At some point in every rope top’s journey, it’s useful to start thinking about indoor hard points, and how you might organize your own. You may not be thinking about full on suspending people, but the idea of tying your partner’s hands above their head has a certain appeal for a lot of people.
Well, it sure as hell does for me!
I love that kind of thing. I really, truly do. And I absolutely relish the opportunity to do so. It’s amazing how it can make for a really great BDSM scene; having your person standing up with their hands tied above their head, with so much potential for you to do all kinds of fun things to them!
On the other hand, that also means you need something above their head to tie them to… so that’s when we start thinking about the good old indoor hard points, and how we can arrange those.
Rafters
If you have rafters in your home, then this can make for an amazing opportunity for many rope related shenanigans. A few years back, I lived in a small flat with lots of exposed rafters, and it was just absolutely amazing for this kind of thing. They were relatively small rafters, so they were definitely better for suspending part of someone’s bodyweight rather than the entire weight, but damn did they work well for most things.
Rafters are fantastic, and if you like that idea, I highly recommend keeping an eye out for them when considering moving or purchasing a home. I have seriously considered buying a particular apartment in the past simply because it had a gorgeous exposed beam in the bedroom.
Even having rafters in the garage can be great. I currently have some in the garage of the home where I’m boarding at the moment, and I find them very useful in summer. I could potentially use them in Winter as well, but I’ll need a decent heater to make that work. This is a definite option. Writing this post, I’m now considering making that investment.
Frames and DIY Solutions
Just this weekend I travelled between cities to visit my friend Dexter.
Now, Dexter is what you might call the creative type. He’s very good at building things, and he’s recently become very involved in rope, teaching rope bondage, and selling rope. And because he wanted to have a hard point in his home, he went all in and created his own bondage frame/pull up bar/rope stretching and processing frame.
He literally welded and bolted this thing together and had it powder coated. Massive A frame supports and enormously sturdy bar stretching right across his room against the walls. The potential is mindboggling, and I’ve seriously considered commissioning him to make a smaller one for me (except I don’t know yet where I’d put it when it wasn’t across my bed).
My own variation of this was far less DIY. I went out and bought a steel squat rack, and turned it into a Dungym. I tied a heavy piece of bamboo midway across the top to use as the hard point, and then proceeded to get up to various fun and games.
That worked really well for me for quite some time, but you have to have enough room somewhere in your flat or apartment to set it up. If you have a single room, it’s not a great option; but if you are renting something bigger, perhaps with a garage that has no rafters, then you can set up your “home gym” in there. As frames go, a steel squat rack actually works really well for a hard point.
The More Subtle Approach
A more permanent and potentially more space saving solution is typically most available to those who own their home, or who have VERY nice and understanding landlords.
Permanent eyebolts in the ceiling.
You really want these bolted through heavy beams for best support, and then do a nice plastering job around them. From the eyebolts, you can attach carabiners, or suspend a climbing sling below it to bring a ring or carabiner into easy reach for you to attach your person to.
An acquaintance of mine had a couple of these installed in her living room for self suspension. It works remarkably well.
The owner of a sex club I visited recently has also installed a pattern of five of these in a cross shape in the lounge of the club. It makes for a very interesting time if you are feeling like playing publicly with someone’s hands above their head, and I fully intend to use them the next time I visit that club.
For your own home, if you own them, you can always hang a plant, a boxing bag, or a pair of gymnastic rings from your eyebolts when they’re not in use. It makes for a great explanation for said eyebolts, if you really feel like you need said explanation.
How do I know this? Because I’ve been plotting how I’m going to arrange this for my next flat, if I get the opportunity. I’ve put thought into it, yes I have. I like renting just now, but if I ever buy a home, then I’m definitely going with the eyebolt option in the bedroom. Otherwise, I’ll make the best case I can to the landlord about how that home gym arrangement will add value to their investment. After all, home gyms are quite the thing in the COVID era…
So there’s a solid array of options for you to consider, and for me to have noted up when I’m thinking about it in future. I love me some hard points, and I really want to have some kind of option like this available where ever I might live.
It’s just so damn fun.
I set 3 hooks into ceiling joists, went up in attic and did a bit of reenforcing, from joist to roof rafter so there is no movement of ceiling. I have spent most of my life doing remodeling and construction. Going to convert one bedroom into a dedicated play space.
Nice! Having a dedicated play space and personal home dungeon is the dream of many kinksters. Sounds like you’re well on your way!