Locating an overhead beam on your porch is one of the first steps when you want to hang a porch swing or any other heavy object from the porch ceiling. The beams are the framing that ties the porch roof ends together and provide solid support to the porch ceiling. The beams may run from the front to back of the porch ceiling or left to right across the width of the ceiling. Locate an overhead beam yourself, and avoid the costs of hiring a carpenter to open up the porch ceiling to find it.
Instructions
1. Stand on a step ladder, if necessary, to reach the porch ceiling. Place the edge of a tape measure in the corner of the porch ceiling. Measure out 16 inches to the left or right across the ceiling.
2. Tap the ceiling with a hammer in this area, moving left to right, and listen for a solid sound, which indicates an overhead beam.
3. Measure 24 inches from the corner, if you've tapped in the 16 inch area with a hammer and heard only a hollow sound. With the hammer, tap in the area 24 inches from the ceiling edge, until you hear a solid, thumping sound.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3, only this time measuring out from a corner, going vertically up and down the ceiling. Also, tap the hammer vertically up and down the ceiling, instead of from the left to right, if you don't locate a beam within a three-foot radius.
5. Use a stud finder to locate the beam, if you can't find one using the hammer. A stud finder usually beeps or has a light that blinks when it's found a wall stud.
6. Measure out 16 inches from the ceiling corner, going to the left or right, using the tape measure. Slide the stud finder along the porch ceiling in the 16-inch area, moving it from the left to right, until it indicates a beam. Measure 24 inches from the corner, if you don't locate one at 16 inches, and slide the stud finder left to right in that area of the ceiling.
7. Slide the stud finder along the ceiling, moving it from the front to back, if you don't locate a beam within a three-foot radius while moving it from the left to right.
Tags: left right, porch ceiling, stud finder, inches from, Measure inches