How to Hang Things on Your Walls & Make Them Stay Put!

I have had a lot of construction related jobs in my life, and I have seen some disasters when a homeowner tried to hang a heavy object on the wall or ceiling with out any idea how to go about hanging them. How much weight will it really carry? I once hung shelving in a restaurant and was told it would hold bread and eggs. Upon returning it was loaded full of plates and mugs and I do mean full! There was no way that shelf would have stayed on that wall, I have no idea why it was still there when I saw it.

There is no way to hang a piano from the ceiling with out building the ceiling to support it, if you hang it, it will come down!

That being said, shelving can be hung on a wall to hold even under the weight of books if done properly, you have to attach to wall studs and not the sheetrock of the wall.

Know how much weight you are going to have, at the very least estimate it. Then plan accordingly.

Sheetrock will support some weight, like pictures and even light knick knacks. To do so it needs anchors that lock in place behind the wall called wing anchors. They can be installed even without a drill, drilling the hole with a screwdriver works in sheetrock if you are in a pinch. The hole needs to be large enough for the anchor to pass through in the closed position. Be sure the anchor opens into the wall or it will pull back out.

Anchors come in many styles and shapes, if you intend to hang anything larger than an eight by ten framed photo, don't use the little plastic anchors you screw into they simply will not hold.

For shelving or larger items, screw directly into a wall stud. Stud finders are sold at most hardware stores with a tool section, they are relatively inexpensive, and a very handy tool for a homeowner to have! The studs are usually on 16 inch centers, try to attach to as many as your project will cover and use two or more screws in a stud if you have room for it. Use larger diameter screws for objects with any weight to them.

For long items, use a level on the object you are hanging, set one end, level it and drill and screw the other. Once the shelf is level you can add screws into other studs without worrying about the level again.

One screw or nail will hold larger framed paintings as long as the fastener hits a stud unless the painting is huge then level across two or more studs and support it from several behind the painting.

Cinder block is another challenge; use concrete screws and pre drill the holes, hitting the web in the center or on the end not in a hollow part of the block. Try not to hang from the

grout between the block as it isn't very stable either. Run the screws in until they seat, don't over tighten them!

Once attached correctly it will take more than just the weight of the items it was built to hold to bring it down.