How to hang a picture frame

Hanging is the step where careful framing gets undone. A well-made frame on an inadequate fixing is a repair job waiting to happen, and a perfectly good frame hung two inches too high looks wrong for as long as it stays there.

The height rule

Centre of the image at 57 to 60 inches from the floor.

This is standard gallery practice and it is consistently lower than untrained instinct. Most people hang pictures at around 65 inches, which puts them above comfortable eye level for a seated viewer and makes rooms feel top-heavy.

To find the nail position from that rule:

1. Measure the frame height. Halve it. Add 58 (or your chosen centre height). This is the height of the top of the frame above the floor.
2. Measure from the top of the frame down to the taut hanging point — pull the wire up until it is tight and measure to that point, or measure to the top of the D-ring.
3. Subtract that second measurement from the first. That is where the fixing goes.

Worked example, a 16x20 frame in a 1-inch moulding (18 inches tall overall) with a wire that pulls up to 3 inches below the top edge:

• Half of 18 is 9; 9 + 58 = 67 inches to the top of the frame
• 67 − 3 = 64 inches to the fixing

Height with furniture

Above a sofa, sideboard or headboard, the relationship to the furniture overrides the general rule.

• 6 to 10 inches of clear wall between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Less crowds it; more breaks the visual connection.
• The artwork should span roughly two thirds to three quarters of the furniture's width. A small frame over a wide sofa looks marooned.
• Over a bed, hang higher than you think and use acrylic glazing. Nothing heavy and nothing breakable above a sleeping person.

Fixings, by what they actually hold

Two habits worth adopting:

Rate for three times the weight. Fixings in drywall do not fail cleanly at their rated load; the board crumbles progressively around them over months. A 20-pound frame wants 60 pounds of rated capacity.

Use two fixings above 16x20. Not only for load. A single fixing allows the frame to rotate, and you will re-level it every time a door slams. Two fixings, spaced about a third of the frame width either side of centre, hold it square permanently.

Wall types

Drywall is the common case. Anchors work well; nails do not. Locate studs with a stud finder — they are usually at 16 or 24 inch centres — and use one where you can.

Plaster over lath cracks under hammering. Drill instead: a small pilot hole with a masonry bit at low speed, then an anchor suited to what is behind the plaster. Putting a strip of tape over the spot before drilling reduces surface chipping.

Brick or concrete needs a masonry bit and a plastic or sleeve anchor. Drill into the mortar joint rather than the brick face where you can — it is easier to drill and far easier to make good later.

Tile needs a diamond or carbide bit, low speed, no hammer action, and tape over the drilling point to stop the bit wandering. Aim for grout lines.

Hardware on the frame

Wire between two D-rings is the standard for most frames. Fit the D-rings about a third of the way down from the top on each side, and leave the wire slack enough that it pulls up to roughly 2 to 4 inches below the top edge when taut. Too tight and the frame tips forward; too loose and the wire shows above the frame.

D-rings hooked directly onto two wall fixings is stronger and more stable, and it is what you should use for heavy pieces. The trade-off is that the frame position is fixed by the fixings, so measuring has to be right first time.

Sawtooth hangers are quick, allow no levelling, and concentrate the whole load on one small point. Acceptable up to about 11x14; replace them above that.

A French cleat — two interlocking bevelled rails, one on the wall and one on the frame — is the correct answer for anything very heavy. The load spreads along the entire rail, the piece cannot be knocked off, and it self-levels if the wall rail is level.

Getting it level and keeping it there

Use a spirit level on the top edge of the frame, not on the wire. Wires stretch and settle.

Then fit felt or rubber bumpers to the bottom two rear corners. They do three things: hold the frame parallel to the wall so it does not tip forward, provide friction that stops it drifting out of level, and allow air behind the frame, which matters in damp rooms.

Bumpers cost almost nothing and are the difference between a frame that stays straight and one you adjust every fortnight.

Multiple frames

For two or more frames, the discipline is spacing.

• Two to three inches between frame edges, identical throughout the arrangement.
• Measure it; do not judge it by eye. Vertical gaps consistently look larger than horizontal ones of the same size, so measuring corrects an illusion.
• For a group, plan on paper first: cut templates the size of each frame, mark the hanging point on each, tape them to the wall and rearrange until it works. Drill through the paper. The gallery wall guide covers layouts in detail.

Staircases

Do not level a staircase arrangement to the floor. Follow the stair angle.

Establish an imaginary line parallel to the stair nosings, then keep a constant perpendicular distance from that line to the centre of each frame. The frames themselves stay level; their centres climb at the same rate as the stairs. Anything else — levelling them in a row, or stepping them irregularly — reads as an error.