In more than 25 years (as of this writing) of framing and hanging pictures and heavy mirrors, I’ve learned quite a lot about what works and what doesn’t work. There are some common factors which pertain to nearly all art and mirror installation, which really boil down to just three rules:

1 – Use adequate hardware, correctly

2 – Use 2 hooks

3 – Measure everything

The first is actually 2 rules combined, and seems pretty self-explanatory, but you might be surprised how often the hardware used to hang pictures and mirrors in homes and offices is inadequate, or improperly used. This is often NOT YOUR FAULT. Many times those pieces are made in their workshops and factories with screws too short to bite deeply enough in the backs of the frames, for example, or d-rings (with or without wire) which aren’t strong enough to support the weight of a heavy mirror, or which are attached in a way which compromises them. And I often see hooks or other wall hardware included with the pictures and mirrors which just aren’t strong enough. Here is an example.

On the second rule, there are two reasons for using 2 hooks (or other hanging hardware): two hooks will support more weight than one, and two hooks (spaced apart) will keep the picture or mirror from “pivoting” on the wall over time due to vibrations or being accidentally “pushed”.

And the third rule: Just measure it. The human eye and brain are amazing constructs, and can do miraculous things, but “eyeballing it” generally just doesn’t work when you’re trying to be precise. Additionally, if the hardware on one side of the back of the picture is at a different height than the hardware on the other side, then the center (of gravity) of the picture will be in a different place from where you would assume it is. So measure to be sure those two pieces of hardware are at the same height, and measure the height of the wire, at the width you intend the hooks to be apart, and you’ll wind up with the exact place where your hooks should be attached to the wall.

There’s a great quote from Marvin Minsky: “You don’t understand anything until you learn it in more than one way.”

Hopefully this helps you to understand picture and mirror hanging in a new way. If you’d like to see examples of installations we’ve done, click this link.

Every day is a good day!

Tim

When hanging relatively heavy items on your office or home walls, or when you’re going to be tugging or pushing on them a lot after installation, it makes sense to use relatively heavy-duty hanging hardware. Whiteboards are a perfect example of this.

We can all agree that we want our installed whiteboards to STAY, right where we installed them, until we decide to take them down. Even the best whiteboard brands, such as Quartet, still often include what may be inadequate hardware for securing the whiteboards to your walls.

The photo shows two types of hanging hardware. On the right is the hammer-in wall insert type hardware that often comes with new whiteboards. The problem with this type of hardware is that, over time, all the pushing and rubbing on the whiteboard can loosen this hardware in the wall, creating a situation where the whiteboard can come partially or completely off the wall. Not good!

The hardware on the left, which is the E-Z Ancor Twist-N-Lock brand drywall anchor, grips the wall much more securely, and goes a lot farther toward preventing the whiteboard from ever coming loose or falling. We always replace the hammer-in hardware with at least this screw-in kind whenever it’s not provided with the whiteboard, for all the whiteboards we install. Here’s an example from a whiteboard installation we handled for Cvent in Tower Place in Buckhead.

The Hardware That Attaches To the Backs Of Your Pictures

You want the pictures, mirrors, shadowboxes and so forth hanging in your homes and offices to be properly installed on your walls. And for most people “properly installed” means three things:

1. They LOOK good the way they’re hung

2. They’re SAFELY hung, and

3. They STAY PUT where they’re hung

In this post and the next, we’re going to focus on hanging hardware–the hardware which remains attached to the backs of the pictures, and the hardware which remains attached to the walls, when the installation is complete. Today we’re going to talk about the hardware on the backs of your pictures. FYI, I’ll say “pictures” each time, but it applies to all kinds of wall-hung objects, including mirrors, shadowboxes, shelving, & miscellaneous decor.

Looking good usually just means the hardware isn’t visible when the installation is complete. But installing your pictures safely, and making sure they stay put, is worth going into a little bit more detail. There are lots of different kinds of hanging hardware which attaches to the backs of pictures. Some can be used interchangeably, but usually there’s a “best choice.”

Depending on the construction of the picture and the construction of the wall, one type of hardware is usually a better choice than another. Several (but by no means all) different kinds of hanging hardware are shown in the photo. So which is best for YOUR pictures?

Well, as I said, it depends. A super-heavy mirror will usually be best hung with a cleat, like the one shown in the bottom of the photo (it comes as a mating pair). This type of cleat–called a Z-bar–allows screws into the back of the frame every 4 inches, giving it LOTS of grip to the frame. On the opposite end of the weight spectrum, a small framed diploma can usually use simple, small one-hole D-rings and thin wires. Some shadowboxes have very deep but narrow frames, so long screws with 4-hole flangers, plus heavier wires, often work best.

You may have older pieces which have been hung on old wires many times. Those old wires may have frayed or badly rusted, and need replacing. Other times, people may have used multi-hole D-rings and wires, but because of the physics involved, the D-rings were badly warped and dangerous to continue using.

It’s not possible in a short blog post to cover all of the circumstances, and all of the best choices for hardware to be used on the backs of pictures, but it’s absolutely worth making sure that the hardware you do use is in good shape, and will achieve the goals of making sure your installed pictures look good, hang safely, and stay put.

You can see examples of our installation work here. (Click anywhere on this line)

Next time: Choosing The Best Picture Hanging Hardware – Part 2: The hardware that attaches to your walls.

From time to time, you may need to clean the glass covering your pictures. Here’s a couple of tips for doing it right.

First, make sure it’s glass, and not acrylic. Acrylic looks and sounds a lot like glass. But glass cleaner can emulsify (dissolve) the surface of acrylic, so you should use plastic cleaner for acrylic, which you can get at most home improvement stores.

How to tell the difference: get a pin (any kind) and try to push it into the glass, at the very inside corner of the frame. If it goes in at all, or “sticks”, it’s plastic. If it doesn’t, and just slides around, it’s glass.

Next, if the picture is hanging on the wall, don’t spray the cleaner onto the glass—it can run down, then soak up under the the glass and ruin your artwork or mats. Instead, spray the cleaner onto your cloth or paper towel, and then clean the glass.

But if it’s acrylic, never use paper towels—they’ll make tiny scratches in the acrylic, and over time make the appearance look blurry. Use pure cotton rag if at all possible.

Finally, hold on to the picture with one hand while you’re wiping with the other. It’ll prevent the picture from moving around and making rub marks on the wall, and you’ll prevent the picture from trying to fall off your wall (not a problem if you have Pictures Plus Incorporated handle your professional picture installation!).

I remember reading a saying once: “Begin as you mean to end.”  As it happened, it was in a novel about Roman centurions.  Which just goes to show you, it doesn’t have to be your idea to be a good idea, and you never know where those good ideas will come from.

It’s my intention that this blog should always be both informative and useful.  So I’m going to start right off, giving you some information you can start using right now, today.  Which is this:

If you value your artwork, never let the sun touch it.

That’s it.  Hang your artwork where the sun’s rays can’t touch it, at any point in the day.  And protect it with conservation glass when appropriate, also known as UV (ultraviolet radiation) screening glass, or simply UV glass.

Even indirect light—that is, light reflecting off of every surface, including the colors you see and the wavelengths of light you can’t see—can cause progressive, irreparable damage to your artwork.  So if it’s especially valuable, unique, delicate (think “watercolors”) or irreplaceable, you should definitely consider protecting your artwork with UV screening glass.

And keep it out of the sun.  Really.