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I have recently purchased a door way pull-up bar, however the trim on one side (referred to hereafter as the "back" side) is not thick enough for the pull-up bar's (unable to find official nomenclature here)

"stabilizer"

The back trim is flat, unfinished wood. How can I increase the depth of the trim such that it will be safe to use the pull-up bar in the doorway?

Simpler is better given limited access to tools (namely, a hammer).

Below is a picture showing how the pull-up bar mounts in a door frame.

bar installation (source: Amazon)

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    Do yourself a favor and buy a basic tool kit. Even if you're renting an apartment, everyone should at least have a hammer, a few different screwdrivers, a set of Channel Lock pliers, and a crescent wrench. Then add on to the kit as you need things and your DIY skill progresses.
    – grfrazee
    Aug 27, 2015 at 20:37

1 Answer 1

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If you're looking for structural integrity, not pretty, simply nail a 2x4 to the wall against the flat trim. Several 16d nails should be sufficient to hold your weight.

If you need something to look nicer, you might get a 1x? (width to match the existing trim) and replace the existing trim, then stain to match. Use finishing nails to hold it up, but since you'll be putting a lot of weight on it (relative to the weight of the trim piece), use extra nails.

If the 1x board isn't thick enough to support the pull-up bar, use 5/4 lumber.

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    Make sure you nail the board to studs, and not to the drywall or plaster.
    – grfrazee
    Aug 27, 2015 at 20:34
  • @grfrazee, in this suggested fix the nails are going into the door trim so finding studs shouldn't be needed. I just Googled standard installation of these to make sure I was visualising this right and the majority of the strain should be transferred down through the door frame to the floor, the rest goes into the wall (i.e. no outwards forces).
    – Graphus
    Aug 28, 2015 at 13:18
  • @Graphus, I see it now. I added a picture to the OP's post showing how the bar is installed for clarity. There will be some vertical shear on the door trim, but friction against the wall will likely offset most (if not all) of this force, thus vertical shear loading on the trim will be minimal.
    – grfrazee
    Aug 28, 2015 at 14:12
  • @grfrazee Actually it is still a good idea to secure this to a stud. When loaded the chin up bar will still apply some rotating pressure on the connection on the back. The finish nails in the frame trim cannot resist this force and will eventually cause the trim to pull away from the wall at the top.
    – Ashlar ♦
    Apr 13, 2016 at 14:39

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