Large paintings need to be securely hung to avoid disaster.
Care must be taken when hanging very heavy works of art on the wall, unless you are fond of crashing sounds in the middle of the night. Heavy art needs to be well supported so that it can be enjoyed with peace of mind. If you are not confident about your ability to hang it safely and properly, there are design and art mounting professionals who specialize in proper display and installation of all kinds of art.
Instructions
Stud Hanging
1. Pass the stud finder back and forth over the wall until it indicates the location of a stud. Mark the center of the stud.
2. Drill a pilot hole into the stud that is the same diameter as the shaft of the screw or hook that you are using, without the threads. This allows the threads to bite into the wood. If you are using a nail, no pilot hole is necessary. Drill the hole at the height where the wire will hang, not where the top of the frame will be.
3. Test the wire on the back of the work of art for strength. If either the wire or the hardware attaching the wire to the artwork appear to have any weaknesses, replace them.
4. Lift the picture into place and drape the wire over the nail, screw or hook. Lower the picture slowly so that it doesn't jerk the hardware that is supporting it.
5. Install two screws into adjacent studs if the picture you are hanging is particularly wide or heavy. Drape the wire over both of the screws. This will help to distribute the weight.
Drywall Hanging
6. Install two toggle bolts through the drywall. Make the space between them roughly one-third the width of the art you are hanging. If the art is 30 inches wide, put one bolt in 5 inches to the left of center and one in 5 inches to the right of center. This leaves 10 inches between the left side of the art and the left bolt, 10 inches between the two bolts and 10 inches between the right bolt and the right side of the art.
7. Turn the toggle bolt in order to spread the toggles tight against the back side of the drywall. Make them firm and solid, but don't overturn them and damage the drywall.
8. Hang the art on the toggle bolts in the same manner as described above for hanging art on the screws.
Tags: inches between, bolt inches, drywall Make, pilot hole, screw hook, toggle bolts