1w ago

Installed a wall mounted weight rack today.

My house has an out building that I've converted into a home gym. I'm working on getting as much up off the floor as possible, so today I installed this wall mounted weight rack.

Installation was surprisingly easy, apart from driving massive lag bolts into 3.5mm pilot holes. I'm glad I didn't listen to the directions that said to install the top 170cm (5'7") from the ground and instead did 183cm (6'), because the Olympic bar is just slightly off the ground.

The right most bolt didn't quite line up with the stud, but it's secure enough for now until I remove the top piece and throw in a large drywall toggle bolt.

Next up will be steel pegboards to hang things like resistance bands and handles from.

20 comments

Props to you, I'd be terrified of wall mounting that much weight, but sounds like you thought it all through.
I still fear that my wall mounted TV is going to fall down.
- Wood has some stupid high strength properties, especially with a few hundred pounds of roof keeping the stud in place.
  Since the force on it is mostly sheer force, the bolts are the most likely failure points. Well, I'm actually more concerned about the welds holding on the posts than the bolts.
  
  Haha, yeah my concern is more about the potential damage that could happen rather than the actual probability of something happening.
- Found the North American home owner.
  
  ??
apart from driving massive lag bolts into 3.5mm pilot holes
Assuming this is USA/North American construction with 2x4 wood studs spaced at 16-inches (40 cm), I'm of the opinion that lag screws wider than 5/16 inch are a less optimal choice than Spax Powerlags, which are only 1/4 inch wide but get their strength from deeper penetration into the stud, as well as a higher pull-out rating (hehe "pull out game").
They're also easier to install because of the smaller (or as they advertise, entirely avoided) pilot hole, and that also makes it easier to not miss the stud entirely, since a stud only presents its shorter side when facing the wall. It even comes with its own washer built into the head (for the wood-to-wood version only). My at-home standard for weight bearing use is the 3.5-inch deep Spax Powerlag, because with a 1/2-inch wall fixture and 1/2-inch or 3/4 drywall layer, that still leaves around 2 inches of penetration into the stud.
BTW, for anyone in future, using too small of a pilot hole with too large of a lag screw (of any type) will cause the stud to split. This irreparably weakens the stud while also diminishing the strength of the screw attachment. So the likelihood of attachment failure is unnecessarily high. Yes, you're supposed to drill a hole slightly smaller than the screw diameter, but not overly so.
- I actually embellished a bit on the pilot hole. The directions called for a 3.5mm hole, but I couldn't find my 3.5mm or 9/64" bit, so I went with a 5/32" (~4mm). I figured the half millimeter wouldn't weaken things an appreciable amount.
  It also looks like the power lags are only intended for wood to wood use, but they do look super nice. I might use them when I frame in our sunroom kit.
That is a strong wall
The right most bolt didn't quite line up with the stud, but it's secure enough for now until I remove the top piece and throw in a large drywall toggle bolt.
You can use 2x4 or 2x6 (depending on how you want it to look) and span it between two studs. Then you can bolt your pieces to the 2x4/6 more securely.
A more extreme idea would be to go get a sheet of osb sheathing and put it up on the wall. Then you can put things anywhere you want.
- The toggle bolts I have are rated for 265lb a piece in 1/2in drywall, so a spanner board shouldn't be necessary since it'll have <50lb on it.
  
  Bolts may be rated, but the drywall might have other ideas - but you're thinking it through right with the relevant weight load you're putting on it.
If you got some poor quality lag bolts, you'll need to find somewhere else to post the very interesting aftermath.
- It's actually in 3 separate sections, so the most that would be on any one section is about 250lb, and that's on the part with the most anchor points.
Nice rack, bro.
Nice 👍
My wife and I are finishing up our garage gym build. We have everything but the power rack. It’s supposed to ship next week.
That's real nice! Where did you get the rack from?
- It's an Amazon one from the brand Yes4All. They make pretty good gym equipment.
  
  I like Yes4All, its pretty good quality and pretty inexpensive. Thank you, I'll check this out

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