This is sorta on topic because its for walls in a machine shop. My
shop is a steel building. Inside are steel stud walls that hold the
insulation. Flammable materials, such as acetone, alcohol, and solvent
are present is less than 1 gallon quantities or in a fire protected
parts washer. The other flammable stuff in the shop consists of papers
and cutting oil. So I don't really see a fire hazard in the shop. It
is a no smoking shop. There is a weld area but it is away from
anything that can burn. And all stick welding and torch cutting of
metal is done outside. All that being said, is there a reason NOT to
use 3/8 cdx on the walls instead of 5/8 drywall? It seems to me that
the plywood would be more durable and less likely to suffer any damage
from things banging into it than drywall. Also, the plywood doesn't
need to be taped. Painting and caulking is all the plywood would need.
The shop is full of machines which is one of the reasons I'd like to
avoid taping, mudding, and sanding. All that dust. And labor costs
would be substantially higher with the drywall. I can't do it myself
for at least 6 weeks but I can hire someone to get it done next week.
Thank You,
Eric R Snow