Hanging bike from ceiling hooks in metal studs
October 29, 2015 12:55 PM   Subscribe

I'd like to hang my bike upside down from two hooks in the ceiling. This is in a condo in Miami with 1/2" drywall over metal stud framing. I was able to examine the studs by removing a vent cover and they seem awfully flimsy to me, so I'm wondering what would be the simplest and safest method for doing this. The bike weighs about 22.5 lbs.

Are large hooks with screw ends that are threaded for metal even available? Would something like snap toggles provide sufficient strength, assuming I can find the right size for the hooks to screw into? Would I need a special bit so I don't tear the metal when drilling a large hole into the stud? We rent, so I'd like to keep this job as simple and minimally invasive as possible. Also would like to avoid using lots of visible hardware.
posted by theory to Home & Garden (11 answers total)
 
This isn't 100% what you asked for advice on, but should you find installing hooks to be unworkable, there's always the pole mount approach which would put less stress on the ceiling.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


Can you cope with a visible strip of timber? Screw this strip along the length of ceiling you need, screwing into all of the studs it passes, then screw the hooks into the timber. This assumes your bike will hang at right angles to the studs, but is the easiest and simplest solution and distributes the load over more studs. Ten gauge self tapping screws into the studs would probably be fine, drill a pilot hole first unless you have self drillers.
posted by deadwax at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2015


Response by poster: Both hooks would have to be in the same stud, BTW. And I'd like to avoid the strip of timber solution if possible.
posted by theory at 1:04 PM on October 29, 2015


In that case I'd be reluctant to hang the bike in this way. Metal studs are surprisingly load bearing but flex much more than timber, particularly on the flanges. I suspect this flexing when you hang or remove the bike may have some consequences for the drywall in the longer run.
posted by deadwax at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'd still go with a 2x4. You can screw it into the stud with 3" drywall screws, paint it white or whatever your ceiling color is, and within a week you won't notice it. You could also cut it into two smaller blocks, one for each hook, secured with 4 screws into the stud. Patching would be a lot simpler.
posted by disconnect at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2015


Butterfly toggle bolts. You wouldn't even need to hit the studs. It's best if the toggle bolt is tightened right down to the drywall by using a bolt mount hook.

If you do want to hit the stud directly a regular jobber bit will work. Though I use a dollar store spade bit for that kind of thing. Makes a surprisingly clean hole in thin sheet metal.

Any direct thread connection is probably not going to have the pull out strength needed.
posted by Mitheral at 1:16 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


Here we call those long things holding the ceiling up 'battens', so I am assuming this is what you are referring to. First up, I bet the plasterboard (drywall) is secured with screws - these are not meant to do more than hold up a sheet and a couple of layers of paint, so don't even think of using butterfly anchors on just the board. You could use a metal screw (or two, or three ...) into the batten/ceiling 'stud' to hold a bracket/length of timber. These will make small holes that are easily repaired, and if you can locate it close to the hanger supporting the batten it will not flex as much.

You need to use several screws to spread the load as widely as you can, and to ensure that the screw threads are not overloaded. Your local hardware store will have suitable metal fittings and be able to advise on number of screws/placement.

If you have sufficient access to the ceiling space the best way would be to put a timber (or metal) board above the studs and spanning two or three studs, and screw through the studs into the board. Again, as close to the hanger(s) as possible.
posted by GeeEmm at 2:46 PM on October 29, 2015


The ones I linked are 50lbs each in standard drywall.

As bonehead noted values like this usually describe the shear load the fastener can support (e.g. hanging a picture), not the tension load (force applied perpendicular to the wallboard), which is lower. Additionally, these values should be reduced by a factor of four to calculate a safe working load. Make sure you also account for possible weight increases, like hanging a bike with bags/muddy tires/etc. if that's something which could conceivably happen. You'll also need to take the thickness of the wallboard into account. More useful information here.

Since the bike is hanging directly from the ceiling (that is, it isn't cantilevered) you can directly divide the weight of the bike and the apparatus used to hang it between the number of fasteners to find the tension load applied to each.
posted by pullayup at 2:47 PM on October 29, 2015


Also, they will be rated for a static load. The repeated shock load of a heavy bike being placed on the hooks over and over again is a different thing entirely.
posted by deadwax at 12:46 AM on October 30, 2015


Any chance you could put a long-ish piece of wood inside the metal stud and screw into that?
posted by clawsoon at 1:34 PM on October 30, 2015


Are you sure they're studs? Or is it a suspended ceiling? Studs are usually about 3.5" deep; suspended ceilings will have runners about 1/2-1" in size. If it's a suspended ceiling, DO NOT hang anything from it, it's really not designed to support loads like that. If it's studs, they're strong, you just need fasteners that can go into metal (usually called self-tapping screws). Based on typical building practices and your description, I would guess it's a suspended ceiling; you should do a wall mounted rack instead.
posted by annie o at 6:26 AM on November 3, 2015


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