garagemounting
I want to install a 100 lbs heavy bag in my finished garage. I don't want to cut into my ceiling and also my daughter's room is directly above the garage so I'd rather not disturb her.
I was wondering if I could put a 4×4 between the two walls (which are just over 10 feet apart), supported on each side by 2x4s screwed into two studs. Then I could hang the bag from this 4×4 with an eye bolt.
Is this workable??
My guess is that it's either a sandwich beam (wood sandwiching a steel plate) or simply an i-Beam. When you drill, are you drilling through wood or just sheetrock?
If it's an actual i-Beam, you could hang it with some sort of clamping device.
I wouldn't trust dry-wall anchors for hanging a punching bag. Dry wall anchors can hold quite a bit, but not the active load of a swinging punching bag.
I used z-clips also known as french cleats. Perfect. They distribute the load across the sill of the window, including to the studs on both sides. Seems to be holding fine.
Best Answer
100 lbs. jostling about creates quite a bit of force. I'd consider a 4x4 adequate up to about 8 feet of span. After that it's going to quickly become a rubber bad. Or worse, it could fracture and come down (hard).
For spans of 8-12 feet, I'd put a 2x10 oriented vertically in a pair of joist hangers, and I'd put another flat on top of it, screwed every foot or so. This creates a rigid T configuration that should be stiff enough. On the wall, span a section of 2x10 across several studs to create a robust surface on which to mount each joist hanger.
For spans longer than that you'd need something even heavier, such as four 2x10s in a double I beam configuration ( like
II, which would maybe be good up to 16 feet). Instead, consider spanning a shorter distance between two adjacent walls using 45 degree joist hangers.