Walk in coolers and drywall

[csatt90]

Been reading every thread I can but cant find this specific question. I am building a walk in cooler in my Dads shop. 6x10 x 8 tall. The corner we chose has two Insulated 2x6 walls (one interior, one exterior) with finished drywall. This will be a coolbot/window AC setup.

My question is what is the safest way to cover these walls to avoid moisture problems? My thought is vapor barrier on the drywall, followed by 1" foam panels with the seams sealed. Another idea is framing a small false wall with a small air gap (.5-1"?) between the cooler itself and the drywall. Or is it dumb to even consider a cooler this close to any drywall?

Like most on here, it will mainly only be used in the fall. So maybe I am overthinking it and moisture wont be a huge concern with minimal runtime?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[jags]

Is there already a VB under the drywall? 6 mil poly or paper faced batt insulation? You want to be careful about having 2 layers of VB.

Otherwise you might put a 1" or 2" layer of rigid insulation board over the drywall to eliminate thermal transfer of hot//cold through wood studs and cover that with plywood or OSB. Than there are numerous coatings that could be utilized. Maybe finish it with FRP panels to give you a washable surface inside it.

 

[ReddingArcher]

What are you planning for the new walls? What’s behind the existing rock? Vapor barrier? I’d find that out first. On the new walls I’d use a fiber mat Sheetrock, something like dens armor plus or dens shield. I’d go FRP over that so I could wash it as needed. I’m a drywall contractor, feel free to pm or ask on here if you have any questions.

 

[Butcher44]

I built one a few years ago in my garage. It’s only 4x8 with 7’ cieling. Im no carpenter but it has held a lot of deer. I just used osb and put a wall up even against the drywall. No issues

 

[mike.adams.467]

I used OSB on mine, but there is no drywall underneath. Its 2x6 construction with blown in insulation.

 

[Beendare]

I have a wine cooler type thing with an AC unit....but for meat and such you want it to be colder than that- something like 34 degrees right?

I'm not getting exactly what you are trying to do....but why use Sheetrock at all? If there is moisture, Stainless panels over super insulated wall/ceiling/ floor done with polyiso board and taped seams would be the way to go I would think.

FWIW, OSB and some plywood's have formaldehyde in the manufacture process and off gas that Formaldehyde especially in a confined space. I don't know how much exactly....but it can't be good near fresh meat.

You can buy Formaldehyde free plywood...but any wood can grow mold and such in those conditions- I would use; 1) SS, 2) glass, 3) plastic panels [you can find those cheap at Home Depot]

edit- if you are dead set on drywall- you can paint it and add a mildewcide additive to the paint to help stop mold from growing.

 

[mike.adams.467]

I have a wine cooler type thing with an AC unit....but for meat and such you want it to be colder than that- something like 34 degrees right?

I'm not getting exactly what you are trying to do....but why use Sheetrock at all? If there is moisture, Stainless panels over super insulated wall/ceiling/ floor done with polyiso board and taped seams would be the way to go I would think.

FWIW, OSB and some plywood's have formaldehyde in the manufacture process and off gas that Formaldehyde especially in a confined space. I don't know how much exactly....but it can't be good near fresh meat.

You can buy Formaldehyde free plywood...but any wood can grow mold and such in those conditions- I would use; 1) SS, 2) glass, 3) plastic panels [you can find those cheap at Home Depot]

edit- if you are dead set on drywall- you can paint it and add a mildewcide additive to the paint to help stop mold from growing.

While OSB can offgas after it is manufactured, by the time its in the hands of the consumer, this offgassing is virtually nonexistent. I painted mine and didn't use the room for nearly a year after I built it.

 

[grfox92]

In a wet humidity place like Washington I would never have drywall in a walk in cooler. I'd strip those walls and switch to CDX.

The walk in coolers I have built, we used spray foam, osb and then used low profile metal siding on the inter walls. They are called liner panels if I remember correctly and are similar to tough rib metal siding but for interior walls.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Tod osier]

Been reading every thread I can but cant find this specific question. I am building a walk in cooler in my Dads shop. 6x10 x 8 tall. The corner we chose has two Insulated 2x6 walls (one interior, one exterior) with finished drywall. This will be a coolbot/window AC setup.

My question is what is the safest way to cover these walls to avoid moisture problems? My thought is vapor barrier on the drywall, followed by 1" foam panels with the seams sealed. Another idea is framing a small false wall with a small air gap (.5-1"?) between the cooler itself and the drywall. Or is it dumb to even consider a cooler this close to any drywall?

Like most on here, it will mainly only be used in the fall. So maybe I am overthinking it and moisture wont be a huge concern with minimal runtime?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

I think you can get away with pretty much anything if you are going to use for a few days straight here and there. If you are thinking a week or two straight or more, I'd want to strip the drywall back and start with a serious vapor barrier and then finish with something like FRP.

 

[csatt90]

Thanks for the input guys!

Maybe my first post was a little confusing. The shop is already finished with drywall, so the corner we’re putting the cooler in has the drywall on it already. It’s not ideal but I’d prefer not to remove it, I’d rather put something over it. I like to do things overkill a bit so even though we only plan to run it during hunting season, it would be nice to have the option to run it through the year and not have any moisture concerns.

 

[csatt90]