The Front Porch Swing has over the centuries become an icon of American Culture.  It represents leisure, associated with conversation and the long warm evenings of a pace often linked with a bygone era.  Let's spend just a few moments to insure your Porch Swing is installed safely and your conversations don't risk being truncated with a crashing blow to the porch floor itself.

CPW Swings include the following hardware componants:
1) 3/16" welded, coated chain.
2) Clevis Pendulum Connectors
3) Heavy duty Swing Springs.
4) Optional swivel mounting brackets (depending on your framing configuration)

Coated ChainClevis Pedulums Connectors Galvanized Clevis Connector
Swivel Mounting Plates and Springs
		((Bolts or lags not included)) The swivel mounting plates are primarily applicable to those sites with appropriate framing specifications.  They provide a little extra swing ease, and are best utilized when the swing is parallel to the overhead mounting joists. Because every site is different, with some requiring lags and others machine bolts, as well as the widths of various framing members, the type and specification of the actual mounting bolt is best left to the installer's discretion.
ROPE ASSEMBLIES
		Fiber Rope and Brass Crimps. For Porch Swings preferring rope instead of chain, CPW provides 40 feet of 7/16" diameter fiber fabric white rope, shown to the left, in addition to the Clevis Pendulum Connectors connecting the rope to the swing itself.  All connections are shipped or delivered so that the rope simply loops onto the spring that mounts from the ceiling connection.

Illustrating a few basic principles regarding installation of your Porch Swing
Using chain *Download the PDF
Using Rope *Download the PDF

Porch Swing Installation Guide

Always measure your porch or patio ceiling for height. This is to determine the length of the swing chains. Choose a wide area for swinging back and forth.  Be sure to set the bolts with enough clearance from your porch rail to avoid striking the railing.  A standard is about 12"-16" from the railing.

Locate a solid overhead beam and install two bolts or lags spaced 3" further apart than the width of the swing to hold chains (this is to insure the chain or rope does not burnish against the side of the swing). If using lags, drill pilot holes slightly less in diameter than the lags.  This not only prevents the wood from possibly splitting, but insures the lags have a good thread purchase into the wood. 

When setting the Porch Swing in place, there is plenty of foregiveness to adjust the eventual height by simply moving up or down the length of the chain.  A average height from the floor to the seat of the swing would be about 17 inches. 

If you are using rope, the rope will ship already mounted to the swing in two lengths per each side of the swing.  These two lengths are commonly tied off at the brackets or spring within the overhead framing.  It is acceptable for each rope to tie off individually to a pivot or carabiner, but being careful to insure the lengths of each rope make for a balanced swing.

Check that your hardware is installed correctly before testing your swing.

* DON'T leave children unattended in a swing or let them stand up on a swing.
* DON'T hang or support swings from brick or masonry.
• ALWAYS hang the swing from solid framing.

A typical 60" swing will weight approximately 80 lbs.