Stall bar installation with no masonry or concrete walls?

From what I understand, stall bars need to be installed on strong wall material such as concrete or masonry.  Is this correct?  If so, what are some alternatives for people who live in apartments with flimsy walls like drywall and such.

 

When mounting to drywall, you have to make sure you attach to a stud in the wall.

And if you can spare the space, adding legs to the bars would probably be a good idea in case the studs are old or improperly secured.

Yeah mine just went right into three studs.  No issues yet!

 

I'd be much more worried about weak dowels breaking than ripping the thing out of the wall if it's anchored to studs with long enough screws.  I used oak dowels and still get a bit nervous when they flex under my weight.

Knock on the wall until it doesn't sound as hollow, at that point use a hammer and a small nail to punch through the wall until it hits the stud. From there make two more holes on either side of the first hole to find the center of the stud. Mark the center point, and measure 16" over. If you're lucky 16" over will be another stud--if not, knock and repeat.

 

Now you have a series of studs marked on the wall, and you can either anchor directly to the studs from the stall bars, or mount wood panels across the studs so that you have some freedom as to where the stall bars will be mounted.

 

Here's a few pictures: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/10224-another-homemade-stallbar/?p=98516

I'm pretty sure oak won't break. I've had guys jump on my poplar bars and they flex but don't break. Oak is a stronger wood.

In drywall try to hit the studs. Otherwise building a frame against the wall and toggle bolting it in might work. You should do a little math before trying this.

Uh.  I wouldn't trust any amount of anchors in drywall to hold my body suspended upside down.  

 

Anchors are pretty easy to find.  A cheap stud-finder will help.  Knocking is helpful to confirm that you're in the right area, too.

 

It feels very much different driving screws into sheetrock vs. framing.

Sweet! Thanks for the replies/advice guys!

I just found this video on stud finding if anyone is interested.

 

I actually have my bed suspended by toggle bolts. Each hold 200 pounds each.

Daniel Burnham said:

I actually have my bed suspended by toggle bolts. Each hold 200 pounds each.

 

The toggles might be able to hold that kind of weight but I would be very very surprised if the drywall that they are installed in could hold up with that kind of a load.  Here's a video where they

of some different kinds of anchors.

 

Again - I would consider hanging stall bars off of drywall anchors very dangerous, and totally unnecessary seeing as unless you have old plaster walls (in which case anchors aren't going to help anyway), studs are there - either 16 inches on center or 24 inches on center anyway (in 95% of cases).

Agreed

Will a single skin, brick garage wall will be strong enough for stall bars? I may also add some legs to the bottom of the bars if people think it will increase support.

Anchored and legged should be more than strong enough.