FAQ

Yes! You can order a gift certificate here. If you like, you can

email or call us with an idea of what you’d like to give as a gift: just

a hammock? A hammock and a pillow? A hammock, a pillow, and a stand?

Then we’ll help you determine the amount of your gift certificate,

including shipping.

We offer free UPS Ground shipping on all our hammocks, chairs, and pillows, and our daily shipping closes at noon EST. In-stock orders placed before noon M-F will ship the same day; orders received after 12 pm will ship the next business day. East coast and Midwest residents will usually get their hammocks in 2-3 business days. If you live farther west than that, allow for 3-5 days. California, Oregon, and Washington customers can usually expect about a week’s wait from the day of shipment.

We can also arrange for expedited shipping services if you give us a call directly.

UPS will automatically e-mail you tracking information. You can then go online and track your stuff.

All other shipping options, including USPS to APO addresses, are sometimes possible if you give us a call to arrange this, but we humbly ask you to be flexible and patient with us as we are a small operation.

While we’re flattered that you want to come out here to see us, we need to stress that we do not have a physical store, or any display where you can see different products. We’re a mail-order business. Our office and our warehouse are in different locations so we necessarily can’t give you what you want if you just drop in. However, we do keep a small stock of seconds hammocks near our office. These are reduced-price hammocks with cosmetic flaws only. If you live locally and you know what you want, and you would like to save on shipping costs, call 540-894-5125 during business hours (M – F 9 am – 5:30 pm) to arrange a pick up.

See the Accessories tab for each product to find suggested color matches.

On the issue of comfort, there are a few different considerations. Quilted hammocks are the Cadillac of the fabric line, while Silkspuns are our most comfortable rope hammock. A quilted hammock has a thick core of batting sandwiched between two layers of soft Sunbrella® or Sunsharp fabric. The Silkspuns have more rope per row, and more rows per hammock, than our traditional rope hammocks. The rope itself is also spun to produce a softer filament, the result being a luxuriously silky hammock that conforms to your body.

The Sunbrella® Sling hammocks are much more breathable than other fabrics, and you’ll be able to feel the breeze through the meshy bed of this type of hammock, which is especially comfortable and cool after getting out of your pool or the lake. These hammocks are quick-drying, which makes them ideal for waterside use.

Envirope hammocks, made to emulate the look and feel of cotton but to last much longer, have a very pleasant hand and are quite soft on the skin.

And, last but not least, our Traditional Rope line has remained our best seller since we started crafting hammocks 45 years ago, a declaration of its versatility, comfort, and timelessness. Truly, all our hammocks offer supreme comfort in relaxation, so it really comes down to the look you like best.

We don’t recommend this. Our workshops are filled with all the right matching materials, jigs, and welding irons to fix your hammock well and quickly, and our repairs people really know their stuff. We do not sell materials for making or repairing individual hammocks.

Information about our repair service is here.

Many people have had luck following these suggestions:

• When your hammock is not in use, put both rings on the hook at one end so the hammock is not as accessible to animals. This will also reduce its exposure to the weather and keep leaves out of it.

• Don’t store your hammock where critters will chew it.

• Purchase a commercial animal deterrent. The one we know of is Grannick’s "Bitter Apple." This product, or something similar, can be purchased at most pet stores or garden centers.

• Look on the web for other products or home-made deterrents. Here’s what one website says:

• Ropel® is a long lasting, extremely bad tasting commercial repellant and will stop squirrels and many other animals from chewing things, such as wood, wire, screens, lawn furniture, etc. It is available at many garden centers.

• Hot Pepper Repellant Recipe

You need:
1. One chopped yellow onion
2. One chopped jalapeno pepper
3. One tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Boil ingredients for 20 minutes in two quarts of water. Then let it cool and strain the mixture through cheesecloth. You can apply this with a pesticide sprayer or a spray bottle. This will deter just about any animal from an area where it is applied. The only draw back is that it only lasts for three to five days.

• Don’t leave your hammock lying on the ground where it might get mowed. Also, be careful not to mow underneath your hammock, as the heat from the mower can melt the polypropelene ropes.
And if you come up with anything else that works, please let us know!

It depends on many factors. Every so often we hear of a hammock that’s been up for 20 or more years and is still going strong. Here are some tips, based on our experience.

• Our products are designed to be out in all kinds of weather, but taking your hammock in when you’re not using it will help prolong its life. Unhooking it from one end of the tree and folding it up to hang on the other hook will also help.

• Kids love to play rambunctious games on a hammock, but this can wear it out prematurely, especially the end ropes. (It’s also dangerous to let children, especially young kids, play on a hammock unsupervised.)

• Don’t store your hammock where rodents or pets might chew it.

• Intense, direct sunshine is hard on some synthetics. Your olefin rope hammock will likely last longer if it is not in the direct sun all the time. Envirope hammocks are a better choice for locations exposed to intense sun all the time.

We make all of them ourselves. Our rope is manufactured, our wood milled, and our hammocks woven, sewn, and assembled right here in our workshop in rural Virginia, by people who enjoy the craft and take pride in attention to detail.

The folks who make Twin Oaks Hammocks are all members of Twin Oaks Community, an intentional community founded in 1967. We’ve been making hammocks nearly since the beginning in 1967. Our hammock shop is a social hub of the community, a place where we hold meetings and have (unplugged) open mic events. When weather permits, people can frequently be seen weaving outside.

The quick answer is that a hammock hangs best in a space a foot or two longer than the overall length of the hammock. For example, a Family Size hammock is about 13½ feet long overall, so the best distance for the supports is 14½–16½ feet apart. For much more information, here is a thorough set of directions on how to hang your hammock. If you have more questions, call 800-688-8946 or e-mail hammocks@twinoaks.org.

Go here for full info on hanging your hammock. Briefly, if your supports are farther or closer than the ideal distance, you install your hooks higher up. If they’re too far apart, we do carry extra chain and S-hooks to extend the overall length of the hammock.

Brand new hammocks, especially Traditional Rope Hammocks, are shorter than they will be once they have been stretched out in use. As your new hammock stretches out, you may have to tighten it several times. Using chain between the hammock and the hooks makes this adjustment easier.

Some hammocks stretch out a lot when you use them the first few times. This is especially true of Family Size Traditional Rope Hammocks. To keep your new hammock from sagging down to the ground, you may have to stretch it very tightly. You may have to hook the rings of the hammock directly onto the S-hooks at either end of the stand. You may even need someone to help you get it tight enough the first time. The rope is new and fresh, but as you use your hammock more and more, it will stretch out and develop more of a natural belly. A new hammock is like a new pair of jeans: "wear" your hammock as much as you can to stretch it to its full comfort level.

ROPE HAMMOCKS: use a bathtub, fill it with a solution that contains a mild detergent or a mild bleach solution; soak, agitate, rinse well and let the hammock dry thoroughly. After immersing them in water/cleaning solution the spreader bars may have to be re-treated with linseed oil.

FABRIC HAMMOCKS AND PILLOW COVERS:

General or light cleaning:
* Brush off any loose dirt.
* Prepare a cleaning solution of 2 ounces (1/4 cup) mild detergent, such as Woolite or Dawn dishwashing liquid, per gallon of lukewarm water.
* Use a sponge or a soft bristle brush to clean.
* Allow cleaning solution to soak into fabric.
* Rinse thoroughly to remove all detergent residue.
* Allow fabric to air dry.

Spot cleaning:
* Apply a light mist of mild detergent and water using a spray bottle.
* Work the solution into the stain by lightly scrubbing the area with a sponge or very soft bristle brush.
* Rinse thoroughly to remove all detergent residue.
* Blot excess moisture with a clean, soft towel or sponge.
* Wet-vacuum or blot excess water.
* Air dry, Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all detergent residue is removed.

The Sunbrella fabrics we use are upholstery style fabrics. Here is information from Sunbrella on cleaning fabrics used in our Sunbrella hammocks and pillow covers.