How To Hang Pictures Properly? – Hold and carry pictures at the shortest sides, supporting them underneath the bottom of the frame to support the weight. Keep them upright. Do not try to lift a heavy picture by the top of the frame because it is very likely to break. Heavy paintings should be lifted by more than person, and if you are carrying a large picture from one room to another, check the height of door frames beforehand. With unglazed pictures, take care not to touch the painted surface.
When hanging pictures for the first time, check the condition of the wall. lf the plaster is crumbling, soft or flaking, it may not be able to support the weight of the picture (and the combination of painting, frame and glass can be surprisingly heavy).
For heavy pictures, nylon picture cord, which is extremely strong, is preferable to picture wire, which can snap suddenly. Wire is fine for smaller pictures. If using wire, make sure that the ends do not protrude into the back of a canvas.
When attaching the cord/wire, do not make it too tight. It needs to be slack enough to allow the picture to hang slightly away from the wall. This looks better, allows air to circulate (poor ventilation can cause mould to develop) and gives a sloping surface to allow dust to fall off.
Older houses often have a picture rail running about three-quarters of the way up the wall. Before hanging a picture from a rail, make sure it is sound. Pictures are hung from the rail using a picture-rail hook (normally brass) and wire or a chain, which is designed to be seen. Decorative hooks and wires are available, which look very attractive.
ln the absence of a picture rail, pictures will be hung directly on the wall. Traditional brass picture hooks can take a surprising amount of weight. They normally come in single or double sizes, complete with strong metal pins. Check how much weight they can support (on the packet) and do not exceed the stated weight. lf in doubt, weigh the picture first on the bathroom scales.
Note: You cannot support a very heavy picture by using more than one picture hook. Simple physics dictates that two picture hooks do not support double the weight. Each supports the same weight and is therefore under equal strain.
For really heavy pictures, a hook will not suffice. Instead, drill two holes into the wall and fix screws. Put a washer on each screw to prevent the picture cord from slipping off. Two screws are safer than one.
The nails that come with traditional brass picture hooks can often not be knocked into solid concrete walls. ln this case, look for plastic solid wall hooks, which contain three integral pins. A common mistake is to hang pictures too high on a wall. A third of the way down is about right, whatever the height of the wall.
