# Bricks vs. pictures

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 23, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727 "2004-10-23T04:15:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727/1 "2004-10-23T04:15:58Z")

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My organization recently moved into a marvelously rehabbed 150+ yr. old building. We also have some very large (3’ x 3’) posters that look great on the exposed brick walls.

The problem is, bricks and posters don’t match. These are very rough bricks, so adhesive picture hangers don’t stick. The landlord won’t allow drilling into the brick, but we can put nails or screws into mortar.

Problem #2, 150-year old mortal is pretty brittle and even a finishing nail busts the mortar like a bully kicking a sand castle.

Any suggestions? The posters are mounted on fome-cor, and weigh only a few ounces each.

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727/2 "2004-10-23T04:22:24Z")

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This would definitly give an interseting look (wheather or not it will look right, I don’t know, it’s just a thought), but what about putting one or two screw eyes or hooks into the ceiling and then hanging them from there with fishline or colored string (the string could match the bricks or a different color to purposly make it stand out).

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727/3 "2004-10-23T04:25:35Z")

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Or what about using a very small drill bit and gently driling into the morter and then just sliding a finishing nail into it? If the morter is really brittle, you probably don’t even want to use a masonry bit, just a normal drill bit and use gentle pressure, don’t rush it.

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**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727/4 "2004-10-23T04:28:21Z")

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I’ve used [Fun-Tak](http://www.dap.com/retail/retail_detail.cfm?catid=28&subcatid=102&prodhdrid=46) before in similar situations with some success.

It works really well on painted walls.

On brick, it’s putty-like consistency lets you kind of smush it into the crevices of the brick surface.

If the brick surface is the sort of crumbly, rub-your-hand-against-it-and-get-a-handful-of-dust surface, it may not work very well.

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**Author:** ![peri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@peri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peri)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricks-vs-pictures/270727/5 "2004-10-23T04:49:21Z")

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You want [Brick Clips](http://www.growinglifestyle.com/us/article/s0/a3103316.html). They’re cheap, strong and no drilling is required. We used them for Christmas stockings. They require only 1/8" of exposed brick edge for full strength. You may be able to get by with less for lightweight posters.