Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hanging

I want ready-made hardware that makes my picture look like it's floating off the wall

Opal — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:32:13 -0800

I want to hang this picture on the wall, but in a way that makes it look like it's an inch away from the wall. I know how to make that happen with a piece of wood wood and a sawtooth hanger, but are there any ready-made hardware or system that will achieve that? The picture is not framed, it's actually printed on a sheet of metal - think one of those old fashioned tin signs. I want it on the wall, but in a way that, when you're in front of it, it looks like it's floating off the wall, detached from it by about an inch.

Here's how I've done this before: I take a wood block, cut smaller than the object I want to hang, and attach it (usually with glue) to the back of it. Then I take a simple sawtooth hanger and nail/screw it to the wood and voila. So I'm actually hanging the wood block on the wall, and the picture is attached to the wood block. The final distance from my picture to the wall is the thickness of the wood block. This is how it looks.

Tell me someone came up with a picture hanging system that does exactly that and I can buy at Ace Hardware and not have to deal with cutting and painting and gluing wood blocks?

As for some of the existing solutions out there, this won't work because I need to sell each object individually and ready to hang; and this won't work because, even if I didn't mind the edges showing in front, they're too flat and the picture doesn't hang far enough from the wall.

So, what's ready-made and cheap and will solve my problem?

Hanging things from cement ceilings?

goodbyebluemonday — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:10:33 -0800

How can I hang something from the ceiling of my apartment if the ceiling is cement? I want to hang some paper lanterns in my apartment, but I live on the top floor so the ceiling isn't plaster--it's cement. I don't want to drill a hole with a drill because a.) my landlord would frown upon this and b.) can you even drill a pilot hole in cement?

I've tried command strip hooks and they've all fallen off within 12 or so hours of hanging. Maybe this is futile. Any ideas?

Help me hang my posters please

serazin — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:37:02 -0800

I have a large and beloved collection of People's History posters. Last year I had them mounted on thin foamcore (thinness illustrated here), thinking that would lengthen their lives, but I cannot keep them on my walls. So far I've tried two systems: 1) I put small nails above and below the posters, holding them in place between the nails. When the weather changed, almost all the posters shrunk or warped a bit, and dramatically fell from the walls. Next, I tried 2) these circles that spike into the foam (like these), and they still inexplicably just fall off the wall, leaving the spikes attached to the wall.

So, what's the best, affordable way to attach these fairly lightweight posters, without excessively scarring my rented walls?

Thanks!

Should I ask her out now?

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:31:14 -0800

I'm moving nine hours away and she'll be closer....eventually, should I ask her out beforehand? I met this girl through an online dating site. She was listed as looking for friends but I thought I'd try my luck and over the course of a few months we've been on three "hang outs" and it's been great.

I'm moving nine hours (car ride) away next week for a job and graduate school and she will be coming up in the summer (she is from there). Also a few months after she comes back up she will be going to Europe for 6 weeks for a study abroad program. After all is said and done she will be back home (where I will be).

My question is: should I ask her on a "date" next week with the express intention of telling her that I like her a lot or should I wait until summer, or should I wait until after the whole Europe stint?

I know (from reading a lot of askmeta) that long distance relationships don't work, but this one is confusing in its complications.

Another alternative I was considering was to just -over the phone- tell her how I feel about her.

Help.

Hang 'em high, or hang 'em low

Mountain Goatse — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:09:55 -0800

I'm hanging a large, 3'X5' framed mirror in my dining room. I'm going to hang it horizontally, and the room has an 8' ceiling. How high up on the wall should the mirror hang?

Picture collection - how to make it straight?

widdershins — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:22:40 -0800

What's the best way to hang a collection of small-to-large picture frames so that 1) they're all straight - and 2) stay that way? About a year ago, I made a 'family photo wall' with lots of pictures in varying sizes - about 25-30 pictures varying from 4x6 to 12x20. The pictures together form a rectangle on the wall, with the top of the top tier, the outside sides and bottom of bottom tier of frames lining up. I'm now hanging something else on this particular wall and want to move the collection to another wall. I've run into 2 problems:

1) It was really hard to get all the pictures to line up straight as needed. Because the frames are not uniform, there's a considerable difference in the distance between the hook and the top of the frame. I worked really hard at it the first time and it still didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted, so I'm looking for advice on how to do it better the next time. (Note: buying more uniform frames is not an option - I like the frames themselves very much.) Is there an easy tip I don't know about that doesn't involve measuring hook-to-top of frame distance to the millimeter for every single picture?

2) We have small kids and there is much potential for the pictures to get moved around and hang crooked. To eliminate this, I put doublesided stickytape on the bottom corner of most of the pictures - but that's causing the paint and plaster to come off the wall as I'm removing the pics. What's the best way to fix the pics in place when I redo the picture wall - with minimum damage to the wall?

Thank you very much for your help!

Hanging a frame with two hooks?

mattsweaters — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:44:10 -0800

Hanging a frame with two hooks? I have a frame with a hook on its right and left side. No matter what I do I can't seem to hang it straight. There must be a trick to figuring out where to put the second hook so its aligned.

I'm awful at this stuff so thank you!

Death penalty for small theft

KRS — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:11:01 -0800

"Must the maid hang?" -- death penalty quote Hanging used to be the penalty for any theft, even if a mother stole a loaf of bread to feed her children (see Les Miserables).

Then someone (perhaps John Dryden) seriously asked "Must the maid hang for stealing a loaf of bread?" Merely asking the question (at the right moment) made it self-evident that this was unjust.

Does anyone have the source of this probably mangled quote?

Movies where someone hangs onto the hood of a driving car?

asavage — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:21:35 -0800

MythbustersMovieStuntFilter: Movies where someone is hanging onto the hood (or roof) of a car, while the driver tries to shake them off. We've got Terminator, DeathProof, and Better off Dead, any others are greatly appreciated. (Guess which one of us gets to do this?)
Extra points for where I might look for that scene in the film.

How to build a gallows?

tastypiesinc — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:13:45 -0800

Does anyone know where I can find plans for building a gallows? I want to build a miniature gallows for hanging plush pandas on stage with my band.

How do I use picture rails?

Violet Hour — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:39:05 -0800

Please explain to me step by step how exactly to hang art using picture rails. I'm not allowed *any* holes in the walls of my apartment. I didn't think this would be a problem since I have picture rails throughout. However, I can't seem to keep anything hung, and I'm stumped as to what I'm doing wrong. All directions I have managed to find so far are simply "Hang molding hook from picture rail. Use wire or decorative cord to hang the picture from the hook." Why then, are my pictures and mirrors crashing to the floor?

I'm using brass molding hooks like these recommended by the landlord, who owns the building. I can't just use nails and patch them when I move because if the landlord were to come in the apartment he would have a fit.

Can anyone give me detailed, step-by-step instructions or point me to a website that does? All I've been able to find on google are instructions on how to install the railing (which I don't need: it's already there) and places trying to sell me the hooks themselves.

Any other suggestions on how I can hang art without making any holes are welcome. I already tried 3M sticky hooks, which also resulted in mirrors crashing to the floor.

Looking for a simple art-hanging solution

razorfrog — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:05:30 -0800

Looking for an art hanging system using wire and clamps/clips for unframed work - any ideas? I'm looking for the hardware to hang a few pieces of unframed, mounted art on a wall using wire and clamps of sorts. The clamps will have to look good and be able to grip the art without damaging the surface. So, basically something like a nice looking binder clip that grips using rubber instead of plastic.

Does anyone own anything like this? Or have any idea where I can find some online?

Thanks!

Help me hang particle board?

amanda — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:14:58 -0800

I have a piece of local, home-grown artwork done on a length of scrap shelving -- particle board with a laminate. I'm unsure how to hang it without damaging it. There are two eye hooks screwed into the edge on the top. The piece is about 20x14 and is somewhat heavy since it is on 5/8 particle board. I'm worried that if I hang it from those eye hooks eventually they might pull out taking chunks with them. What's the best way to hang this without damaging it and how can I ensure it will be strong enough to hold it securely?

P.S. I totally did not notice what this was painted on until after we purchased it -- I assumed it was canvas. Anyway, it's not as junky looking as it sounds, just odd. I actually kind of love that this guy just grabs random crap and paints on it and it looks so good.

How Do I Hang These Fuckin' Things?

interrobang — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:40:37 -0800

In about 48 hours, I need to hang the originals of these and these (polyoramas) at a local place. What is the best way to do this? Each drawing is about 2" x 4", and between the two sets, there are about 30 of them.

I had thought it might be interesting to mount them on black foamcore—with no borders—butt them up against each other, and just go in there and move them around every couple of days. I'd tack them to the wall with poster-stick or something. Without glass, that's not so nice looking, though.

Frames present a problem, too: the border separates each image to the point where it may not be clear that the drawings are rearrangeable. I can put a couple together in several different frames, and make some sort of diagram explaining it, but that seems unsatisfying.

What is a good and classy way to hang these things, making it clear that they're modular, moveable, and individually for sale? I am open to spending money, as long as I can get the materials and put everything together fairly quickly (i.e., in 48 hours). Thanks!

Installing a Pre-hung door.

iamabot — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 10:46:41 -0800

Installing a pre hung door. Or rather filling the hole you put in your new house when you decided to replace the door. This weekend while we were painting the house before we moved in I noticed that one of the back doors to the house was actually an interior door. Having my father with me eager for a project and doing a *bit* of research it seemed like a fairly easy proposition to purchase a pre hung door and install it ourselves. It is not.

The demo went fine, installed the new footer and entry way that was rotten, insured it was flat and level for the prehung door. I went with a steel door with 8 panels of double paned glass to match some other doors in the house.

So we get to the actual installig of the door, did a test fit of the door in the structure, pull it out, remove the unnecessary packaging and insure there is .5 inch of clearance all around the frame, and shim it in (doing the leveling dance and following the manufacturers instructions for the shim points. Here is where we hit problems.

Is there any special trick to get these suckers in? We had adequate clearance all around to isolate the door from the structure, but it keeps twisting, and we can't seem to get the door to open cleanly after it's been shimmed in.

I'm a bit stuck here, after 5 hours of wrestling with it yesterday with my dad and the fiancee's dad I'm about ready to call a carpenter and beg for assistance. I'm sure we're just doing something totally boneheaded and missing a critical step in the process, but nothing stands out.

Need help with PCI to IDE controller card

flyby22 — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 08:19:20 -0800

Having problem with S.M.A.R.T data collection apps with IDE drives on a PCI to IDE card. I have one of these PCI to IDE controller cards either from Sabrent or Syba. Both of these companies seem to sell almost identical cards based on Silicon Image chip.

http://www.sabrent.com/products/specs/SBT-RDIT.htm

This supports RAID. But I have not set it up to use RAID. I have an Abit AN7 mobo with an AMD Sempron CPU. This card is supposed to allow attaching up to 4 IDE drives.

On the primary channel I have two drives hooked up in Cable Select mode and using removable drive cages. On the secondary channel I have only one drive in Cable Select mode and using a similar removable cage.

Whenever I try to use one of those Hard disk monitoring apps that collect S.M.A.R.T data I get a hang when the apps gets to these drives and in the event viewer I see a timeout event. I dont have the exact message here with me. Then after a while I need to basically reboot the machine because everything starts to hang soon after this.

I have narrowed the problem down to connecting two drives to the primary channel. I did not try adding two drives to the secondary channel since I need to open the case and juggle things to do that. But as soon as I remove any one of the drives on the primary channel the SMART apps work fine. Do not know if the removable drive cages have anything do with it, or whether the card is bad, or I need to enable some settings somewhere.

I dont think the drives are the problem because I have tried a few different disk drives that I have lying around.

I was wonderinf if somebody has any idea about what may be the problem.

Wiring Heavy Paintings

wetpaint — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 22:19:25 -0800

How do I wire heavy paintings for hanging with thick, braided wire? I have about forty heavy paintings to wire, and am encountering a problem with twisting the heavy braided wire that was recommended by the all-knowing frame shop guy. I've attached the hooks to the backs of the canvases, then I thread the wire through and twist it back onto itself to secure it. But as this wire is so thick, it doesn't seem to grip itself and loosens when the paintings are hung on the wall and the weight pulls on the wire. It's like the twist unravels. Man, this is hard to explain.

So the real question is: how do I knot or twist braided wire so that it stays secure? Any fellow painters/framers out there who know about this?

Hanging a Tapestry

XQUZYPHYR — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 08:27:46 -0800

I have an 8-foor-square tapestry. Unfortunately, it has no loops or hooks so I have no idea how to hang it from the wall. Any suggestions? (more inside) My sister bought me this giant hand-dyed tapestry from the Renaissance Faire. There's no loops or foldovers for a hanging rod- it's just a big-ass piece of cloth. I don't want to put nails directly into it or sew it to anything. My ghetto-cheap idea right now it to clip it with binder clips, then hang the clips holding the tapestry from the wall with nails.

I'm willing to make the 1.5-mile walk to my nearest Target, but only if I know there's something I can buy that might not look as drom-room-cheap as my idea. I think what I need, essentially, is the home-decor equivalent of a giant clip to hold the tapestry and then hang from a nail. Does anything like this exist?

Hanging Pots from Ductwork

MrMoonPie — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 12:41:23 -0800

We want to hang our pots and pans from the HVAC ductwork on our kitchen. We're thinking strong magnetic hooks. [mi] The hooks sold at the local Home Despot look too flimsy. There was a MetaFilter thread on strong magnets, but there are no hooks on the magnets site; since our pots are mostly aluminum, magnets alone won't work. These look pretty good, but I'm wondering if there's a solution I'm overlooking.