How to attach swing to verandah beam?

BeeCee

Hello all,

Looking for some advice on hanging a swing underneath a covered pergola area in our backyard. The timber beam in question is 12cm tall by 3cm thick. See pictures attached.

I'm thinking of attaching a couple Swing Slide Climb Ductile Swing Hooks underneath the beam to attach the swing to. Do you think the beam will be strong enough to hold the hooks and the weight of the swing? Or do you think I should remove the beam and replace it with one that’s thicker?

Or is there a different, better method of attaching a swing here?

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @BeeCee. It's marvellous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about attaching a swing.

Unfortunately, the beam and the entire roof structure appear to be quite lightweight. Even if you were to replace the beam with one that’s thicker, the surrounding timbers it’s connected to wouldn’t necessarily be any stronger. I’d be very hesitant to attach any type of swing to this roof.

The roof framing isn’t designed to take additional loads beyond supporting the roofing sheets above it, and certainly not the dynamic weight of a swing, which can be considerable, especially if more than one person uses it.

Typically, even with a much more substantial roof structure, we’d still recommend having a builder inspect it and advise on whether reinforcement is possible and what would be required to safely support a swing.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell