I remember my dad hitting the wall with a hammer wrapped in a towel looking for a place to hang a picture. All the ones I’ve hung myself have been small ones that really only need a penny nail or such to keep them up however I just got a large poster back from the framing place and am worried about hanging it. Do I need to searchfor a special spot?
It depends on the weight of the picture, but for anything heavier than a large book, yes, especially if the picture is framed with glass.
Studs are the wooden supports behind the wall; nail into those and you’ve nailed into the frame of the house. If you just nail into the wall itself, you only have a centimetre or so of wallboard to hold the nail, and it may pivot and let the load fall under a heavy weight.
And try to use 2 nails to split the load and make it easier to keep the picture level horizontally.
If you do search for a stud, note that they are typically spaced at 16 inch intervals.
However, you can go to any hardware store and buy drywall anchors. I use them for most heavy hanging tasks, and you can find them rated up into the 80-lb range for stuff like shelves. These let you put the picture where you want it instead of where the studs happen to be.
Those are the things that, you drill a hole and stick them through, and they spread out behind the wallboard, right?
Thats one type. IMHO, they work the best.
Once you punch it through the hole, you tighten it down to spread out the flanges behinde the drywall. Then unscrew it a bit to hang your picture.
Best bet is to find a stud. Not all that hard to do. As pointed out by another, studs are usually placed on 16 IN intervals, but I have seen prefab houses with 24 inch intervals. Anyway, find an outlet on the wall you are putting the picture. Take the faceplate off and you will see a metal or plastic box inside. That box is attached to a stud. Figure which side the stud is on, and measure 16 inches (Or a multiple of 16) to where you want the picture and you are good to go. Just remember 16 inches is center to center, not between. so really there is only 14 and a half inches between them. (A modern 2x4 is only 1 1/2 x 3 1/2) go figure. so if you measure 16 inches from the edge of the stud you found the outlet hanging off of, you are on the edge of another stud. Adjust 3/4 inches in the right direction and you are on the middle of another stud.
**seenidog **wins the internet today for that wonderful combination of post and sig! 
Any different advice for plaster, as opposed to drywall? I have a hell of a time putting nails into my walls. I’ll get them in only a little way (1/2", maybe?) and then they won’t go further - they have a “sproingy” feel to them and sound funny when pounded - sort of like they’re hitting metal.
Is it an older house? The older houses in my area use ‘laths’ (thin strips of wood) across the studs, then plaster is put over the lats. The laths have enough give in them that it is dificult to get a nail to go through them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lath_and_plaster
I have had good luck with screws on these types of walls, as long as they don’t go between two of the laths.
I think some plaster walls used expanded metal as lath.
Not sure how old, actually, but definitely pre-1950 (the date given in that Wiki article for when drywall took over). It’s been in several older Chicago/Evanston apartments, including the one I’m in now.
The wiki article also mentions “diamond mesh metal lath”. Perhaps thats it. It certainly has a metal ringing sound to it.
Thanks!
And thanks to Sunspace, as well!
To “WhyNot” Thank you for the kind words. As far as plaster, it is a handyman’s nightmare. As pointed out by many others, the plaster is put over lathe, and the moist plaster curls around the lathe so when it dries it stays put. Once dried the plaster is like rock, and very hard to work with. It is also very brittle and it is easy to break. But there is a upside, that lathe is nailed tooo YES! Studs! In the building trade studs are our friends, and no that does not mean sharing lunch boxes with the plumber or electrician. In the event you have to attach something between studs, lathe will hold some weight, but plaster will not. The plastic anchors mentioned by others are only for very light duty. for anything of substance you want a Mollie. fasteners Be sure to hit a lathe though. I suggest you drill though plaster, not hammer. If you miss a few times so what? Fill the hole in with spackling paste. I know, the paint won’t match, but it will be behind the picture you are hanging. And it is probably about time you repainted the room anyway.
I’ve used hangers such as these to mount my 18x24 glass-framed posters. I didn’t secure them to a stud and haven’t seen one fail.
You don’t have to hit the wall with a hammer to locate studs. Hold a flashlight parallel along the wall surface. The low angle of incidence will bring out the low relief of the studs that tend to push the surface outward maybe a millimeter or so.
I just tried that, it works for drywall anyway. Thanks for the hint.
There are drywall hangers such as these that can support up to 100 lbs. If it’s just a picture I wouldn’t worry about finding a stud.
I would agree that you don’t need to worry about finding a stud for most pictures. I have a framed photograph in a wooden frame and under glass that is about 5’ x 4’ hung on two screw-type anchors. I don’t think it weighs more than 35 pounds max.
I’m not too fond of the ones linked above for anything bigger than 25 pounds, regardless of what the rating on the package says. The hardware can certainly handle it but your drywall might not. But they’re fine for just about any framed art, which pulls straight down.
I have had excellent luck with the screw-in anchors, which are like large plastic screws. You screw them into the wall, and you screw your mounting screw right into the center of it. They are shown in the site linked below as “Threaded Drywall Anchors.”
The type that has the expansion wings mentioned early on above are toggle bolts. Those will take the most weight, but require drilling a hole. There are also molly anchors, which also take a lot of weight, also require a hole.
Here’s a pretty good site on this subject.
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/inffastener/infanchor/infanchor.shtm
How big and how heavy is the picture?
Picture hangers are made that will support 50# or more each in sheet rock.
The nails drive in at an angle that anchors the other part to the wall for strength.
Looking for studs, is an exercise you do not neet to worry about unless you have a humongous mirror or picture.
That is so awesome! I just tried it out. I’m doing a bunch of remodeling/fixing up etc. and I wish I had know that trick when putting up the mouldings, chair protecttion rails, etc.
sadly, it also shows every paint imperfection too! I thought I was doing such a good job of painting, and I’m wondering what all the contaminates in my paint were!
Thanks for the tip.
E3