Delivery Service

Custom Framing

Hanging your frames

Have you ever been out one day and stumbled over that perfect piece of art for your home? Without much thought as to where you are going to put it or how you are going to hang it you collect your prize possession and head home.

You decide where you want to hang it and head straight for a hammer and a few nails.

STOP…before you are left with unsightly holes in your wall or chunks of plaster and possibly your artwork on the floor. Here is some advice.

One of the first steps to successfully hanging your frame is to choose the right hangers or hooks for the job. In order to do this you need to consider the wall surface and size / weight of the frame

The most common wall surfaces you will find are Plaster & Dry walls.

Plaster walls.

In most cases you will find that attempting to drive a nail into plaster will be a futile exercise. Your best bet in most cases would be to drill a hole using a masonry drill bit and inserting a wall anchor. Anchors are sleeves that are inserted into the drilled hole and expand into the wall when a screw is driven in providing additional grip in the wall.

To install – Drill a hole just large enough for the anchor that you have chosen. If necessary tap the anchor sleeve with a hammer until it is flush with the wall. Then drive the supplied screw into the sleeve leaving about 5mm protruding in which to hang the picture.

If you are hanging smaller frames, no bigger than A2 you will be a able to use a tool distributed by Hilti for inserting hanging nails (Available from most hardware stores). These are supplied with a useful insertion handle that prevents hammer rash and supports the nail which prevents it from bending. If you find that after a few taps with the hammer the nail is not going in smoothly you will need to employ the method discussed above.

Dry walls.

With dry walls the easiest and safest way to hang a picture is to locate the vertical support beams and drive a screw straight into it. If you leave a small amount of the screw protruding you will be able to safely hang your picture from it.

In most cases though you will find that the upright beams are not possible to accurately find or are not in the ideal place for hanging your frame.

If this is the case you will need to purchase dry wall anchors, similar in function to masonry wall anchors but provide more grip for dry wall surfaces. The anchor is screwed directly into the dry wall. A screw is then screwed into the anchor. The screw should be left protruding. If you are hanging large or heavy items it is essential to use more than one anchor per frame. If in doubt contact your nearest picture framer for advice. 

Mounting points on the frame

In most cases picture frames are hung using fixing hardware that attaches to either side of the frame and is joined with a piece of wire or nylon cord, the picture is then hung from a single mounting point in the middle of the frame. In most cases this will be sufficient.

If you are hanging the frames in a heavy traffic area, rather request that your picture framer supply your frames with two mounting points. This will ensure that they will not be bumped off the wall by passing traffic and will remain level.

Tip: If you have purchased, old frames, always ensure that the mounting hardware is in good condition as they can degrade over time.

Where to Mount Pictures.

The best way to go about hanging a group of pictures!
A good way to think about a group of pictures is to treat them as one large picture made up of movable interior elements. You first determine the overall size of the imaginary rectangle on your wall that you want to fill and then experiment moving around the individual pictures within that rectangle until you arrive at an arrangement that is pleasing. You can do this by laying all the pictures out on the floor and trying out various combinations before putting that first hook in the wall.

Another trick is to duplicate the shapes and sizes of the pictures to be hung using kraft or construction paper and move these paper templates around on the wall before you start hanging the real thing. Make sure to allow enough space between pictures. The number-one mistake we see in picture groupings is a lack of "breathing room" between pictures.
Sourced from http://www.govart.com/faq.html#6

How high should you hang my pictures?
Most people hang pictures too high. The often-repeated rule of thumb is that the horizontal centerline of a picture should be at eye level. This is not particularly helpful advice since people vary in height, but an average-size person should be able to look comfortably at a picture without having to either bend down or look up. Pictures hung in the home often must be placed over furniture and therefore need to be hung higher than eye level, but you should try to get most of your pictures down to where people can see and enjoy them.
Sourced From http://www.govart.com/faq.html#6

Box Frames what to do, what not to do and a few ideas on what can be box framed?

There are numerous items around the home or office that should be properly displayed but we are afraid that they may be damaged by passing traffic, children’s wandering hands or possibly even inquisitive pets and end up being hidden away out of site.

Almost anything that is not thicker than around 15cm can be box framed Such as: Shirts, golf ball collections, spoon collections, medals, collectable toys, miniature cars, cricket bats, statues and ornaments, travel memorabilia, children’s clothes, christening shoes and bibs, shell collections and even stamp or coin collections!

What is box framing?
Traditional picture framing only allows you to frame a flat object. Box framing allows you to frame and preserve three-dimensional objects 

A box is manufactured from either wood or plastic to a suitable size for the item that is to be framed. The box is then lined with fabric, mounts boards, mirrors or even painted to achieve the desired finish.

The required frame and glass are then cut to size.

Depending on the shape, material and value of the item to be framed the following methods may be used to mount the object.

Non-valuable items are generally fixed to the back of the box using screws. This provides a secure mounting point and if done correctly the mounting points cannot be seen.

Collectables in most cases hold sentimental value and clients would prefer the object to remain in its original condition. This makes it impractical to uses screws and generally acid free glues will be used on smaller items and clear nylon cord on larger items. By drilling small holes in the back of the box and tying the object in place it can be left un-damaged.

Valuable items such as signed shirts; cricket bats etc should always be taken to a professional picture framer. Any framing procedures on this sort of item should always be totally reversible. Methods should be used are nylon cord as mentioned above, stitching, supporting brackets and acid free glues.

After the object has been mounted, the box is cleaned and closed up with the glass and frame.