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Chris A. Paschke, CPF GCF
"Hardware: Wall Hangers & Cleats"
April
2013
Selecting the correct wall hanger for any framed art or mirror is just
as important as the wire and frame hardware. When choosing wire it was stated
in the February column "Which Wire" that the break strength of
the wire should be three times (3x) that of the weight of the framed painting. When selecting wall hangers that is even higher with the support weight
needing being four times (4x) that of the art. So a 10 lb hanger will
only actually support a 2-1/2 lb painting. Two 10 lb hangers increase the
weight tolerance to 5 lbs. In turn it takes two 50 lb hangers, equaling 100 lbs
total weight tolerance, for a 25 lb painting.
Picture wire should always be hung onto two horizontal wall hanger set approximately
at 1/3 and 2/3 intervals across the width of the frame, box or canvas. This is
true even for a small 1# piece frame as two hangers balances the frame to
better maintain the alignment and prevent shifting from closing doors, and holds
the frame flatter to the wall with less forward tilt. Two hangers—properly set
apart—also helps maintain the correct 60 degree angle of the wire for lest
stress on the side legs of the frame.
Standard Hook Style
There are numerous sizes and shapes of standard
frame hangers with front hooks that vary from 30 degrees to nearly 60 degrees.
A soft "S" curve hook helps when hanging but might not be as secure
as a steeper hook (photo 1). The style of a
wall hanger is also very important and plays a significant part in the hanging
of framed art. Standard zinc and brass courtesy
or goodwill hangers are strong and economical, but lack the precision of a high
quality professional hanger. The nails are thicker and a longer nail slot in
the hanger allows the nail to move not maintaining a common angle during
installation.
For maximum strength the nail should be held to 30 degree penetration into the wall as found with the twisted design of Moore picture hangers or Ziabicki Floreat. The Moore twist holds the nail at the constant angle and the nail is longer and thicker than Ziabicki but are not tempered steel.
photo 1
Standard wall hangers
made of zinc and brass.
Note the variance in hook angles.
Twisted Moore Hanger with set nail angle (far left).
Standard hangers may be easily pulled from the
wall when a painting is moved which can damage and enlarge the hold in the wall
and/or allow the hook to fall out altogether. This makes the entire hanger weak
and less secure. Also the flatter the angle of penetration into
the wall the weaker the hold regardless of the hanger poundage tolerance (photo 2). Notice the extreme variance in the nail slant of all these standard
hooks. The elongated nail slots allow inconsistency when installing these type of hooks. There is a huge nail angle variation so
installation could be far less secure if installed at a flatter nail angle, in
fact if too flat the hook could pull from the wall.
photo 2
Note
the flexibility of the insertion angle of the set nail.
Even
the floreat replica far left is not at 30 degrees.
Floreat Style
Ziabicki Deluxe Floreat Hangers are the original German made picture hooks which remain the preferred brand of hangers among
professionals in the custom framing industry (photo 3). They have thin tempered steel nails and solid brass
knurled heads designed to be thin, strong and have nail guides that control
entry of the nail into the wall at an optimum 30 degree angle, and there is a
small Z trademark stamped on all authentic Ziabicki products. They are made in
assorted sizes to hold 10, 20, 30, 50, and 75 pounds and are available online
or through assorted framing suppliers.
For heavy or oversize art two strap hangers
mounted vertically to the frame and two Floreat hangers of proper strength
should suffice for drywall installations. For cement or brick walls the nail
holes will require predrilling prior to installation. Floreat hangers do not
work well for heavy art on plaster walls as the wall can crumble over
time.
photo 3
Ziabicki Floreat hangers
are all stamped with their trademark.
photo 4
Floreat-style hangers:
unknown copy (top);
Moore version of Ziabicki Le Crochet;
OOK 50# and 30#;
private label versions (bottom).
The basic Ziabicki
design has been emulated by many including Moore, OOK, and numerous private
labels (photo 4).
The most commonly seen floreat replica is OOK Professional Picture
Hanger which claims to distribute the weight of the picture evenly to support heavy
paintings while not damaging walls. Their nail inserts into
wall at a similar angle as the Floreat, are secure, reusable, and work
well for plaster or sheetrock. They are less expensive and widely available at
home improvement, hardware, craft and grocery stores.
photo 5
Ziabicki
Security Hangers
have a spring clip to ensure
art does not slip from hanger.
Floreat Security
Hangers
Ziabicki also offers a light security hanger that comes with a slip
clamp that will prevent hung art from being easily removed once hung (photo 5). They are perfect for
securing art in earthquakes to prevent it from involuntarily crashing to the
floor, but may not deter the entire hanger from being ripped from the wall in
case of attempted theft. Available in 30 lb and 75 lb sizes these should also
be installed two per frame for stability weight distribution and balance.
French Cleat Hangers
Standard and floreat hangers are not the only
hardware available for wall installation, though they are most common. Referred
to as French Cleat Hangers--heavy duty panel hangers, Z Clips, panel clips, wall cleat, hanging cleat, or cleats—these strips are frequently selected to
install any large object that needs support across its full length. They provide
a simple and secure method for hanging panels, cradled boxes, and other large
art on flat wall surfaces and may be made of wood or purchased commercially in
metal pairs. One length of the cleat is
installed on the wall and another length is flipped upside down and fastened to
the art panel or canvas. Because the weight of the object is dispersed along
the entire length of the hardware, heavier objects may be mounted efficiently
and securely with cleat hangers rather than D-straps hung at only two weight
points.
Wood Cleats
The traditional French Cleat is
used in carpentry, where interlocking wood wedges are employed to hold an
object—often cabinets--in place (diagram 1). These may be made to fit whatever
panel size. Inspect all wood to be sure there are no cracks, splits or other
damage that could weaken the cleat. Cut one piece so it fits snugly against the
top panel and both sides. The wall-mounted piece should be 1/2" to 1"
narrower to make hanging the panel easier. Rip both pieces at 45-degrees then
sand 1/16 to 1/8" from the sharp point on both pieces.
diagram 1
Wood Cleat
Top bar is mounted inside box
with bevel cut bottom.
Mount piece is narrow enough
to fit inside the box is mounted to the wall.
diagram 2
Commercial
Cleat
Light-duty
metal cleats holes pre-drilled ever 4-6".
Metal Cleats
Commercial interlocking extruded
aluminum cleats (diagram 2) are 1-1/8" wide by 3/64" thick and
come light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty, to provide a simple, strong and
reliable installation for any flat object on a wall (photo 6). The
medium and heavy-duty versions are capable of supporting very heavy items that
no other small hanging method can handle. Light-duty
cleats support up to 30-35 lbs, medium up to 75-80 lbs and heavy duty support
over 80 lbs. Light-duty cleats are available in assorted in lengths with
6" long for pictures up to 20" wide, 12" long for pictures
20" to 30" wide, and 18" long for pictures over 30" wide.
photo 6
Light-duty extruded aluminum.
Bottom attaches to the wall,
top attaches to the frame.
www.hooksandlattice.com
photo 7
Z Bar Hanger
www.123frame.net
Cleats are secure alternatives to wire for heavy or hard to install
wire and are available in a variety of styles from numerous industry sources. To use cleat hangers the bottom cleat strip
is securely attached to the wall with screws while the matching cleat must be
attached to the inside edge of the back side of the frame's top rail. It is very important that cleats be mounted
as level as possible. Only slight leveling adjustments can be made after
installation. The Z
Hanger--also known as a Z Bar or Zbar--is a simple, two bracket assembly that
locks together and can hold up to 400 lbs. One bracket is secured on the wall
while the other bracket is secured on the object to be hung (photo 7). The EZ Bar System is also
extruded aluminum designed to hang art, mirrors, cabinets and heavy objects
weighing 40 pounds to 90 pounds available from AMS. The Hangman Products Z
Hangers support up to 400 pounds as professional French cleats for heavy
mirrors, pictures and home wall décor.
Basic
Installation
- Place the wood frame or panel face down
and attach the hook cleat to the back of the frame's top rail
with #6 x 1/2" Phillips Pan Head screws. It needs to
be set slightly lower than the top edge and centered on the panel.
- Determine placement on the wall using a level to
ensure the frame will hang correctly.
- Use plastic wall anchors--or screws into studs--to secure
the bottom bar cleat to the wall at your marks.
- Attachment of cleats must be installed as level as possible to
both art and wall.
- Connect cleats by placing art flush against the wall and allow to slide down slowly until the cleats connect together.
The Final Step
Though it is up to the framer to determine the hardware system required
to properly display any art, wall hangers should never be overlooked in the
custom framing process. It is great customer service to supply two Goodwill standard wall hangers with
every framed item, but perhaps a little additional education on using both of
them is highly suggested as well as why not to hang on a nail might also be of
benefit. Plus a selection of alternative better or best hangers might also help
prove your expertise.
END
Copyright © 2013 Chris A Paschke
Resources Items
http://ziabicki.com Ziabicki
Floreat Hangers, Floreat Security Hangers
http://123frame.net (Carina Picture Frame) Z
Bar, Z Hangers
http://govart.com (Picture Hanging
Solutions) Aluminum
Cleat Bars
http://artmaterialsservice.com E Z Bar System
http://hangmanstore.com (Hangman Store) Professional French Cleat,
Z Hangers, Mirror & Picture Hangers
For more articles on mounting basics look under
the mounting section in Articles by Subject.
Additional information on all types of mounting
and creative applications in:
The Mounting and Laminating Handbook, Second
Edition, 2002,
The Mounting And
Laminating Handbook, Third Edition, 2008,
Creative Mounting, Wrapping and Laminating, 1999.
Chris Paschke, CPF GCF
Designs Ink
Tehachapi, CA
93561
P 661-821-2188
chris@designsinkart.com
http://www.designsinkart.com/library.htm