Hanging pictures and mirrors
This is a pretty simple task but there’s quite a bit more to it than you might think. It’ll take two minutes to put the screw into the wall, but twenty minutes to mark it out correctly. You’ll never be able to hang your picture millimetre perfect (at least, it would take a better person than me), so don’t fret too much about it. Just take it slowly and make sure you understand each step of the instructions.
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Let's get started
Materials and tools
- pencil
- pliers / cutters
- spirit level
- tape measure
- drill and bits
- picture wire
- screws
- screwdriver
- pipe detector (optional)
The simplest way, but I don't like it much
There are different ways to hang a picture. You could get some of those little plastic or brass hooks which you just nail onto the wall, or perhaps some sticky Velcro strips. These methods will do the job just fine but, to my mind, there’s always something insubstantial about them. I’d always prefer to hang things from screws in the wall.
Preparation
Let’s say you’re going to use screws.
First of all, check to make sure there are no pipes or cables in the area where you want to hang the picture.
Hold up the picture and make a tiny pencil mark on the wall where you want the top of the frame to be.
Heavy frames or large ones need two screws. Smaller or lighter ones only need one screw, so decide how many you’re going to need.
There are different ways to hang frames onto screws. The orange screw on each photo shows how the fixing hooks over the screw. Whichever yours has, make sure the fixing will fit over the head of the screw you’re going to use.
D-ring
Saw-tooth hanger
Mirror plate
Lets get some fixings on the wall
The next part of the job is to work out where to put your fixings. You’ll need to drill some holes lower down the wall than the place where you made your mark.
Look at the back of the frame to see how many fixings it has. A small frame probably only has one, so things are pretty straightforward. If there are two fixings, you have a bit more work to do.
Different methods for different numbers of fixings
Measure how far it is from the top of the frame to the fixing (shown as distance A in the picture). I’ve shown where to measure this for two different types of fixing.
Go back to your mark on the wall and make a new one at a distance A below the original mark. This new mark gives you the height at which you’re going to drill the hole.
Next, you have to decide whereabouts side-to-side you want your picture to hang. I can’t help you here because it’s a matter of taste: do you want the picture half-way along a wall, in line with a light switch, or perhaps lined up with the edge of your sofa? When you’ve decided, make your drilling mark clear on the wall. You may have two or three marks on the wall by this stage, so it’s a good idea to put a little circle around the final one where you’re going to drill.
If the picture is small to medium sized, you’ll only need one screw. Cut a piece of picture wire roughly twice the width of the picture.
Pass the string through each fixing and, leaving a bit of slack, twist it securely round itself. If you need some guidance on how to twist the wire, this blog makes things fairly clear.
Pull the string up firmly in the middle and measure the distance from the top of the frame to the centre of the string. We’ll call this measurement A.
Go back to your mark on the wall and make a new one at a distance A below the original mark. This new mark gives you the height at which you’re going to drill the hole.
Next, you have to decide whereabouts side-to-side you want your picture to hang. I can’t help you here because it’s a matter of taste: do you want the picture half-way along a wall, in line with a light switch, or perhaps lined up with the edge of your sofa? When you’ve decided, make your drilling mark clear on the wall. You may have two or three marks on the wall by this stage, so it’s a good idea to put a little circle around the final one where you’re going to drill.
Pass the string through each fixing and, leaving a bit of slack, twist it securely round itself. If you need some guidance on how to twist the wire, this blog makes things fairly clear.
Pull the string up firmly in 2 places and make marks as shown (purple crosses)
Measure distance between the purple crosses: we’ll call this distance B.
Measure how far down from the top of the frame the purple crosses are – distance A.
Now, you have to decide whereabouts side-to-side you want your picture to hang. I can’t help you here because it’s a matter of taste: do you want the picture half-way along a wall, in line with a light switch, or perhaps lined up with the edge of your sofa? However you decide, you’ll need to make marks for two holes, with a distance B between them. It’s not a bad idea to use a spirit level to make sure the two holes are properly in line with each other. When you’ve made up your mind, make your drilling marks clear on the wall. You may have several marks on the wall by this stage, so it’s a good idea to put a little circle around the final ones where you’re going to drill.
Drilling the holes
Find out what type of wall you have and choose the right drill bit.
Fit the bit into the drill chuck and drill the hole. Fit the plugs into the holes, using a hammer to tap them home.
Pop screws into the holes, leaving just enough sticking out for your fixing to hook over it.
Hang your frame over the screw.
Bish bash bosh. Looks good dunnit.
Possible problems
There’s quite a deep recess at the back of my frame and I can’t get it hooked onto the screw.
Try undoing the screw a bit, so it sticks out of the wall quite a way.
My frame has one of those flappy-type strut things on the back which stops it sitting nicely on the wall.
Whatever you do, DON’T TRY TO WRENCH THE STRUT OFF THE BACK. You could try to remove it by cutting somewhere along the dotted red line in the picture with a pair of snips, a hacksaw or a Stanley knife. If that doesn’t work, remove the back of the picture and turn it over. You will see the rivets which hold the strut on. Get some sort of pointy spike and, bit by bit, score around each rivet. Gradually score deeper and deeper until the strut falls off the backing.
I can’t get my picture onto the screw.
This can be a bit tricky sometimes. It can help if one person holds up the picture close to the wall, and another feels behind the picture to get everything lined up. It might also help to undo the screw a bit so there is more of it protruding from the wall.
My picture won’t stay level.
This often happens where a single fixing has not been attached in the centre of the frame. I find that a spot or two of Blue Tack on the bottom of the frame usually does the trick of keeping things level.
If your frame has two fixings attached to string, you might find that shifting the pictur slightly to the left or right might help.
Takeaways
- Figure out which method you will use to attach the frame.
- Take your time to get your measurements as accurate as possible.
