[Closed] Find ceiling joists in garage with plasterboard ceiling. (for a pull up bar)

Use a magnet to find the nails holding the plasterboard up?

Cordless drill with a 3 mm drill, keep drilling til you hit joists. Then a wee bit of filler over the holes. It's only your garage?.

Or a bradawl, although this will leave a lot of holes in the plasterboard if you're not lucky.

Sounds like a plan to me, though I'd be inclined to use some to coach screws into the joists rather than just normal screws.

The way you're planning on doing it sounds good.

Can you see fixings or joints for p/board? Tapping with a finger/screwdriver handle and listen to change of pitch? Bradawl as suggested above? Flat roofed - look for signs of joists outside (facia fixings/exposed ends)?

BTW UK p/board sizes are metric so joist centres are most likely 400mm (maybe 450mm). Unless the boards have been cut to suit...

a [s]No.[/s]6[b]mm[/b] (sorry, edit) screw with about 60mm of thread in a 2" spruce joist should have a pull out threshold of somewhere near 80Kg each. So unless you're the size of ton ( anti-fist pie winky: 😉 ) you should be fine with 8x 6mm x 60mm screws. No need for big'ol coach screws.

Yeah, don't use a no. 6 screw, it will most likely pull straight through the fixing Holes in the bracket. A 6 screw is tiny. Just use a few decent quality 5mm screws, or even 6mm. Cheap ones will most likely round out or snap when driving them in. You'll really struggle without an impact driver, not to ruin a large screw going deep into timber

For finding the joists, I prefer nobeer's method of a small drill bit. Easier and less pitching up than a bradawl. One you find the first, the next one is likely to be around 400mm

If I'm going to be swinging from it, I'd like to make sure I'm not going to end up in a heap on the floor, I manage that often enough on my bike! 😆

tbh I'd take down a section of plaster board to see what is actually up there first...

Yeah, don't use a no. 6 screw, it will most likely pull straight through the fixing Holes in the bracket.

I was going to say that too but remembered that the OP had said he was mounting the kit onto a board which would then be fixed to the joists, so decided not to say it... 😉

Just fix it anywhere, do some pull ups if it stays there great. If it falls down refix elsewhere and so on until you get pissed off, you hit joists or break your spine.

And, let's face it, by about the middle of January the only use it will get is for hanging tyres/old tubes/etc from 😆

If its a modern house it's liable to be a truss roof and therefore 600 centres. First one from the gable will probably be 50 mm so at a guess go for 675 to centre then 600's from there. This could all be pie in the sky but I'd adapt those measures with the cordless approach!

Got wires running up there? You sure where they are?

You might want to hold fire on the drilling blind.
Tap with your finger or something to locate them.

Or... Some wire/metal detectors have a setting which will allow them to find joists and studs

So it's up!!

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Found the joist by tapping, seems fairly secure.

Arms are killing me after trying it out last night, can't even manage the wide grip pull up, but something to work up to.

Any idea if the position of the grips will work different muscles to having your hands facing or towards the bar? Using the grips u have a slightly different hand position?

i reckon if you used my pad saw youd find EVERY joist.....

my house doesnt seem to be on any particular centers for wall joists ...

even tapping id go where it sounded like one wasnt - and id hit a joist.

was doing my head in !

Any idea if the position of the grips will work different muscles to having your hands facing or towards the bar? Using the grips u have a slightly different hand position?

I'll pitch in for now on that until someone else hopefully clarifies...

Palms facing you equals generally easier and a greater emphasis on biceps
Palms facing away equals more emphasis on the forearms and is harder! Better for achieving big man back!
Palms facing each other is iirc just easier all round.
Narrow grip facing or away is easier all round relatively speaking.
Wide grip equals harder and more back work.

Not done anything for too long now and keep meaning to restart, jealous of bar and indeed garage to fit it in!

Edit: and a bag as well, doubly jealous...goes off to sulk about lack of space in house!

How come there isnt a head sized hole in the plasterboard?? 😆

Edit: and a bag as well, doubly jealous...goes off to sulk about lack of space in house!

better not show you a pic of the weights bench, squat rack and running treadmill then? 😀

Aren't these supposed to be mounted on a wall?

Edit: [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Klarfit-KS4DC-350kg-Ceiling-Mounted/dp/B006X0EBQU/ref=sr_1_3?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1357299293&sr=1-3 ]Nope[/url]. Does seem a big potential for head/celing interfacing, tho.

Posh garage!

What RDL said. Also, travelling pulls: wide grip, palms forward, chin up to bar level, then go smoothly side-to-side instead of up-and-down so you're locking off each arm in turn.

Whatever you're doing a long bit of heavy duty bungee cord as a foot loop may help to to start with...more useful to do 8-10 assisted reps than two un-assisted ones and then collapse in a heap 🙂

I have wanted to buy one of these for a while, and now can see how to install one, cheers! I tried them when I had gym membership and could only manage about 2. Eliptic - could you explain the assisted bungee thing a bit more, not really sure what you mean

I use an old 26 inch inner tube with one knee in it for assistance. Does not dig in like a bungee.

Now work out how to fix a finger board to it and do pull ups with two fingers.

Assisted bungee thing.

May have to give it a try and i can only really manage sets of 5 at the moment, but i must have done about 10 sets last night over the course of the evening. Ouch!!

Eliptic - could you explain the assisted bungee thing a bit more

Bungee cord / stretchy inner tube / whatever attached to the bar and dangling down with a loop at the other end.

Put foot up in loop. Straighten your leg. Bungee stretches out. Voila, instant gravity reduction.

Now work out how to fix a finger board to it and do pull ups with two fingers.

Even better, a proper campus board... looks a bit short of headroom for that though!

If you want a good work out try this

10 x pull ups shoulder width palms facing away
10 x press ups any variety
10 x leg raises (hang from bar slightly engaging shoulders lifting feet to waist height and bak down again)

Rest for 2 minutes then repeat for a total of 10 reps 3 x week

You should be able to complete this in about 45 minutes, and it will give good definition and strength in you upper body after only a couple of months while helping improve your core. It's by no means the only workout and I combine it with dead lifting and leg exercises but its fun and helps all over conditioning.

Now work out how to fix a finger board to it and do pull ups with two fingers.

Fastest way of doing your finger tendons in that is and a rupture to a finger tendon can be nasty

I wouldn't do that work out. far too repetetive and nowt much for the legs.

Another good excesise is to do gradual lowers from the upper lock off down to full hang. Do very slowly and pause every so often. This will take you through the full muscle extension.

I wouldn't do that work out. far too repetetive and nowt much for the legs.

Maybe you should try reading all of my post 🙄

I wouldn't do that work out

more to do with not getting to 10 pull ups
or the leg raises for that matter

i might start with sets of 3 and see how i progress