Hello everyone,
I'm trying to bolt a work bench to the wall in the lower level of my split level home and I'm having a difficult time... I've attached a photo of the wall I'm working with - it's the lower portion of the wall that bumps out. I expected to find a normal stud/framing behind the drywall but I cannot seem to locate any studs. I need at least a couple solid points to bolt into. I'd even considered using Tapcon anchors to go right into the concrete foundation wall but even that is set back a lot further into the wall than I expected.

Basically I know nothing about how this wall is constructed.

I pulled a receptacle out of one of the boxes on that wall and it almost appears to be a circular ceiling box that doesn't have a normal wall stud attachment. There also appears to be some type of closed cell foam insulation behind the drywall too.

Is anyone familiar with how this type of wall would have been constructed? What would be my best bet on trying to bolt that bench to the wall somewhat securely?

Any thoughts are appreciated!
Thank you

 

I would guess that it's a foundation wall up to the ledge. It would have been furred out to allow room for the electrical and insulation. I'd expect for there to be pressure treated wood strips in there somewhere that the drywall is attached to.

 

Do you have a strong magnet that you can run over the wall to at least find drywall screws.
Of use a flashlight to see any hollows or bumps where there may be a poorly filled drywall screw,

There is a possibility that they glued foam board insulation to the foundation nd then glued the drywall to that.
Unlikely but possible.

 

Check out concrete anchors like Hilti. Since a work bench needs to be held solid to its anchor and drywall is crush-able, I would remove drywall and any framing to match the work bench's wall footprint. You could also mount the work bench to a bare concrete wall if available.

 

Thank you - everyone - for the advice. It'll be a little while before I can spend some more time on this project but I will report back ASAP with what I find!

Thanks again -

 

Just like cabinets, a work bench would be installed on top of the drywall... into whatever the drywall is fastened to. Use a stud finder or look for where the nails are in the baseboard,

 

I was able to locate a screw with a magnet - turns out it's metal studs. This will get interesting!

 

The only good way to fasten anything to a steel stud that has no wood backing in it is to drill a 1/2" hole and use toggles.