Trusscore FAQ: What It’s For, How It Installs, and Whether It Really Beats Drywall

I manage materials purchasing for a mid-sized company. We have three locations, and roughly 60–80 orders a year for everything from lumber to flooring. A while back I started seeing Trusscore in the spec sheets for garage and basement renovations we were doing. Now a few contractors I work with recommend it regularly. This FAQ covers what I’ve learned—what Trusscore is, where it makes sense, what it costs, and where it can trip you up.

What is Trusscore, exactly?

Trusscore makes PVC wall and ceiling panels. They look like traditional drywall or beadboard when installed, but they’re a hollow-core PVC extrusion—kind of like a slatted panel system with interlocking edges. They come in a few styles: flat panels (gloss or satin finish), slatwall (for shelving and retail displays), and tongue-and-groove ceiling planks. There’s also a full trim system for edges and corners. Essentially it’s a plastic wallboard that installs differently than drywall and resists water and impact better.

Where should I install Trusscore?

This is the first question most buyers ask, and it’s the right one. Trusscore’s ideal use cases are:

• Garages and workshops—where it can handle bangs and moisture
• Laundry rooms, mudrooms, and basements—spaces prone to dampness
• Restrooms and locker rooms in commercial buildings
• Food prep and wash-down areas where you need to hose down surfaces
• Retail displays (their slatwall system is popular for merchandising)

What it’s not great for: living rooms, formal dining rooms, or anywhere you want a traditional painted drywall aesthetic. The panels have visible seams and a slight plastic feel. Some homeowners don’t mind that in a garage, but it wouldn’t fly in a finished basement you’re trying to sell.

How does Trusscore compare to drywall on cost?

This is where the conversation gets tricky, because a lot depends on how you account for costs. Here’s my honest take after ordering materials for about a dozen Trusscore installs:

Material cost: Trusscore panels run about $2.50–$4.50 per square foot depending on style and finish. Drywall, by contrast, is maybe $0.50–$1.00 per square foot for the board alone. So Trusscore is 3–5x more expensive in raw material. That’s the number people see first.

But here’s the part most buyers miss (I sure did the first time): drywall isn’t just a board. It’s tape, joint compound, sanding, sometimes two coats of primer and paint, and specialized labor for corners and texture matching. A rough estimate I’ve seen across multiple quotes is that finished drywall costs $4–$7 per square foot installed. Trusscore, with its complete trim system and faster installation, can come in at $5–$8 per square foot installed. So the gap narrows considerably.

I’d argue the bigger difference isn’t first cost—it’s what happens after installation. Drywall will need patching, painting, and repair if it gets wet or dented. Trusscore won’t. Over 5–10 years, in a high-abuse space, that adds up. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that the cheapest option on paper rarely is the cheapest option in practice.

Is Trusscore hard to install?

It’s different from drywall, but I wouldn’t say harder. If you’re a competent DIYer with basic framing experience, it’s manageable. The panels cut with a utility knife (score and snap). They interlock with a tongue-and-groove joint, and you fasten them through the flange into studs. The trim system handles inside and outside corners, edges, and trim transitions.

That said, I’ve seen people mess up a few things:

• Not planning for panel length. You can order custom lengths, but standard is 8′ or 10′. If your wall is 10′ 6″, you either order at length or add a seam you don’t want.
• Forgetting about the trim. The trim pieces aren’t optional—they’re what gives the system a finished look. If you order the panels but not the corner and edge trim, you’ll have raw exposed edges.
• Not accounting for the panel thickness. It’s about 1/2″ nominal, but the trim adds a bit. If you’re setting a door frame or window, that offset matters.

Honestly, I’m still not sure why some installations go perfectly and others end up with crooked panels. My best guess is that it comes down to careful layout and ensuring your furring strips or studs are dead-on flat. Like any panel system, Trusscore doesn’t hide framing flaws.

What does Trusscore cost in Canada?

That’s the question I get most often from our northern locations. Trusscore’s pricing is CAD-friendly—they’re a Canadian company based in Ontario. Based on the quotes I’ve seen in 2024 and early 2025:

• 8′ flat panels (gloss or satin): Roughly C$50–$70 per panel (about 30 sq ft coverage)
• 10′ panels: C$65–$90
• Slatwall panels (for retail): C$80–$120, depending on color and finish
• Trim (L-molding, corner, edge caps): C$15–$30 per piece

These are published list prices from Trusscore’s website as of late 2024. Your local supplier may adjust. The good news is you’re not wrestling with exchange rates or cross-border shipping.

Will Trusscore crack or peel like drywall?

That’s the wrong question, but it’s what most buyers ask first. The right question is: will it handle what I’m going to throw at it? Trusscore is solid-core PVC, so it won’t crack like drywall from a doorknob bang or dent like drywall from a chair hitting the wall. It’s also waterproof, which is huge in basements and bathrooms.

But it’s not indestructible. High-impact force (a tool hitting the panel, a shelf bracket over-torqued) can crack or chip it. And you can’t just spackle and paint over a damaged Trusscore panel like you would drywall—you have to replace the panel or cut out a section. So it’s a trade-off: less wear and tear day-to-day, but a bigger fix if something does go wrong.

I’ve been in a building where a contractor installed Trusscore in a garage and then hit a panel with the corner of a toolbox dolly. Chip about the size of a quarter. We had to cut the panel out and slide a new one in. Not cheap, but manageable. For most residential and light commercial applications, that’s an acceptable risk.

Why do contractors recommend Trusscore for garages?

Because garages are the perfect storm of abuse and neglect. They get moisture, temperature swings, car exhaust, leaning bikes, hanging tools—and nobody wants to repaint them every two years. Drywall in a garage is a high-maintenance proposition. Trusscore handles it better because:

• It won’t absorb water if the car drips on it
• You can power-wash it if it gets dirty
• Hanging cabinets is straightforward—just screw through the panel into the stud
• If a panel gets damaged, you replace one panel, not half the wall

Plus, the finished look is clean and bright. Our company just put Trusscore in the maintenance bay of one of our facilities. The crew loves that it doesn’t collect dust and they can wipe it down.

Can I install heavy shelving on Trusscore panels?

Yes, but you’re not attaching to the plastic—you’re attaching through it to the studs behind. That’s no different than drywall. The panel itself isn’t structural. For retail slatwall systems (their Wall & Ceiling line), you attach brackets to the slat channels, and those are designed for typical retail shelf loads. For a garage, you just find a stud and drill through the panel. The material is a bit harder to get through than drywall, but a standard drill with a wood bit works fine.

One note: If you’re doing a retail space with slatwall, make sure you get the right panel for the job—the slatwall system is different than the flat panel system. I’ve seen people order the wrong style and then wonder why their shelf brackets don’t fit.