Really Strong Wall Mount?

[Vintage Veloce]

I want to hang a piece of exercise equipment, a "Stroop Spine", to the inside wall of the garage.


This thing is basically a vertical pipe that mounts to the wall and you attach straps to it to do exercises that involve pulling against the wall. The thing itself is heavy, maybe 60 pounds, and of course we will be pulling on it every day for years... typically pulling with 50 - 150 pounds of force.

We really want to mount it in a place where there is no stud available. However, the wall was constructed as a shear wall with a layer of OSB directly on the studs and then the gypsum wallboard over that. I'm pretty confident the OSB reinforced wall can handle the pulling force. I will put some extra structural screws through the wall to the nearest studs just to be sure the OSB isn't pulled away from the studs.

Two of these brackets are used to mount the vertical pipe to the wall:

The back plate is about 5" x 5" and the four mounting holes are 7/16" diameter.

Can anyone recommend good wall anchors for this that are deep enough to go through the layer of sheet rock and OSB? I'm thinking something that fits tight in a hole drilled through the wall and then expands behind the OSB...?

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Mount two pieces of Unistrut to the wall spanning a pair of studs and then mount the plates to the strut.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Mount two pieces of Unistrut to the wall spanning a pair of studs and then mount the plates to the strut.

I definitely could make something to bridge to the adjacent studs. But that seems unnecessary with the OSB backing in place if a good anchor exists... ?

 

[brownbagg]

3/4 plywood, full sheet. lag bolted into studs, then bolt to it

 

[mike93lx]

I'd open the wall and add proper blocking. I would not mount it to drywall and some osb sheathing. Is that the osb on the exterior of the wall?

 

[Vintage Veloce]

3/4 plywood, full sheet. lag bolted into studs, then bolt to it

This has been my backup plan. Except I'd do two smaller sheets, 12" x 27, just for appearances.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I'd open the wall and add proper blocking. I would not mount it to drywall and some osb sheathing. Is that the osb on the exterior of the wall?

The OSB is directly in contact with the studs. The sheet rock is on top of that facing the interior of the room.

 

[Kurt4440]

The test data on OSB screw holding ability varies greatly. I would strongly recommend bridging at least 2 adjacent wall studs with: plywood, dimensional lumber, metal plates, c channel....

 

[mike93lx]

The OSB is directly in contact with the studs. The sheet rock is on top of that facing the interior of the room.

Ah, got it. I use an anchor called flip toggles for heavy duty stuff. They can be used in quite thick assemblies

 

[nadogail]

I like Molly Bolts, they expand during installation and when you remove the screw that expands them they remain in place.

I would use 4, 1/4” diameter mollys at each anchor point.

Molly Bolts are a registered trademark, I will not accept substitutes.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Ah, got it. I use an anchor called flip toggles for heavy duty stuff. They can be used in quite thick assemblies

This is the kind of thing I'm thinking of... is there a preferred brand?
And I am looking one that is long enough to handle the deep double layer of drywall and OSB...

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I was thinking about something like this assuming it could go deep enough. It's supposed to be self drilling, but I'd have to use a drill to get through the OSB. I like that it's a solid tube and might bite into the surface drywall.

Toggle Lock

E-Z Ancor

www.easyanchors.com

There are also these Simpson toggle that have really high ratings, but no tube structure...

 

[kaymccampbell]

I vote for the 3/4 plywood with HeadLok screws to hold it in place. It'll look nicer than lags. Then you can do whatever you want for the brackets. HeadLoks would look clean there, too.

 

[dogdog]

use a long piece of 2x4 (2 of them) one top and one bottom across multiple studs, use long lag screws/lag bolts. this way you shed some of the force across multiple studs..... you can always paint that 2x4s or route some pattern to make it look nice.

 

[nbpt100]

How much horizontal force would you extimate the person using the exercises ropes would apply to the stroop spine bar? Worst case that is.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

How much horizontal force would you extimate the person using the exercises ropes would apply to the stroop spine bar? Worst case that is.

I'm thinking the max is "body weight". I weigh about 150, but let's round up to 200. And obviously that gets spread across 2 brackets of 4 bolts each. I really think the OSB layer should be enough support, assuming I use some kind of toggle that holds behind the OSB.
That said, the studs are on 24" centers. Adding a 3/4 plywood layer bridging the nearest studs would certainly add some structure.

 

[nutjob]

SNAPTOGGLE® Heavy-Duty Toggle Bolts

https://toggler.com/products/snaptoggle-heavy-duty-toggle-bolts-zinc-plated-carbon-steel-channels

Kevin

 

[mike93lx]

SNAPTOGGLE® Heavy-Duty Toggle Bolts

https://toggler.com/products/snaptoggle-heavy-duty-toggle-bolts-zinc-plated-carbon-steel-channels

Kevin

That's the other brand I've used. Very strong.

 

[TJMtl]

..

 

[TJMtl]

That's the other brand I've used. Very strong.

I use these for my ladder ceiling mount, they're solid and have sizeable bolts.

But I would go with the 3/4 plywood idea, paint to match the wall

 

[Jackfre]

My set-up is much simpler. I have a 7’ length of chain lag bolted with a heavy fender washer to a corner stud. I have a couple carabiners for strap attachment. Been there for 7 yrs without issue. Oh, and I actually use it.

 

[niget2002]

This has been my backup plan. Except I'd do two smaller sheets, 12" x 27, just for appearances.

Paint the plywood to match the wall.

I'd do the full sheet.

Mount a full-length mirror between the two pull points so you can see the goofy faces you make as you work out.

 

[niget2002]

I have used these before in the past to hang heavy shelves and they worked quite well. I made DIY floating shelves using a metal frame that used these to bolt them to the wall. Then the wooden carcass slipped over the metal frame.

Everbilt 3/16 in. x 2 in. Zinc-Plated Toggle Bolt with Mushroom Head Screw (15-Pieces) 803912 - The Home Depot

These toggle bolts are anchors for use in hollow walls and hollow masonry applications. The toggle bolt's wing spreads the force over a larger load bearing surface and comes attached to a machine screw.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Copymutt]

No guarantee on the most secure attachment.

Fail GIFS

www.yellowbullet.com

 

[bluedog225]

Good example of target fixation. There are good suggestions here. The osb is not reliable. And the failure mode is bad for the user.

 

[MoonRise]

She looks pretty strong.

Don't mount just to the OSB. Someone, somewhere is going to do something stupid or excessive that you didn't think was possible and then the item rips out of the OSB.

Don't use wall anchors to/through the OSB.

Mount to something that spans and solidly anchors into the studs and solidly mount your item to THAT.

Your equipment mounting plate has 7/16" diameter holes, so that means 3/8" diameter bolts go into those holes (clearance and not a press fit of the bolt into the holes ). With 3/8" bolts, I'd want more thread depth engagement into the wood than just going into 3/4" nominal plywood. More like double the 3/4" ply and make it 1.5" thick nominal, glued together to make a laminated thicker plywood mounting plate/strap.

Or some good 2x structural lumber. Some 2x12 spanning across and anchoring to the studs and then your equipment mounting plates mounted to the 2x12s.

Sand the ply or lumber, maybe route the edges to make it look 'nice' (could be just a round-over or maybe go all Roman Ogee ). Paint or stain the ply or lumber as desired.

HeadLock or TimberLock or RSS type screws to anchor things SOLIDLY.

Overkill and overbuilding is a GoodThing here.

 

[ddurrett896]

Nail a 2x6 into the top/bottom plate and in the field to the OSB. Paint black, mount that pipe to it.

 

[Two Speed]

If that was going to get mounted at work, it would be through bolts, with either a large plywood backer to spread the load secured to the studs or if on a block wall, some 6x6 steel plates for each bolt. Liability, gotta account for the stupid, or multiple people attempting to do something.
OSB is not going to hold.

 

[mcbane]

If you don’t mind a slightly industrial look, this is what unistrut is made for. Cut two pieces to be bolted horizontally across two studs at the top and bottom of your bar. Then use strut pipe mounts for the exercise bar. If the bar has its own mount hardware, secure that to the strut using strut nuts.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Project completed!
I took a combination of the advice from everyone. Thanks gang.
I had some good 3/4" plywood, so I cut two pieces to span the studs This was more work than usual because the studs are not on 16" centers (these were on 22-3/4" - for good reason > but not worth explaining.) And the studs were covered with OSB and then sheetrock, so a typical studfinder wouldn't work. I found the studs by looking at old construction photos, the nailing pattern on the outside clapboard and an IR camera. I used structural screws to secure the 3/4" plywood to the wall and through the OSB to the studs.
I then mounted the Spine's brackets to the plywood. Each bracket has 4 holes; in two I used 3/8" x 1" lag bolts and on the other two I used 3/8" by 2-1/2" lag bolts. The short lag bolts solidly mounted to the plywood and the longer lag bolts went all the way through the hidden OSB in the wall.
I feel confident the whole building will fall before this comes off the wall!