Due to the small dimensions of your dorm room, you probably don’t have too much of space for any furniture aside from your bed. Needless to say, this can get pretty annoying. The solution, of course, is to hang a hammock up.
Of course, hanging a hammock in your dorm can be a tad bit tricky. For one thing, hammocks are traditionally meant to be outdoors. Then, there is also the fact that most dorms aren’t built with the same elements as most residential spaces.
Due to this, there is going to be a little bit of creativity involved. On this note, let’s get started:
Check Your Dorm Guidelines
First things first, you will need to check with your RA whether or not a hammock is allowed inside your room. Now, most dorms won’t specifically ban hammocks. Instead, they will prevent you from hanging heavy loads from specific points in the dorm room.
This is why you should speak to your RA ahead of time. This will give you some idea of where you can and can’t hang your hammock from. Even if you aren’t allowed to drill holes or put weight on any point of the walls, don’t worry!
Below, you can find solutions for all kinds of dorms. So, one way or another, you can definitely get that hammock that you want!
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Find Your Suspension Points
You are going to have to figure out where you want to hang your hammock from. There are limited options in dorm rooms due to the way that they are designed. So, look around to see the best two points.
If you want to hang the hammock from one wall to another, then you will need to see if there are appropriate anchor points. You will be attaching your hammock hardware to these. In turn, the hammock hardware will hold your hammock in place.
When looking for your ideal spot, you have to find studs into which you can fix your hammock hardware to. When looking for studs, make sure to choose wooden ones. Your regular stud finder will show you where the wooden ones are mounted as well.
While metal ones may seem more durable, they are considered to be an important structural component of your dorm building. So, if one of these studs gets damaged from you using it, it can cause a significant problem. Not to mention, this can be quite expensive to fix as well.
Consider the Placement
Once you have some options for where your hammock can potentially go, your next move will be to figure out the placement inside your dorm room. Since the hammock will be a permanent fixture, it can’t get in the way of you or your roommate accessing any part of the room.
Then, there is the distance between the two points. The closer the ends are, the greater the sag in the middle of the hammock. If you would like to have the hammock tauter, then you will need to increase the distance between each end.
You will also need to think about how many inches you want your hammock lifted off the ground while you are in it. This will give you an idea of how high up on the wall the hammock hardware should go.
Getting Your Gear
Apart from the stud finder, you will need the following materials for this project:
- Electric drill with drill bits
- Chains
- Eye hooks
- Carabiners
- S-hooks
- Screws
Settings Things Up
Now, let’s move onto the actual process…
Once you have found the studs that you want to drill into, mark the spots clearly with a pencil. Once you have double checked that you have gotten the right measurements, it is time to drill. A small drill bit is best as it will be easier to cover up the hole later on.
Then, push in the screws. Make sure that they are embedded at least 2 inches into the hole that you have drilled. Otherwise, it can easily fall out, taking you and the hammock with it. After the screws have been secured properly, you can use the chain and the S-hooks to the screws.
After this, it is just a matter of fixing the hammock to this ends. You can use the carabiners for this purpose. Make sure that the knots are tight. Test them before getting into the hammock to make sure.
If you don’t have any kind of experience with this kind of project, it is a good idea to get some help. The last thing that you want to do is to cause unnecessary damage to your dorm, especially if you will be liable for it!
Before you set up your hammock, you may want to wander through your dorm. You just might come across someone who has a hammock in their room. You can then ask them to help you out in exchange for food and drink. Who knows, you may even end up making a new friend in the process.
An Easier Alternative
So, what if your RA informs you that you can’t drill holes into your dorm room walls? Well, have no fear as there is a solution for you too!
Do you have a lofted bed in your dorm? If so, this can be the perfect place for you to set up your hammock. You can attach each end of the hammock to the posts on opposing side of your bed. This way, you want have to make any structural changes.
Keep in mind that you do have to be careful with the knots here. You are attempting to tie a knot around a round or square, three-dimensional post. As such, it can be tricky to get a good knot. To make sure that it is tight, check out various knots that you can use for maximum strength and durability.
You could also get a rope kit that you can wrap around the post and then attach the rope to one side of the hammock. You can repeat this with the other side as well. This measure can put less pressure on the posts which is certainly a good thing for the structural integrity of the bed.
What if you don’t want to make any effort at all? Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! This is because hammock stands are available to you. As the name suggests, it is a metal frame that holds your hammock for you. Due to this, there is absolutely no set up involved at all.
The only downside here is that these stands do take up some space. So, if your entire goal is to keep the hammock out of the way, then it may not be your best option. On the other hand, if you do have an elevated bed, this isn’t an issue at all.
There you have it, a step-by-step guide to setting up a hammock in your dorm room. Yes, it can seem a bit complicated but as long as you follow the instructions and get the right kind of help, you should be fine. And, there are also plenty of other ways that you can hang up your hammock. So, don’t worry, you can make it happen!
