Home hanger needs advice

[adiankur]

a few months back I purchased a tempurpedic Mattress. I had been wanting one for years, but finally bought a house and got the bed to go with it. Sadly, it didn't help me sleep without pain. This is when I found hammock forums and started thinking about a new option.

six or so weeks ago I bought a Brazillian hammock and two weeks ago the bed went back to the company. Yesterday, my first Mayan hammock arrived and I am officially done with beds.

So, the advice I need.

#1
I currently have eye bolts in my basement ceiling and in the studs in my bedroom. I noticed a bit of play if the hammock swings with someone in it. I have considered using pad eyes in the ceiling, but the room is only 17' long, or using them on the walls. My concern for the walls would be making sure the screws would be strong enough, if any type of bracing would be needed or if there are better options. If using pad eyes on ceilings or walls, does anyone know how much weight studs or joists can normally handle?

#2
I would like to get my mother a hammock, but she would need it to be in a stand or near a wall to use a grab bar to help her up and out. I know there are DIY options out there, and have done searches here, but only met with some success. I saw one built with 2x4's, and was wondering if there was a design that utilizes 4x4's, or are there other options that are easy for someone to build at home? I looked at the Vario, though I wasn't sure if it would be as strong as a DIY wood one.

#3
For my mother, is there a way to hang your hammock so that it would be easier for watching television? It would be great if there was a hammock where the sides were stronger and had reinforced eyes so you could attach one side to looped ropes in order to pull the back up and make a couch. Is there anything like that out there, or am I looking at actually making my own hammock in order for this to happen?

#4
Finally, I am single. Any other single guys out there have a way to convince single women you aren't crazy? Being the guy that sleeps in a hammock and jogs wearing Vibram five finger shoes, or no shoes at all, doesn't always inspire the utmost confidence in my sanity.

thanks a bunch.

[MedicineMan]

with the new thin/lightweight lcd screens its easy to mount on the ceiling

[perrito]

Hammock Stand?

[pgibson]

#4
Finally, I am single. Any other single guys out there have a way to convince single women you aren't crazy? Being the guy that sleeps in a hammock and jogs wearing Vibram five finger shoes, or no shoes at all, doesn't always inspire the utmost confidence in my sanity.

I have been married for almost 8 years, last year when I started getting into hammocks and bought some five fingers my wife just thought it was the beginning of the end. I was more rapidly spiraling off into insanity. If you find one that does not run for the hills when they see you coming you have a good start. Good luck Now my wife has 2 hammocks of her own

[adiankur]

Medicine Man: Very funny, but mounting that would be a pain in the butt, and hard to move to another spot.

Perrito: I'm not much of a welder. I guess I could seek one out, but it's probably not a given that I could find someone to do it for a reasonable rate.

pgibson: I don't mind if she is running for the hills, as long as she is wearing the Vibrams and sleeping in a hammock when she gets there.

[pgibson]

pgibson: I don't mind if she is running for the hills, as long as she is wearing the Vibrams and sleeping in a hammock when she gets there.

Good Luck finding one of those off the shelf few and far between

[pedro]

The ability of joists and studs to carry the kinds of loads that we are talking about depends on when your house was built, and what type of materials were used. Unless 2 x 3 or steel studs were used in the walls, you should get ample strength by screwing a piece of 2 x 8 across 2 studs and attaching your padeye to that. Need extra strength? Through-bolt the padeye to the 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 mounting plate with a backer plate. Use deck screws to anchor the mounting plate to the wall. DO NOT USE DRYWALL SCREWS! You must hit dead center of the stud with your screws. There is always the possibility of a cracked/mangled stud in the wall, especially with newer homes. If you want to get really serious, you could drive additional screw into the top and bottom of each stud, reinforcing the joint between it and the plates at the top and bottom of the wall. There will be a bit of drywall repair after the fact, but not much.

If your ceiling is too high to get the right hang, you can place your padeyes about 12' apart and hang a 12' 2 x 4 (or pipe) from the padeyes at whatever height you want. Then hang your hammock from that. The "spreader bar" would be cumbersome unless you made it collapsible, but the load on the ceiling is much lower. Each anchor point would be holding 1/2 your body weight and 1/2 of the spreader bar weight. No vector involved. Again, check to see what materials your ceiling joists were made out of.

Search "indoor hang" for more info.

[adiankur]

The ability of joists and studs to carry the kinds of loads that we are talking about depends on when your house was built, and what type of materials were used. Unless 2 x 3 or steel studs were used in the walls, you should get ample strength by screwing a piece of 2 x 8 across 2 studs and attaching your padeye to that. Need extra strength? Through-bolt the padeye to the 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 mounting plate with a backer plate. Use deck screws to anchor the mounting plate to the wall. DO NOT USE DRYWALL SCREWS! You must hit dead center of the stud with your screws. There is always the possibility of a cracked/mangled stud in the wall, especially with newer homes. If you want to get really serious, you could drive additional screw into the top and bottom of each stud, reinforcing the joint between it and the plates at the top and bottom of the wall. There will be a bit of drywall repair after the fact, but not much.

If your ceiling is too high to get the right hang, you can place your padeyes about 12' apart and hang a 12' 2 x 4 (or pipe) from the padeyes at whatever height you want. Then hang your hammock from that. The "spreader bar" would be cumbersome unless you made it collapsible, but the load on the ceiling is much lower. Each anchor point would be holding 1/2 your body weight and 1/2 of the spreader bar weight. No vector involved. Again, check to see what materials your ceiling joists were made out of.

Search "indoor hang" for more info.

I actually was able to see the studs. approx build, 60 years ago 2x6.

When you mentioned screwing the 2x8 across two studs, do you mean opening the wall and cross bracing it, or slapping that baby over the drywall? if it is over the drywall, where would I anchor the pad eye? best to drop it over one of the studs? I have no problem with adding 2x8 on top of my drywall, as I could paint it and add some decoration to it. I could even run the 2x8 over 3 studs and attach the pad eye to the center stud.

I will search indoor hang. thanks a bunch.

[pedro]

You can attach directly over the drywall, or cut out the drywall to the same dimensions as your plate and screw directly to the studs. A bit of shoe molding on the edges will make for a nice looking job. You could cross brace instead, I don't think that it would be any stronger. The padeye should be centered, whether you go over two studs or three. If possible, it's a good idea to attach to studs that are in turn attached to the same ceiling joist(s), so that the joist acts as a compression member. Does that make sense?

[adiankur]

You can attach directly over the drywall, or cut out the drywall to the same dimensions as your plate and screw directly to the studs. A bit of shoe molding on the edges will make for a nice looking job. You could cross brace instead, I don't think that it would be any stronger. The padeye should be centered, whether you go over two studs or three. If possible, it's a good idea to attach to studs that are in turn attached to the same ceiling joist(s), so that the joist acts as a compression member. Does that make sense?

Yes it does. Thanks.