Looking to build myself a garage in the summer. Looking at wall construction, is there any real advantage to going 16" centers instead of 24" like most things are made now? Only thing the walls will be holding is the roof, any shelving will be free standing. Walls will be 2x6, 10' high. Obvious disadvantage is roughly 50% more wood the walls.

 

Being in Alberta with a heavy snow load, I would stick with 16's on center if using 2x4's. You should be okay with 24's OC with 2x6's and horizontal supports.

 

Don't know what the building codes are in Canada, but check your local building codes. If there are no specific codes then look at what current builders are doing in your area and go with what their doing and you should be ok.
I know if we don't have a code specific to what is being built the the contractors automatically look at California codes and go that route. It EDIT me off because within 2 years what the contractors did is now what is expected for building and may not be suitable or applicable given where the building is going on here in Alaska. The inspectors will even say it needs to be done a certain way when there is still no code that has been enacted and you can argue your case and they don't care.

 

The amount of snow we get here isn't all that high, typically. There is maybe 4" on the ground in my backyard, excluding the 4' drift by the fence. Most new home construction is 24" centers, but that is mainly for cost savings, I would think. I don't have a problem bucking up for the 16" centers IF its worth it. If its not advantageous, then I'll skip it.

 

I use 16" on center and 2x6's make a much stronger wall as well as room for more insulation and soundproofing. The extra cost is really not that much for what you gain in the long run. But then I build EVERYTHING to outlast me

 

What Lary said!! If you are building it yourself just go with the 16". If you are building in four foot sections (20,24,28 foot etc) I dont know why, but it actually does not wind up being 50% more but yeah, it is more. Its also more nails and more screws on the inside drywall and a few more holes for your wiring. So what!. The studs are going to be the cheapest part anyway so go with the 16in (not that I have an opinion on it).
Oh yeah, dont forget the most important thing---Wiring for speakers. The speaker system I have mounted in the four corners of my garage sound better than my house system.

 

Unless electrical code dictates otherwise, I'll be doing all external wires in conduit and junction boxes. Make it easier to expand/modify if I choose, and can frame/insulate/board up before I do it. It won't look as nice, but thats of no real concern. Function over form. Speakers would be nice, but far from priority. I worked in my sisters garage for a long time with just an 2 speaker AM/FM radio with my XM plugged in.

 

The new Man Cave is 2X6 studs on 16" centers.
Wiring will be behind the wallboard (drywall from floor to 4', plywood to the ceiling), prewired stereo wiring of course.
It will double as a "everybody came down for the weekend and it rained" gathering place.

 

I have my garage package arriving here next month. I opted for a prefab pkg that I priced against getting it in the USA. The company I dealt with locally matched the price I had in North Dakota and it all meets code.
I went with 2x6 16" on center 10 ft walls and a cottage style roof to match the house. It was only 1100.00 more to go to the 2x6 and 16" centers with 10 ft compared to 8ft 24 inch centers and 2x4.
I priced out all the sticks to build it myself and the savings was less then half a grand to the prefab pkg and I still had the labor on top to build the walls.

Build it right the first time.

Scotty

 

Just an opinion.

When building it right the first time, look at 2x8 construction. Reason is, the extra insulation is worth it. Not so much for someone like stan or fiverbob, but for those of us who experience winter, it REALLY helps.

And the cost is not that much higher compared to 2x6 construction. If I recall correctly, it added about 3 grand to the cost of a 40x50 shop with 16' ceilings. That included the extra insulation.

Advantage, in cooler weather, the building stays extremely warm compared to even 2x6 construction, heating costs are way down.

Something to think about

 

Consider roof load and side loading from wind. I go 16" o/c on everything. The extra cost for a few studs is money well spent.

Fewer studs do mean better insulated however, less solids to pull heat out of the building.

If you decide to go 24" o/c make sure you pull the rafters/trusses from the same end you start the studs at so they rest over studs and not just plate.

 

Whoops I should have added that I am running 2x2's horizontally on top of the vapor barrier on the inside walls with insulation. My electrical and air will be mounted on the inside wall. The 2x2's are free as I have a pile of them here.

Mr. Shovelhead, why plywood on top and drywall on the bottom? I am looking at doing it the opposite way since the 1/2" ply will withstand bumps and collisions with rolling tool boxes and other items better. 4 ft of ply and 6 ft of drywall on top.

I also have a couple of light tubes for over the work area.

I am putting a flush mount T-bar ceiling with three access points for storage of nomes, alien visitors and bad guests in the attic.

 

Mr Shovelhead? Come on... we go back a ways .......

Plywood (painted white) will allow me to hang anything anywhere I want.
(cabinets/hanging brackets/ flat screen tvs )
I figured drywall for the lower portion that will be largely behind stuff. (Tool boxes, compressor, workbenches etc)
I can hang a 1/2" X 4" board as a 'chair rail' to protect the drywall if needed.

My electrical plan (so far)
Each bay will have a separate light switch.
One switch for the outside lights.
All outlets will be on GFI circuit breakers in the panel.

 

personally, I would also plan to drop air and power between each bay and I would also consider a couple 220 outlets on the back wall. something to run a welder (Unless you have a gas powered welder)

 

The air will be run exposed (that's why it's not shown), the 220 Volt outlet (when installed) will be near the panel..... or not.
I have the wire and box for it just need to see where is will work best.
Looks like the panel will probably be near the middle of the right side wall.
Tool boxes (3) and benches (2) will be in the back of the right bay.