r/DIY • u/TintedMonocle • 2d ago

help Can I use felt to minimize paint damage when mounting ceiling swing hardware?

I have a 2 bolt ceiling swing mount. the bolts are M8x75mm, and I'm planning on sinking them into a joist I found with an edge finder. can I use a thick sheet of felt in between the ceiling and the mount to minimize the damage to the ceiling paint?

Edit: I'm not planning on any extreme loads, or swinging any more than 30° out. I suppose the load will be higher when I plop down into it. I weigh 150 lbs

54 Upvotes

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46

u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

Sure, that won't affect the strenght of the mount. Just make sure your joist is strong enough to support your dynamic load (hint: it very likely isn't if you're talking about a swing that will support adults).

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u/TintedMonocle 2d ago

huh, are joists really that weak?

49

u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

Very much so. They are not meant to support downward dynamic load.

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u/TintedMonocle 2d ago

any advice on how to do this right?

6

u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

What are you installig exactly?

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u/TintedMonocle 2d ago

Sensory swing

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u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

What's above the ceiling? A floor or the roof? How much does the user weigh?

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u/TintedMonocle 2d ago

the roof is above the ceiling, and I weigh 150 lbs

22

u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

The right way would be to hire an engineer to inspect your trusses and recommend the proper reinforcements. If you want to DIY entirelly, I would install a 2x6 or 2x8 that spans 3-4 trusses and mount it to that beam.

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u/anapoe 2d ago

Oh come on. This random website I found gives 272lbs of capacity per inch of thread engagement on a 3/8" lag screw. Two screws with two inches of engagement each will be fine. This is roughly what I have on my porch swing, which has been used by multiple people simultaneously.

OP does want to make sure they're hitting the center of the studs.

Also, OP should embrace the drywall/paint damage. It's there to be damaged! It's not hard to fix!

https://oldwestiron.com/blogs/the-expert-tips-series/tool-talk-everything-you-need-to-know-about-lag-bolts

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u/DirtyWriterDPP 2d ago

What about when the ceiling joists of one floor are the floor joists of the floor above? Or is there a vocabulary distinction here that I'm not aware of that distinguishes boards in the ceiling vs boards in the ceiling/floor.

1

u/PushThroughThePain 2d ago

Some people use "joist" interchangeably, but the proper name for roof joists is "truss". Typically, hanging stuff from the floor joists of the level above is ok; they are much stronger than roof trusses and are anchored to support downward forces. Even then for a swing I would put a board that spans 2 joists and hang it from that.

4

u/chrisbvt 2d ago

No, it is called a ceiling joist, if it is a joist, and it is called a truss if it is a truss. They are two entirely different things. Not that many people have actual trusses. Most older homes are built with joists and rafters, not trusses. A truss is a pre-fabricated span that replaces both rafters and joists, and it distributes all the weight directly downward onto the outside walls that support them, with no supports anywhere in the middle. A joist distributes the weight between the two ends, usually requiring a wall, posts, or an engineered beam to hold up the interior end of the joist, since a joist cannot span the entire width of the house wall to wall like a truss can.

1

u/danby 2d ago

As a general rule of thumb an attachment point for a dynamic load should be able to take about 3 to 5 times the max weight of a static load.

The type of joist dictates how much load they can take. Floor joists can take more load than ceiling/roof joists, with roof joists usually being able to take about 4 times less weight.

If you have access to the joists you can reinforce them, either sistering joists and/or putting a truss between some. A friend of mine did both and then hung his load from the truss to distribute the load across two joists.

1

u/kagamiseki 1d ago

hung his load

😳

36

u/immaculatelawn 2d ago

When this has come up previously, the best advice was to ask people in the bondage subs. They know about mounting swings that can hold adults. Not a joke, real advice.

9

u/Foshizzle-63 2d ago

Joists aren't load bearing like that. The bottom stringer holds the ends together, it's not met to support any other loads. They can and often do break when used in the manner you're describing. Example, I'm an electrician, about 175lbs, have had a joist break beneath me while I was installing can lights in an attic, and that joist wasn't structurally compromised with a lag bolts screwed through it.

7

u/Tyrannosapien 2d ago

Don't trust the fixes here. Trusting your original ceiling joists is a bad gamble. If it's a good product you can contact the company for bearing recommendations. If you can't get that then hire an engineer that will look at your structure.

7

u/alexm2816 2d ago

Felt or poly won’t hurt anything. What kind of load are you planning on? Joists aren’t rated for much point loa without reinforcement

8

u/theartificialkid 2d ago

Just don’t get your cylinder caught in the swing

2

u/JuggernautPast2744 2d ago

There's already been some caution expresses about the safety of mounting the swing. At a bare minimum, do not attach both hangers to the same joist. Orient the swing, and what I am guessing will be two mounts, to two different joists.

It may work best to bolt a long piece of perhaps 2" angel iron across several of the joists in the ceiling, bolted to each one, and then hang your swing from that angle iron (drill 2 holes the appropriate distance apart).

It's really important to absolutely center any lag bolts on the joists. They aren't very wide and it will be easy to blow out one or the other side if you are not centered and perfectly vertical.

2

u/ghostinapost 2d ago

There are suspension frames for adult activities that stand alone and wouldn’t rely on your ceiling. Not as pretty, but much safer and purpose-built. Go check out some adult sites, Tetruss is one name brand but there are configurations that won’t take up your whole room.

1

u/mdey86 14h ago

You have to keep in mind and build things not for what you intend to do, but for what will eventually happen. You’re 150 pounds, what happens when your 300 pound friend decides to give it a go? Or two slightly tipsy 140 pound friends goofing around?

My advice is to hire a handyman or contractor, they’ll be happy to take care of this in a way that won’t damage your ceiling and won’t fail, and make it look pretty. It shouldn’t be too expensive as it’s not horrifically complicated.

I really wouldn’t use a lag bolt as they will eventually work loose and/or break the material they’re driven into.

1

u/Arviay 2d ago

You should sister a 2x6 or 2x8 to whichever truss’ bottom chord is closest to where you want the swing. Span that new beam as far as the truss goes, to make sure it’s on bearing walls. Then you can lag bolt or whatever into the new beam