STRONG Anchor to metal studs
 

Hey guys,

I have what probably is a unique situation. I own a personal training studio and run quite a few group personal training sessions. In these sessions I have some of my participants use something called "battle ropes" which I thread through a special anchor I had made for them.

This anchor is basically a flat piece of steel with a loop sticking out of it. It has one hole above loop and one below for anchoring purposes. My question is, what is the most secure way to anchor these to metal studs through sheet rock? My participants will be slamming the ropes down forcefully which does create a great deal of sheer and force coming out from the wall.

The previous anchor I tried was I attached a 2x6 cut 6' tall to the wall vertically centered down a stud and attached it with 3" metal stud screws (have a drill tip). Probably about 10 attachment points vertically down the 2x6. I then attached a 2" piece of metal pipe with floor flanges to the board for my anchor. This lasted about a two weeks before the wood was pulled from the wall.

Thanks guys for any help!!

So you had a 2x6 piece of wood anchored to a metal stud? What gauge is the metal? The metal studs I'm familiar with are far to flimsy to be able to withstand the kind of lateral force you're talking about. When the last attempt failed did it also damage the sheet rock behind the anchor?

With the kind of force your talking about the screws just stripped through a light gauge metal stud. Without cutting some drywall to add some better attachments... hmmm.. Do you have access to the other side of the wall? Do you know if it is a 4 1/2'' wall or a 6 1/2'' wall?

The studs are at least 18 gauge. No, when the anchors were pulled out, they literally came straight out and only left the hole where the screw was. This is an exterior wall but it is a metal building so their will be some space here. Not sure, but if I had to guess it would be 4 1/2

If you want to be sure, one way would be to cut out the drywall, install solid wood blocking between the studs, screwed in from the sides. Put drywall back on, finish, and put in your hardware directly onto the wood. use 2x12 or something similar.

Could you run a steel post floor to ceiling and mount to this?
Attached to floor and then to rafters in ceiling

floor to ceiling sounds best for sure. probably have to get up into the open above ceiling height to find solid to mount to.