Introduction: Can Wall Hooks be Used to Hang Heavy Mirrors?
As all art installers, Interior designers, private house owners etc. would agree, mirrors are an essential piece of furniture that not only help with embellish your indoor spaces, but also may contribute to create an increased sense of space and light.
The most popular option is to use a wall hook. But can these fixtures really be used in any case?
How To Hang a Heavy Mirror: Typical Issues
Perhaps you have a mirror you have always wanted to hang, but a few practical issues are blocking your plans:
- What if I want to hang a heavy mirror (say between 30- 40Kg)? Will a couple of wall hook hold?
- What if my walls are made of stone and too hard to drill a wall hook in?
- Opposite case, your walls may be too brittle and perhaps you don’t feel confident to hang anything on them.
- Finally, you may want to change the arrangement of your furniture periodically. This may be because you get bored easily and need to create a stimulating environment around you, on a systematic basis. But there is a problem. As you move wall furniture around (wardrobes, cupboards, shelves, etc.) anything that is hung to the wall will need to follow. It is hard to imagine this as an easy process, when you must unscrew, repair holes and re-drill new wall-hooks all the time!
- Or perhaps you are renting your property: you may have multiple tenants moving in and out periodically, and you want to ensure that they enjoy their stay. This means a creating a warm, welcoming environment that suits their needs, which in return may potentially require you to re-arrange art, mirrors, etc. on your walls. Once again, relying on classic wall-hooks usually means having to unscrew, repair and re-drill in your walls all the time, with high potential for damages.
How To Best Hang a Heavy Mirror: We Asked to Our Art Installers
All our Art Installers agree: the best way to have your artworks, mirrors, photos, plants etc. displayed on wall is to invest in a modern, high-quality hanging system.
What is a hanging system?
In its simplest configuration, a hanging system is the combination of three components:
- an aluminium profile, commonly referred as “picture rail” or “art track”
- a set of hanging wires
- a set of hooks
- a set of frame fittings (if required): typically, D-Rings, Frame Hangers, Spacers
The hanging wires have one metallic head at one of their ends that engages into the rail and allow them to be sled along its entire length.
How To Best Hang a Heavy Mirror: What to Buy?
Whether you are going to hang your valuables paintings, sculptures, a mirror, a set of plants, your family photo collection, etc. you will be looking for nothing but the best in terms of quality.
Since 1995, Artiteq is a specialist in hanging systems.
Based in Tilburg (NL), Artiteq combines a systematic commitment top quality with its product specialism and has developed a vast range of products in the last years. To ensure and guarantee the quality of their products, Artiteq applies the quality standards of TÜV and certifies all products under these requirements. All Artiteq products come with a 10-years guarantee.
How To Best Hang a Heavy Mirror: Installation Options for The Rail
In terms of installation, the Artiteq Rails offer three possibilities:
- Wall fixing: Click Rail is the solution suits the majorities of the cases. Easy and straightforward, you can install your picture rails on the wall just under your ceiling cornice, or if you don’t have one, just under your ceiling or at any heigh you prefer.
- Ceiling fixing: perfect solution if you have those “difficult walls”. Do you have stone walls? Are your walls friable or inclined to crack, and you don’t really want to disturb them by drilling into them?
Hang it from the top, with Top Rail!
This rail is provided with pre-drilled holes along its length, equally spaced. If you have concrete ceilings, you will install Top Rail straight on the ceiling by using suitable nylon plugs and screws. Have you got uneven ceilings or beams covered by plaster? Not a problem! All you’ll have to do in this case is to make sure you drill past the plaster layer deep enough for your screws to reach the beams behind, and securely fasten your rail onto them.
- Built-In Systems: Shadow line rails are the ultimate tendency in the hanging system industry. They can be either ceiling or wall-attached, to suit any configuration that you may have.
Private homeowners, property owners (apartment blocks and commercial office blocks) love Artiteq’s built in hanging rails because they are invisible. These amazing art tracks perfectly integrate between the ceiling and the wall lining, leaving just a very thin (4mm) grove where these two elements meet. A stunning solution that is guaranteed to amaze all your visitors!
Artiteq Shadowline Rails are regularly specified by top Australian architects and installed by Australia’s best builders for upmarket homes and offices. These built-in hanging rails are unique to Artiteq and are not manufactured or stocked by other picture hanging suppliers or hardware shop.
How To Best Hang a Heavy Mirror: How to Choose
Most of the times, simple frames and canvas have a string running behind them, which the hooks can engage directly with. However, if your piece of art or mirror are very heavy and/or expensive, there are better solutions that our art installers recommend.
Sometimes, the objects you want to display on walls may require additional fittings before being hung correctly. When selecting hanging hardware it is important to consider:
- the weight of the object you are wanting to hang
- The possibility to adjust it easily, for correct balance. You want your frames to look straight once hung on the wall!
- The possibility to have it hung flat on the wall, or in other words, prevent forward tilting.
How To Best Hang a Heavy Mirror: How to Choose the System That Works for You
Once you have decided whether to go for a wall-fixed, a ceiling-fixed or a built-in system (or combination of the three!), it is time to determine loads.
Rails:
The Artiteq Rails have load capacities in the range between 20Kg up to 50Kg per meter. That means you can hang an object whose weight is maximum 50Kg at each meter of length along the rail. Pretty impressive!
However, to guarantee the maximum load capacity as well as long-lasting performance, it is essential that your system is installed professionally by an Art Installer and all the manufacturer instructions followed. For instance, all Artiteq Click Rails come with a specifically designed install kit. This install kit consist of a set of wall clips, screws and wall plugs that need to be installed at approximately 40cm distance from each other (plus or minus 2cm) to make sure your rail can take the load it is meant to. Once installed in place along a straight line, the Click rail will just “click” (hence the name) onto them.
Whenever wall-mates, screws or wall plugs are needed to install your rail, it is very important to make sure that they are fixed into the medium stably, whether it is bricks, a concrete wall or ceiling, or wood. For wall plugs, pre-drilling the hole of the correct diameter is key to prevent spinning of the plug once inserted. Use of liquid nail in conjunction with the above is highly recommended for a perfect job.
Hanging Wires:
Once your picture rail(s) are in place, it is time to select the hanging wires. Again, it is a matter of loads, as well as of style.
The Artiteq hanging wires are supplied in a wide array of materials and size combinations, so suit every need:
- Three different attachments: Solid Slider, Twister, Cliq2Fix
- Two different materials: Perlon (heavy-duty Nylon) or Stainless Steel
- Two different thicknesses: 1mm or 2mm
- Five lengths: 100cm – 150cm – 200cm – 300cm 500cm
Let’s have a look at what all this means in terms of choice.
Hanging Wires for Heavy Mirrors: What Sort of Attachment Do Art Installers Recommend?
Solid Slider
The Solid Slider is the safest option available in the range, especially if you are looking at safe options to hang a heavy mirror. This attachment enables the hanging wires to be inserted from one end of the rail only. Once the rail is installed and its extremities closed by endcaps/corner wall, it is not possible to take the hanging wire off the rail. However, you can still slide the hanging wire freely along all the picture rail’s length. This feature is highly appreciated in these two cases:
- Prevent thefts
- Slanted walls: Solid Slider is included in the Hanging Set for Sloped Rail: perfect for hanging art in a stairwell or stairway with angled / sloped walls
The Hanging Set Sloped Rail contains one lockable stopper with dedicated allen key, which prevent the wires from sliding under load.
- In presence of very high ceilings: you might accidentally twist the hanging wires during the installation/adjustment of your artwork, and this may result in the hanging wire coming out of the rail. This can be quite inconvenient if your rail is installed, say, at 6m height. You would need a very tall ladder or a scaffolder to re-insert the hanging wire back into the picture rail. The Solid Slider attachment prevents this problem completely, and the hanging wire won’t come off from the rail under any circumstance.
Twister
The Twister attachment keeps all the benefits of the Solid Slider in terms of appearance and load capacity, and in addition, it offers the possibility to be inserted/taken off at any point along the whole picture rail’s length. The mechanism is indeed very simple: you will insert the metallic head that the wire is provided of at one end into the rail, and then “twist” it. This twisting movement will ensure engagement between the rail and the wire. Repeat this backwards, and you’ll be able to take the wire off. This is a great solution for whoever is looking for a flexible system to rotate artworks quickly and for unlimited number of times.
Cliq2Fix
This attachment solution is a hybrid between the Solid Slider and the Twister:
Just like the Twister, this hanger stays locked into the rail while still able to slide left and right.
However, the particular design of its head prevents the hanging wire from popping loose during installation/adjustments, just like a Solid Slider would.
Once again, this is ideal for high walls or even on staircase walls.
Hanging Wires for Heavy Mirrors: What Sort of Materials Can You Choose From?
Perlon (heavy-duty Nylon): ideal to ensure a more discrete, nearly invisible look. Depending on how often you adjust your artworks, their lifespan ranges between 5 – 10 years.
Stainless steel: ideal for a more “industrial look”. Higher load capacities and unlimited lifespan.
Hanging Wires for Heavy Mirrors: What Length?
The Artiteq’s hanging wires are available in five lengths: 100cm – 150cm – 200cm – 300cm 500cm. Art installers recommend to select the length of your wires in accordance with the height of your ceilings. You want your artworks to be hung at a height which is easily visible to most of the people. As a rule of thumb, the ideal length is given by:
Ideal length = Height of Your Ceiling (in cm) – 120
So, if for example you have standard residential ceilings (270cm) a 150cm long wire will do the job!
Conclusion:
A hanging system is a fantastic idea for displaying your indoor and outdoor artworks, photos, sculptures, etc. while adding a touch of personality to your living areas. It is an advisable norm to buy high-quality hardware only and have a professional art installer to install your art hanging system. This will ensure safety, performances and durability of your system. A variety of picture rails are available from the Artiteq’s range, as well as hanging wire to suit all the requirements in terms of appearance, load capacity and practicality.
Time for an upgrade?
Are you looking to know more about how can you improve the beauty and efficiency of your rental property, private home, office, etc.?
Whether you are looking for something simple to keep your walls tidy and pristine or comprehensive systems to create an impressive art display, we are just a phone call away.
Contact us today by calling us on 0432 924 305 or email us at [email protected] for a FREE consultation. Or, if you prefer to work things out yourself, sift through our frequently asked questions.
