It ‘s a great way to fake a cool breeze and the gentle swing makes for a great pile spot. If you ‘re adding a swing to your porch for the first time, you have a lot of options when it comes to material, style, and size. But the most crucial gradation to take is making sure your swing is installed by rights and safely. Follow the steps below to ensure you ‘ll be relaxing and swinging for years to come. 
Elegant Black Porch Swing
credit : Laurey W. Glenn
Pick a Location
Before we get down to the technical aspects, you want to make sure you ‘ve found the arrant spot for your swing. Confirm you have enough space for your swing : Allow for 3 to 4 feet of swinging arc in front of and behind the swing, and it ‘s wise to give yourself 2 feet on either side of the porch as well—both for extra motion from the swing and so you can walk around it. You besides need to decide how to orient your swing. Do you want to face the street ( or yard, if this is your side or back porch ) or turn it perpendicular to the street, which creates a sting more privacy and the porch can then be part of a colloquial area with other seating .
Texas Farmhouse Porch
credit : Laurey W. Glenn
Confirm You’ve Got Structural Support
We hate to bring it up, but homo beings are fairly heavy. Porch swings can besides be pretty heavy, depending on the material they ‘re made out of. Altogether, you ‘re talking about several hundred pounds hanging from your porch ceiling, so taking the proper precautions to confirm you ‘re installing the swing in a spot that can support that weight is crucial. If your porch ceiling is unfinished and you can see the beams and joists ( like in the above photograph ), determining this is much easier. A 2×6 or ( preferably ) 2×8 joist can safely support the load—anything smaller or thin will not be hard enough and will require extra pad support.
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If your porch ceiling beams are covered with beadboard or plywood, you need to see what ‘s underneath it to know where the joists run and whether their space lines up with where you want to install your hooks. You should be able to entree the joists from above via the attic, or if that is n’t an choice, you ‘ll need to remove a little sum of the ceiling to see how big the joists are and which steering they run, and then patch it after completing initiation. 
White Farmhouse Porch Swing
This plush ashen porch swing provides extra seating for this broad wrapped cover porch—perfect for entertaining. | credit : photograph : Laurey W. Glenn
Pick Your Hanging Method
Most new porch swings will come with a hanging kit that provides all the hardware you ‘ll need. If you ‘ve built your own daybed version or found a thrifted swing, you can buy an entire hardware kit on-line, like this one. There are a match of options when it comes to hanging your swing : You can use metallic chains or lasso as the pause material—both are equally strong deoxyadenosine monophosphate farseeing as you use slurred, marine-grade lasso. ( If chains seem dim-witted but you like the look of r-2, you can wrap rope around your chains, like the swing above. ) Swings can besides be suspended from either two or four hooks in the ceiling. The classic chain apparatus has two chains hanging from the ceiling that each rip into two separate chains ( creating an inverted Y condition ), which attach to the four corners of the swing. You can besides attach four individual chains to each corner, which might make your swing support solid, but requires drilling four holes in the ceiling. 
Blue and White Porch with Wicker Chairs and Swing
credit : Melanie Acevedo
Install the Hanging Hardware
Be sure to mark your measurements before drill : ceiling hooks should be 2 to 4 inches wider than the width of the hale swing, which distributes the weight more evenly and keeps the chains from rubbing against the golf stroke. Drill pilot holes smaller than your eye bolts before screwing them into the center of your ceiling joists. Go ahead and attach the chains or r-2 to the swing and then hang each side to the ceiling hooks so that the seat is about 17-19 inches above the floor. Test your swing to make certain it hangs evenly and swings smoothly, and then all that ‘s left to do is enjoy !
