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Does anyone know how http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ikea-kvartal-easy-unobtrusive-137753 was done? Do I need to get them into studs?

Here's some photos of my laundry room, I thought it would fit length wise but because of the water heater it doesn't. I'm trying to figure out another solution.

enter image description here

This is the wall I was hoping it would fit across:

enter image description here

It doesn't:

enter image description here

Here's the wall I think I think the Kvartal method or something similar could work on. Without someone to take the photo for me I couldn't get one, but if I bring the bike up so the handlebars and seat are against this little corner piece then it does fit before the water heater (similar to the kvartal link). I'm just concerned because the stud on the inner side is too close to the corner for the handlebars so I wouldn't be able to drill into a stud. enter image description here

Think doing it without being in studs will work? Or anyone have another idea that might work?

Edit

This is what I was going to try using instead of those actual Ikea pieces - Blue Hawk Large Storage Hanger from Lowes:

enter image description here

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  • That technique would need studs, since the bike will apply considerable outward force on the wall, such that hollow-wall anchors will eventually fail. Either use one of the "rail" systems that would allow you to anchor to studs, or use a piece of wood to accomplish the same thing. Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 22:23
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    Actually, on a second look at your link, I see the rear wheel is resting on the ground, so relatively little outward force would be applied to the wall. In that case the hollow wall anchors similar to what WTHarper suggests should be fine. Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 22:28
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    I don't think even with the rear wheel sitting on the ground that I'd be comfortable not using studs.
    – Batman
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 0:25
  • Even with the wheel on the ground, you don't want the stand ripping out of the wall if you bump the bike. Or hang a rain jacket on it.
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 3:02
  • That was quite a difficult question for me to understand at first. I did not anticipate that there is no brick or concrete wall behind the outer surface of your wall. And thus that stud referred to a vertical member in the wall, below the dry wall. Perhaps you might add that?
    – gschenk
    Commented Mar 31, 2017 at 11:36

4 Answers 4

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To answer the Kvartal question: no, but in practice if you don't have studs it will be fragile and over time you're likely to pull the screws loose or right out of the wall. If the rack doesn't match up with your studs use a backing board attached to studs and you'll be fine - even a length of 1x4" timber would probably be enough. Don't use any of the processed woods (particle board, chipboard, MDF) as they're not strong enough.

The easy option is a stand that leans on the wall, since that doesn't require any holes in the wall at all. The disadvantage is that they tend to move around and mark the wall unless you anchor them in place. But that anchor can be quite weak, a drywall anchor will be fine. I haven't seen one designed to hold the bike vertically, but I suspect you could buy one that would be easy enough to modify one to hold the handlebars rather than the top tube (the one shown it looks as though you could bend the bars in so the hooks are closer together).

leaning bicycle stand

As WTHarper says, if you can find studs but they're not in the right place, the better approach is to attach a solid bit of lumber across the wall, screwed to the studs, then attach the bike rack to that. If the wall is painted I'm am not a fan of the screw-in hooks, inevitably the bike ends up pressing on the wall and marking it. Better to buy a proper suspended rack and hang the bike on that. Or make your own, add a second cross piece lower down to brace on and a couple of timber triangles will work fine.

There are a heap of very pretty DIY solutions here, you could do this one with a couple of bits of 2x4" at each end if you don't want to spend the time on shelves:

bicycle rack shelf

Since you want a vertical stand something like this might work, and could even be arranged so the saddle doesn't (quite) touch the wall. That would make it less likely that you'd mark the wall. (As Daniel says, this is the same idea as the Kvartal holder you're asking about)

vertical holder

If you're lucky this will fit on the short wall behind the door, otherwise it'll block off half the room. Note that I'm suggesting wheels-out so the dirty parts are in the middle of the room. You might prefer to mark the wall rather than have wet, dirty wheels in the middle of the room.

IME drywall screws will not work, drywall just isn't structural. The electrical panel right there also gives me pause, even hooking a cable with a drywall screw could be bad (either by pulling the sharp edge of the screw through the insulation, or just pinching the cable and starting a fire). But mostly, to work well enough to hold even a light bicycle you'd need to carefully arrange them to get the forces right, otherwise you're going to tear the hole or rip one out of the wall. Screwing a board to the studs, then the rack to the board is a better solution.

One last question: does it fit in this way round? I assume you've tried, but if that works it's the least effort option. You might want to tape a bit of card to the wall where the front tyre hits and by the rear axle (and rear tyre) if it does work. bike wedged in

Edit: Another Option: Would this fit on the wall beside the door? If so, then if there is no stud where it needs to be mounted, place a length of wood between the door and corner, screw that into the wall studs and mount the hook anywhere you like.

enter image description here

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  • ... the Bike does NOT fit horizontally in the space so neither of your options work - the Water Heater blocks either the handle bars or the gears
    – Ryan
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:07
  • @Ryan: it looks to me as though turning the front wheel so it sits out around the hot water tank would make it fit. The bike might end up angled slightly too, so the back of the rear wheel is closer to the wall behind the door. Or flip it round and wedge the rear wheel in behind the tank. But I've added more obvious vertical options to my answer. HTH
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:31
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    Your vertical hanger scheme is essentially what the OP was proposing. Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 22:26
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    +1: I added another option... (hope you don't mind)
    – mattnz
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 22:28
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    Andy's suggestion tends to put a lot of tension on the wall. I'd be tempted to buy a 2m length of 2x8" lumber and attach that to the wall to take some of the tension(I've used those bolted to a concrete wall and they had a tendency to pull wall plugs out).
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 22:40
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Put your bike in with the rear wheel behind the water heater; it will fit further into the room that way.

Another zero cost option is to take the front wheel off, but that could become a pain if your bike has (as most bikes seem to these days) lawyer lips. (Thanks for the link @Ӎσᶎ).

Another low cost option is to use (sorry, no pictures) the 3M (or similar) adhesive velcro patches that are designed for hanging pictures. I recently installed some in a friend's house that were rated at 10kg (that's more than that carbon bike weighs). They have the advantage of being removable.

But whatever you do, you have to post an answer showing you solution :-)

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  • Bike is the alum model not chrome so don't know velcro will work. What do you mean by lawyer lips? Didn't think to take the front wheel off cause I was worried it would damage the frame, I've never owned a road bike so not too familiar with how fragile it is.
    – Ryan
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:44
  • @Ryan bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/244/terminology-index/…
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:46
  • Ah no I don't think my bike has that, its very easy to remove the front wheel. Will setting the frame down though on the frame cause damage? If not that's certainly the easiest solution.
    – Ryan
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:51
  • If the floor surface is rough then yes it could damage the paint. You could put a towel on the floor to help with that.
    – andy256
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:55
  • Heh, just noticed that early in the google image search for that is one of "our" questions. So I added that image to the terminology page :)
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 3:07
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If it is a typical drywall and wood stud wall, you could do one of two things:

1) Use a toggle-type hollow wall anchor like this Hollow Wall Anchor Use two on each bracket, make sure to drill the holes cleanly, and don't over tighten or you will crush the drywall between the bracket and toggle. This would be the cleanest and quickest way to do this, but for heavier bikes you risk pulling a huge chunk of drywall out so I'd recommend method two... (I'd especially avoid using any sort of hollow wall anchors to suspend anything from a ceiling.) ((Also, given the proximity to your breaker panel, I'd avoid drilling large holes willy-nilly unless you're sure the wiring is out of the way. Method two shouldn't cause a problem.))

2) Procure a three foot length of 2"x3" (or other dimensional lumber) and using 4" deck screws secure it across a pair of studs. If you're lucky the studs will be 16" apart right where you need them. In any case, I'd recommend a quality stud finder (again, because of the electrical panel being right there I'd avoid drilling random holes and poking around for studs - in any other room this wouldn't be as big of an issue). This will allow you to fasten either your linked Ikea brackets, or use large plastic coated lag hooks which will cost much less. Be sure to drill pilot holes for the lag hooks so you don't split the wood. Lag Hooks

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  • I'd also stick something to the wall where the saddle contacts the paint so as to not have bits of white paint stuck to your saddle...maybe a piece of fabric or something? (Latex paint has a tendency to stick to stuff and peel off the wall if you're not careful.)
    – WTHarper
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 20:30
  • I suggest plastic behind the cross piece so the paint doesn't stick to the wood, and to the inevitable small slippage doesn't damage the paint (as much). Definitely use the cross piece, drywall is not structural.
    – Móż
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 20:48
  • Oh I wasn't planning on using the actual Ikea piece. I went to Lowe's and got some similar piece for less. The wood across studs isn't a bad idea though, I'll have to try and see how thick a piece of wood I can get with it still fitting before the water heater. (Edited question with the Lowes item)
    – Ryan
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:04
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    I think number 2 here would be the best approach, also could give you space for hooks for airing and drying other cycling stuff like helmet, gloves and shoes. Or alternatively there will be a beam running across the top of the window, could place the hooks in there but would limit access somewhat.
    – DWGKNZ
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:07
  • Top left hooks from the ceiling may also be an option. Would allow you to orientate the bike with the wheels pointing to the door/ window axis to save space.
    – DWGKNZ
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 21:08
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Depending on the internal construction of your wall (mine are aerated concrete block with plasterboard - aka drywall - linings, so have something reasonably solid not far behind the plasterboard) you might be able to use multi-monti screws, or something similar. These screws cut a thread into the (more) solid material behind the plasterboard.

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  • Those will only work if there's concrete block behind the drywall, which is highly unlikely. The water pipes disappear into that wall and the beaker panel is inset into that wall, suggesting it's hollow, while the window is on a different wall, suggesting that the candidate wall is not an exterior wall. Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 12:05
  • @DanielRHicks in typical modern UK home construction most of the interior walls are some kind of masonry, dry lined with plasterboard because it's quicker (i.e.cheaper) than plastering the wall. The wall next to where I'm sitting is exterior but has a similar construction for the inner skin and pipes disappearing into it. Our breaker box is surface mounted in the garage but it's common to have them set into the inner skin. I guess American (?) construction is a bit different - but then I'm only guessing from the username+"laundry room"+the water heater that this is US/Canada.
    – Chris H
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 12:10
  • In the US it would be normal to have concrete block (CMU) "common walls" in an apartment/condo, for sound/fire reasons, but interior walls within a single residence are hardly ever concrete block unless someone had it done custom for some personal reason. And no electrician would ever inset a breaker panel into a block wall unless forced to at gunpoint. Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 12:21
  • @DanielRHicks "it's the little differences" but then a lot more timber is used in construction west of the pond.
    – Chris H
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 12:34

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