Wall MOunt Idea

[Strapped-4-Cache]

My oldest daughter (10 y.o.) is out of town for a couple of weeks and I decided that I'd like to surprise her with a hammock in her room when she returns. Surprisingly, my wife is all for the idea. She knows how much she liked the hammock I already made for her and thinks it would be a nice napping / reading spot for even if she doesn't use it for full-time sleeping. She's already begun to look for fabric for it since she thinks the green "camping hammock" won't be as pretty as she'd like.

Anyway, I've read through may of the threads about mounting hammocks indoors and had an idea I wanted to throw out for consideration. I'd like to know if this will work, if it's overkill, etc.

I have plenty of scrap lumber on hand. I'm thinking of mounting a 2x6 on the wall, lagged between studs. However, before I mount the board I planned to drill holes and mount a U bolt backed by a steel plate, countersunk in the board to allow a flush mount. If I understand what I've been reading, this should spread the pulling forces over a larger area, as well as create an attachment point that will be near-impossible to be pulled through the board.

This setup should allow her to simply clip her hammock to the exposed loop of the U bolt when she wants to use it, and unclip it from either point to get it out of the way if she needs more space.

As I've been typing this out I realized a small challenge. Since this type of mounting point isn't height-adjustable, I need to figure out the best height to mount the two boards if this will work. Her walls are about 10 1/2 feet apart. I know, short distance, but she's not that tall, either. Given that distance, and considering the hammock might be made from a standard twin bed sheet (mom is thinking of tie-dyed cotton instead of nylon), how high should I mount these on the wall?

Also, will a bedsheet be long enough to make the hammock? I'm considering Warbonnet-style whipping.

Any advice or criticism is appreciated. If this won't work or is problematic I'd rather know BEFORE it's been mounted.

Thanks,

Mark (S-4-C)

[hang um high]

A bit more information please.

Are the two walls you plan to hang the hammock from load bearing walls?

Are you hanging the hammok parallel or perpendicular to the ceiling joists.

Does this room have a crawl space or attic above it?

I'm just thinking that hanging from the ceiling joists might be a better option than from the walls. The joists are engineered to support the ceiling and transfer load to the outside walls.

The walls are designed to transfer that load vertically down to the foundation, not to work against a horizontal load.

I would worry about deflecting the walls over time, but I'm a worrier.

I'd even sister the ceiling joist being used. My tendency is to over engineer rather than fix a failure later on.

[gargoyle]

I did not do any mods to my walls. I've used a fabricated by me padeye that I screwed to a single 2x4 stud in the existing wall.
I've since tested another wall, different rooms and different hooks, eye bolts.

No failure, and I weigh 340.

I'm not saying it can work for everybody. But, if done properly, into good structure, it will work.

I don't treat my indoor setup like a swing or jungle gym. That adds alot more stress to things.

5 feet high should work well.

[Strapped-4-Cache]

hang um high: One wall is load-bearing, the other isn't. The way I had planned it, the hammock would be set up perpendicular to the joists. There's an unused attic space above the room. Unfortunately, it's near impossible to access the attic space the way the house is built, so I can't really work on a top-down approach.

gargoyle: Thanks for the input.

I was at Harbor Freight today to pick up some of their yellow straps and noticed a set of four mounting points similar to padeyes on the board next to the straps. If I remember correctly they were rated somewhere between 600 - 800 pounds, so the stresses of supporting a 75 pound kid should be low on these things. For $9 I should have grabbed a set with the straps, but I decided to do some checking on them first. I wish I had gotten a part number because the only thing I can find in their online catalog is a recessed D-ring that isn't quite the same. I like the idea of the ring collapsing into the plate when it's not used, leaving no protrusions on the wall like my U-bolt idea did. Guess I'll have to swing back by there sometime during the work week.

[twowheels]

Not sure if you saw my thread, but here's what I just completed:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=19132

You may not be lucky enough to find doubled studs like I did...

[MacEntyre]

Thing1 hangs diagonally in a similar sized room. On one wall, I attached a 7'x2"x2" with several screws along the length of one stud. The lower end stands on the top of the baseboard. It has a u-bolt for attaching the hammock. On the other end, I ran a loop of cable around the closet door framing, passing through the sheetrock just above the framing in a plastic conduit, then around the framing and trim, with a cable clamp on the ends.

By hanging diagonally across the room, Thing1 is able to hang free of furniture. When she awakens, she opens a 'biner to bring the closet end of the hammock over to the wall end, to get it out of the way.