# Medicine ball wall build



## TcCustom (Feb 29, 2016)

Hey guys. My cousin owns a gym and he wants to build a wall sturdy enough to withstand 5 - 25 lb medicine balls being thrown at this thing. I gave him a few ideas but I was wondering how others would build it. Hes looking to have it finished by the end of the week. Any input would be great. He wants it 8' wide and about 10' tall.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

A real wall or a portable wall?


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## TcCustom (Feb 29, 2016)

It will be a real wall. non portable


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

2x4 covered with plywood or some other wood product. Then you could cover it with sheet rock if you wanted too.


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## Ray3 (Jul 24, 2015)

I would think of medicine balls as sledge hammers. What would you build to withstand some big guys swinging a big sledge at a wall?

I think I would do 2x4's @16'' with some 2x6 T&G. We build horse stalls out of the 2x6 t&g and its tough.


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## TcCustom (Feb 29, 2016)

we used 2x4's at 12" on center and 15/16 plywood. thoughts?


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## Ray3 (Jul 24, 2015)

I considered that. I think it would be okay, for a while. I never heard of people in a gym doing that though so its somewhat hard to say. I imagine its like bowling where 75% of the guys are goofing off and throwing it as hard as they can.


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## TcCustom (Feb 29, 2016)

I hear ya. yeah I'm trying to give this thing as long of a life span as I can. I was also going to install a 2x4 brace behind it at attach it into the ground using the concrete nail gun. 3" nails


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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

medicine balls are thrown into the air and 'bounced' off the wall, there isn't much horizontal force being applied to the wall. the walls of a basketball court with shallow sidelines on the other hand take a lot of abuse from the grownups.

is he going over an existing wall or is this being added as a new partition wall? 

do a good job anchoring it to the concrete and whatever is at top. use wood studs if you can and cover with plywood then finish with sheetrock if you want. 5/8FC since its a commercial space. 

I like framing with metal studs, but in the long term the screws wouldn't hold the plywood as well. if you did build it out of metal studs, blocking may provide better holding power.


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

2 x 8 studs, Glue and screw all the joints, Simpson ties at connections, extra floor and ceiling anchors, 12" centers, glue 3/4" plywood both sides, fiber rock, plaster finish, fill the cavity with dry sand.:thumbsup: 

Triple block the studs, @ 2,4,6 feet above the floor.

post back with the results.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Medicine ball, not wrecking ball.


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## MattK (Apr 2, 2009)

IMO, the most important aspect is the anchor points on floor and ceiling. A 25' rock hitting at high speeds at different parts of the wall will weaken concrete anchors over time through vibrations. You may find after a few months of daily use that your wall moves an 1/8" as the anchors start to fail. 

What's the current setup, do you have concrete to build off currently? The 10' wall height, will that bring you to 2nd floor or ceiling joists from above?


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