out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain 
in the butt.

Anyway I would really appreciate you opinions.

Thank you,
Steve

On Apr 23, 3:41=A0pm, Steve  wrote:
> Hello,
>
> A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the
> walls and put up some sheet rock.
>
> Couple of questions.
>
> 1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some
> places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is
> slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the
> bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor
> that 4x8 sheet?

Without knowing how the garage is constructed, I don't see how anyone
can answer this. A 4X8 sheet of what?    In the garages I've been
familiar with, I don't see how a sheet of sheetrock that is slightly
bowed could have light showing out the bottom.   But certainly adding
additional nails or screws can't hurt.



>
> 2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe
> it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the
> garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I
> also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones.

If it was a good quality skylight (Velux) and installed properly, it
will not leak.   Most of the skylight leak problems are a result of
improper installation, not the skylight itself.




>Anyway
> about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak,
> drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it
> out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain
> in the butt.
>

I don't see why having a skylight makes it such a big pain to insulate
and sheetrock.   Sure, you have to go around it, but it's not much
different than going around a door, window, etc.  If it were me, I'd
figure out WHY it's leaking, and if it's an install issue, fix it.  If
it's the actual window, it should still be under warranty.

When you insulate the roof, make sure you have proper venting, soffit
and ridge and use the plastic baffles before putting in the insulation
to keep an air channel open.

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:56:06 -0700, trader4 wrote:

> On Apr 23, 3:41 pm, Steve  wrote:
>> Hello,
>>

> Without knowing how the garage is constructed, I don't see how anyone
> can answer this. A 4X8 sheet of what?    In the garages I've been
> familiar with, I don't see how a sheet of sheetrock that is slightly
> bowed could have light showing out the bottom.   But certainly adding
> additional nails or screws can't hurt.

Exterior sheet of plywood that has vertical groves. 4X8 sheet of siding.
 
> If it was a good quality skylight (Velux) and installed properly, it
> will not leak.   Most of the skylight leak problems are a result of
> improper installation, not the skylight itself.

With this company that would not surprise me at all.

> I don't see why having a skylight makes it such a big pain to insulate
> and sheetrock.   Sure, you have to go around it, but it's not much
> different than going around a door, window, etc.  If it were me, I'd
> figure out WHY it's leaking, and if it's an install issue, fix it.  If
> it's the actual window, it should still be under warranty.

Without the skylight the ceiling would be flat. With the skylight I would 
have to either frame in the area the light shines through or insulate the 
actual roof instead of the rafter area. Without the skylight the garage 
would just have a flat ceiling. Pretty easy to sheetrock.

> When you insulate the roof, make sure you have proper venting, soffit
> and ridge and use the plastic baffles before putting in the insulation
> to keep an air channel open.

I will keep this in mind.

Thank you.

Steve

Steve wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the 
> walls and put up some sheet rock.
> 
> Couple of questions.
> 
> 1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some 
> places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is 
> slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the 
> bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor 
> that 4x8 sheet?
> 
> 2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe 
> it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the 
> garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I 
> also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway 
> about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak, 
> drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it 
> out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain 
> in the butt.
> 
> Anyway I would really appreciate you opinions.
> 
> Thank you,
> Steve

I wouldn't put in a sky light but if I had one already in I would make 
it water proof. Unless the glass itself is leaking, it should be easy.
If it's the glass, take it off, and clean the mount properly before you 
go gobbing on caulking. Caulking over old caulking is short lived.

"Steve" <T...@IS.FAKE> wrote in message 
news:A...@ghvalley.net...
> Hello,
>
> A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the
> walls and put up some sheet rock.
>
> Couple of questions.
>
> 1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some
> places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is
> slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the
> bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor
> that 4x8 sheet?
>
> 2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe
> it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the
> garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I
> also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway
> about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak,
> drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it
> out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain
> in the butt.
>
> Anyway I would really appreciate you opinions.
>
> Thank you,
> Steve

Steve,
This will not answer your questions, but:
When I sheathed the inside of my shop I decided to use plywood.  Today the 
big clubs sell 1/2 inch plywood for a little more than drywall.  I believe 
it was $6 last time I looked.
Now I can drive nails and hang tools anywhere I want.  I did paint the 
plywood, and, prior to painting, I trowled on a skim coat of dry wall joint 
compound.  Putting on the compound saved me many gallons of paint.  Also, a 
sheet of plywood is a lot lighter than drywall and easier to handle.

Ivan Vegvary 

In article 1...@news.motzarella.org>, "Ivan Vegvary" <i...@reelart.us> wrote:

>This will not answer your questions, but:
>When I sheathed the inside of my shop I decided to use plywood.  Today the 
>big clubs sell 1/2 inch plywood for a little more than drywall.  I believe 
>it was $6 last time I looked.
>Now I can drive nails and hang tools anywhere I want.  I did paint the 
>plywood, and, prior to painting, I trowled on a skim coat of dry wall joint 
>compound.  Putting on the compound saved me many gallons of paint.  Also, a 
>sheet of plywood is a lot lighter than drywall and easier to handle.

These garages may be standalone structures. But if they're attached
to a house, I think plywood walls would create a code problem unless
you clad them with drywall.

If you're garage is attached, do check the local codes before
finalizing your decision.


-- 
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar           "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| m...@malch.com                                     Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/               Shpx gur PQN.                |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Malcolm Hoar" <m...@malch.com> wrote in message 
news:g...@news.sonic.net...
> In article 1...@news.motzarella.org>, "Ivan Vegvary" 
> <i...@reelart.us> wrote:
>
>>This will not answer your questions, but:
>>When I sheathed the inside of my shop I decided to use plywood.  Today the
>>big clubs sell 1/2 inch plywood for a little more than drywall.  I believe
>>it was $6 last time I looked.
>>Now I can drive nails and hang tools anywhere I want.  I did paint the
>>plywood, and, prior to painting, I trowled on a skim coat of dry wall 
>>joint
>>compound.  Putting on the compound saved me many gallons of paint.  Also, 
>>a
>>sheet of plywood is a lot lighter than drywall and easier to handle.
>
> These garages may be standalone structures. But if they're attached
> to a house, I think plywood walls would create a code problem unless
> you clad them with drywall.
>
> If you're garage is attached, do check the local codes before
> finalizing your decision.


The code here is 5/8" abutting living areas. The rest can be finished how 
you like. So either he's grandfathered in or is doing the areas that weren't 
dry walled?

Rich 

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:41:44 -0700, Ivan Vegvary wrote:

> This will not answer your questions, but: When I sheathed the inside of
> my shop I decided to use plywood.  Today the big clubs sell 1/2 inch
> plywood for a little more than drywall.  I believe it was $6 last time I
> looked.
> Now I can drive nails and hang tools anywhere I want.  I did paint the
> plywood, and, prior to painting, I trowled on a skim coat of dry wall
> joint compound.  Putting on the compound saved me many gallons of paint.
>  Also, a sheet of plywood is a lot lighter than drywall and easier to
> handle.
> 
> Ivan Vegvary

Definitely not an answer but a heck of a good idea. Thanks.

The garage is not attached.

Steve

"Steve" <T...@IS.FAKE> wrote in message 
news:A...@ghvalley.net...
> Hello,
>
> A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the
> walls and put up some sheet rock.
>
> Couple of questions.
>
> 1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some
> places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is
> slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the
> bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor
> that 4x8 sheet?
>
> 2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe
> it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the
> garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I
> also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway
> about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak,
> drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it
> out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain
> in the butt.
>
> Anyway I would really appreciate you opinions.
>
> Thank you,
> Steve

If it were me I'd tear out the skylight."Tunneled" skylights to retain the 
flat ceiling look like crap and insulating the roof isn't worth it in a 
garage and you are gonna have to remove it to fix leak the anyway..If it's a 
Velux skylight , sell it , if it's off brand junk , toss it away... Even 
though the garage isn't attached I'd still sheetock it (especially the 
ceiling) and add plywood or pegboard where you want to hang tools , ect. due 
to fire protection...Good luck... 

On Apr 23, 11:09=A0pm, "benick"  wrote:
> "Steve"  wrote in message
>
> news:A...@ghvalley.net...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hello,
>
> > A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate t=
he
> > walls and put up some sheet rock.
>
> > Couple of questions.
>
> > 1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some
> > places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is
> > slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on t=
he
> > bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor
> > that 4x8 sheet?
>
> > 2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I belie=
ve
> > it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the
> > garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and=
 I
> > also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway
> > about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak,
> > drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it
> > out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain
> > in the butt.
>
> > Anyway I would really appreciate you opinions.
>
> > Thank you,
> > Steve
>
> If it were me I'd tear out the skylight."Tunneled" skylights to retain th=
e
> flat ceiling look like crap and insulating the roof isn't worth it in a
> garage and you are gonna have to remove it to fix leak the anyway..If it'=
s a
> Velux skylight , sell it , if it's off brand junk , toss it away... Even
> though the garage isn't attached I'd still sheetock it (especially the
> ceiling) and add plywood or pegboard where you want to hang tools , ect. =
due
> to fire protection...Good luck...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

If you are insulating make sure you install a plastic vapour barrier
under the sheetrock i.e. on the warm side of the insulating batts.
Failure to do so can mean that warmed and therefore damp air, filters
out into the wall and into the insulation.
The warm air can then condense its moisture within the insulation,
which then gets wet. It is then becomes useless as insulation and may
fall down within the wall and cause mould and rot. In serious cases
have seen frost form within the insulation!
For most climates there should be some sort of permeable barrier
(building paper/Tyvek etc.) on the cold side under the outer
sheathing. Many sheds omit this since there are built semi ventilated
'garden shed' style!. The Tyvek etc. prevents the ingress of actual
water but allows the walls etc. to 'breathe' so any moisture that does
form within the walls can escape.
The vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation should be
reasonably well sealed around any wall outlets and windows etc. There
is special tape for this; its somewhat like 3 inch wide clear packing
tape but is often bright red.