Picture Frames: How to Hang 'em

By Danielle Chapman

You’ve found the right art, you’ve found the right spot and now it’s time to display your beautiful piece for all to see.

Here’s how to keep you’re your walls safe and make sure your masterpiece doesn’t become a giant disaster-piece!

First, check your hanging surface. If your work of art is a large heavy piece that is going on drywall, you may want to use two picture hooks to make sure it gets plenty of support. Difficult surfaces like plaster or masonry/brick may not be worth the hassle of drilling just to hang up a smaller piece- unless you really want to. (Or have no choice.)

Drywall

Drywall, the most common surface, is also the softest and inserting a picture hook is fairly uncomplicated. However, because drywall is the softest, it is recommended that you use an electronic ‘stud finder’ to locate a vertical beam of wood in the wall and hang your picture there, using a screw instead of a nail. (If you don’t have a stud finder, you can pick one up for cheap- around $10-12- or you can just tap around on the wall. Spaces will give an echoing sound. When you hear the ‘thud’- that’s the stud!)

If there is no stud in the space where you want your picture to be, you can still hang up your piece- just use the appropriate size picture hook. These are hooks especially made for hanging pictures. The lighter the frame, the simpler the picture hook. (Usually, you can find the right hook by looking at the weight limits on its package.) Be sure to hammer the nail in at an angle to provide more support.

For bigger pictures hung on drywall, additional support with a fastener may be required. Besides using two picture hooks, a more reliable way to provide support is to install a toggle bolt. A toggle bolt has ‘wings’ that slide through a hole drilled into the wall and expand after it has been pushed through. It grips the wall from the inside as it is tightened.

Plaster

Although plaster tends to hold fasteners better than drywall, when it comes to plaster, forget about the nail and hammer. You’ll want to drill a hole and use a wall anchor in this case. A wall anchor is a sleeve inserted into a drilled hole that will expand as a screw is driven into it. This will give a little extra grip in supporting the frame and makes sure the screw doesn’t slip back out.

Brick/Masonry

Brick or masonry will pretty much be the same as plaster- except this time, a little bit of epoxy might be inserted into the drilled hole. As soon as the epoxy dries, picture hanging can commence. However-when you insert the screw or hook this time, be sure it is large enough to support the weight you need- once it goes in and the epoxy dries, it’s not going to easily come back out.

All fasteners such as toggle bolts and wall anchors (including the epoxy, should you need it) can be easily found at a hardware store or in the hardware department of most retail stores.

Hanging Your Picture

Now that you have decided on the location your art should hang, it’s time to take a look at the wire that will be supporting the weight of the frame. If the gauge of wire is too thin, it could break and send your framed piece crashing to the floor. The heavier the frame the, thicker the gauge of wire needed. This wire should then be attached to screw eyes, which are driven into the wood of the frame about 2/3 up from the bottom. (For frames made of metal, there will be sliders in about the same spot.) The wire should extend up into the middle of the space between the top of the frame and the screw eyes. If you can see the wire over the top of the frame, you’ve gone too high.

Unless you’re hanging a fairly small frame, this is where it can be really handy to have a second person’s help. While the other person holds the frame up to the wall, you can stand back and decide which height is best to display your picture and then mark the wall lightly with a pencil at the top center of the frame. This will be your ‘marker’ line.

Flipping the frame over, push the wire on the back of the picture up towards the top of the frame (press hard- this is to mimic the wire hanging on a hook) and measure the distance from the peak of the wire to the top of the frame- this is called the ‘drop’.

Then take the same measurement (the drop) and mark an X below your marker line on the wall. (For example, if the distance from the peak of the wire and top of the frame is 2 ¾, measure 2 ¾ down from the marker line.) This is where your picture hook will hang.

Now hang your picture and, with the help of a level, adjust it to your taste. If the picture seems to high or too low, adjust the wire on the back of the picture to achieve the desired result. Now your favorite art piece, your family picture or your Aunt Betty’s antique mirror is ready and on display for all to admire!

And that’s how you have a good hangin’!

© Doityourself.com 2006