need ideas for shop divider

[jp]

hi folks,

I'm moving soon and will be relocating my shop in a detached garage, half of which i need to leave clean and empty for the landlord. I offered to frame and wallboard a divider, but he said fabric or something removable would be fine (I think he means preferred, LOL).

Anyway, my first thought was buying one of those tarps that have the eyelets built in, then running some wire through them, shoe lace style, and suspending the wire front to back just beneath the ceiling. The basic effect would be like a shower curtain.

I'm sure there are better ideas, though, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

thanks!

[gmack5]

A Tarp big enough to split a Garage, front to back and top to bottom would cost you quite a bit of money.

Another idea that you might want to look at is to use a plastic sheet and put 1 X 2s along the bottom edge to provide some weight along the bottom to hold it in place. That kind of sheeting is available in 12' wide rolls from the BORG
Or you could double a sheet and put it on both sides of the 1 X 2, giving you a bit of insulation with the Air Space between the two sheets. That kind of material is available in either 4 or 6 mil thicknesses. YMMV

If the over-head beams are 2 X material, you could lay the 1 X 2 flat and fasten a sheet to each side of the overhead beam and the narrow edge of the 1 X 2.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Agree on thickest mil plastic you can find. I have witnessed this used in practice and it worked very well. Used 2 x 2 to frame.

[John Hunter]

I picked up a dozen cheap blue plastic tarps that were on sale at Harbor Freight and split my garage in half for my shop and boat storage. I have open rafters so I just stapled the tarps to them and let them hang down to the floor where I sand bagged them in place. I overlapped the tarps and taped them together with duct tape. Worked great and keeps the saw dust off my boat.

[sacherjj]

I'll third that recommendation. Although, we used some verticals in our installation. We used some cheap 2x3's for the header and footer and 48" centered "studs". This gave us a nice place to overlap the slightly over 4' wide plastic we used.

[charliex]

Tyvec? or something simular might work, is strong and comes in large sizes.

[LarryG]

Most shops are not only too small in terms of floor space but are also short on wall space. Unless your landlord has outright vetoed a rigid wall, you might consider building a demountable, panelized wall ... say 1x4 framing covered on one side only with 1/8" hardboard (Masonite). Build each 4'x8' section independently and screw the adjoining studs together.

This will cost a little more than a plastic partition but will give you a new long, uninterrupted wall you can position tools against. While it wouldn't be strong enough to support really heavy stuff like wall cabinets, you'd have lots of room for saw blades, chisels, paint brushes, etc etc etc. It will also provide a bit more security for both parties, if that's an issue.

[LCHIEN]

George said that tars would be expensive, but

HF has a 9' x 19' 6" tarp, silver (mid-grade) for only $20. That seems cheap enough to me compared to alternatives. Might be easier to get two 10'x8' just for handling ease. 9'x 11' blue (the cheapest) was only $6, would take two.

7'4" x 9'6" was just $4, the 7'4 would seem to be the perfect height to hang with 8' ceiling - 4" above and below. You'd need two or 3 depending upon whether you wanted it to hang straight or like a curtain.

[mschrank]

Is there a light source on the "landlord's side?" If so, I'd want to use clear plastic (assuming you go the route of not putting up a ridgid wall). That way you'll get a bit more light into the "shop side."

Also, keep in mind that you'll need to seal it off really well if by "clean" he means no dust. I've tried sealing off a storage area in my garage shop, but I've become convinced that nothing will hold back MDF dust!

[Tom Miller]

Before we finished our basement, I "walled" off the section that would eventually be my shop with 4mil plastic. I cut off the length required from a 100' roll of 10' wide poly, to go from overhead joists to floor (~8' ceiling). The extra width allowed me to wrap a few turns around a 2x2, which I tacked to the joists. On the bottom, I also wrapped a 2x2, and just let the weight hold it down. (Actually, I think I rolled a 1x2, and then tacked a 1x2 onto that.)

Do you need a door through this wall? I made one with overlapping 12" wide slats of poly. I weighted the bottoms so the "door" would close.

You could use poly with reinforcing mesh if you think it'll get bumped into (on your side or the landlord's side). I'd be cautious about using a colored tarp, even if only for psychological reasons. You might end up feeling blue after long day in the shop (or green? or gray?).

Regards,
Tom