Last weekend my fiancé bought a 40lb punching bag and of course it was my task to hang it. So last night I hung it in our living room since we have a small house and no other place to put it. It's solid, I was able to hang 200 pounds from the eye hook, but when the bag gets hit hard and swings with force, the entire ceiling flexes, and that makes me very nervous.

Here's what I did:

1 26in 2X6
1 22in 2X6
1 22In 2X4 (I was out of 2X6)
1 4in 3/8 eye screw

All screwed together (3in deck screws)

The ceiling beams (joists) are 22in apart inside and ~25.5in outside.

----------------26in 2X6----------------
| | --------------22in 2X6------------- | |
| | --------------22in 2X4------------- | |
-----------------Ceiling------------------
eye of eye hook-> 0


So, I screwed all of the planks into eachother, then I crawled up into the attic (Not fun in Florida), and screwed the 26in 2X6 into the ceiling beams with 3 screws in each side. I read another post on this forums about having the board extend past 3 or 4 joists, but since the entire ceiling is flexing, wouldn't that mean that the load is already being disbursed among the joists?

Another part of the problem is that it is in the middle of the ceiling, so there isn't any extra support from a nearby wall or door. Maybe I could secure it to one or two of the top parts of the trusses, but at this point I would like some other opinions.

That's why I am posting here.

This is a really wierd question...thanks. In this case you are not at all concerned with normal things like vertical loads and deflection limits. You need to prevent a ceiling joist from flexing from a swinging load subject to impact shocks (punches). To distribute this shock load you should simply block the joists and perhaps suspend the bag on a heavy spring. This prevents the joist from twisting and transfers shock to adjacent strutural members. Solid blocking between the joists and a 2x4 nailed across the top should stop any movement.

The real solution though is to use a stand. That way you can move this thing out of the middle of your room. Seriously, go onlineand have a look at options that might be more convenient: http://store.yahoo.com/titleboxing/freesproheav.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7174128108&category=30104

What an interesting question! And since this is the MISCELLANEOUS forum, I thought I'd chime in with a few thoughts accordingly :) We've had a couple of interesting posts; we've even gotten into some relationship and psychological discussion from time to time. It's (maybe) an interesting break from the run-of-the-mill home repair/improvement questions we usually get.

I would think that you would flex some of your OWN muscle here. Structurally, I like Tom's ideas, esp. that of having the bag on a stand. I would think it ideally should be on wheels--so you can roll it out of the living room when you wish to say, relax or have company. I have a heavy bag myself (mine is in the garage--and I mounted mine myself!). Attractive though it is, the thing isn't exactly a decorator item!

As for having to mount it for him, howabout a subtle reminder that home improvement can also be a pretty good workout. A house can seem a sparring partner at times, LOL!

Obviously it's your home for the decorating--and you can go for any style you want--yes, including "Gym." But I can't imagine most "significant others" going for this...

Just some random thoughts. And as this post is rather interesting, please keep us posted on your progress!

Regards,
-k2 in CO

Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous

Yes, it is in the middle of the living room, but we have used a carabineer (rated for a much heavier weight) as the last link in the chain. So when we are done punching it, we (I) can easily remove the bag and throw it in the closet. The only visible sign that anything is there is just the eye sticking out of the ceiling, and where it's placed, you would be blinded by the lights before you could focus on the eye.

I would totally go for the stand, it makes much more sense, but the problem here is that the bag cost $30, and the stands are $120+, and I really don't have storage space for the stand. Since this is a new thing, I want to make sure it sticks before investing any more money into it. Sweat, lumber, the occasional splinter and some fiberglass on my arms are worth it to me.

On my way home from work tonight, I'm hoping to pick up a spring and a swivel.

I would like a little more details on tomh's suggestion of blocking the joists. The 2X6 is screwed down into the joists, so my question is really how to best do it. Should I put some extra 2x4's in-between the joists and screw them in from the side, and then add some diagonal supports?

Top View:
| |--2X4--| |
| |      //    | |
| |   //       | |
| |//          | |
|-|--2X6--|-|
|-|--2X6--|-|
|-|--2X6--|-|
| |\\          | |
| |   \\       | |
| |      \\    | |
| |--2X4--| |

Should I also add more support to the surrounding joists?

I'm not quite sure.

The following link shows what solid blocking looks like between joists:
http://www.bestdecksite.com/introJoistsPg1.htm

Good luck!