Hanging pictures

[AndyPan, CPF]

Was reading AnneL's respons to my last post, and something she mentioned made me think of something.

Do any of you guys go out to your customer's homes and hang their pictures for them?

This is a question that has been put to me over the last several years. The shop I worked for before had it as policy that we would not hang customer's artwork, due to liability concerns. This is a policy I intend to keep at my own shop. I personally do not want to be responsible for repairing my customer's wall, which she neglected to inform me was horsehair plaster until after my hammer went through it LOL.

Another question I get asked a lot is if there is a "formula" for hanging pictures. Is there? I have never heard of one. I always advice them to hang the picture so the the center of the picture is eye level, and then maybe 1-3" above that. This is what I personally do at home, and I always get my pictures right where I want them. I always say that as long as you can look at the picture without having to look waaaaay up, you've got in the right spot. :cool:

What do you all think?

[B. Newman]

I think hanging pictures for customers is a great thing IF you want to do it. I believe it can be an "add on" service for free, or for a charge. I don't think it is for everone. I, for instance, am not going to do it. However, I have done it on occasion for commercial customers. But I won't anymore. No, nothing bad happened, I just don't have the time or the confidence to do it, and do it right.

Betty

[Kit]

Andy, I agree that pictures should be hung at eye level.

Just remember that your eye level changes depending on whether you are standing up, sitting down, or lying on the floor playing with the dog.

I also like to see pieces hung in surprising places like above the door, beneath the window and inside a walk-in closet (but this could be because I ran out of more conventional space years ago).

Kit

[Meghan MacMillan]

I should wait to post until I find the correct magazine but it's at home and I'm at work. Several months ago one of the big decorating magazines ran a good article with tips from a prominent designer on hanging. The "how much room between the sofa and the art?" angle, not the "what kind of hardware can I sink into this 13" thick solid plaster wall?" aspect. I had a few copies around here. I'll track it down and let you know the who, what and when.

Our shops do not offer hanging as a free service. I keep the cards of two professional hangers (both insured!) to give to clients.

[Hobbes03]

I have, and continue to hang pictures at customers homes, both corporate and private. I don't especially love doing it, but it's an added service that I believe helps to set me apart from others. These days, I believe it's important to provide as much convenience to the customer as possible.
As far as the proper height to hang the pictures, I generally use the eye-level rule, meaning that when looking at the art when hung on the wall, your view should be about at the same level as the lower one-third of the picture (this is stated in "The Framers Book of Materials and Techniques" by Paul Frederick. It also states the exeption to this rule is high ceilings, in that case the picture is usually hung higher to shorten the wall. Either way, I discuss it with the customer, offer my suggestion, and let them make the final decision, especially after starting to hang pictures at a recent corporate job, after I hung the first picture with the eye-level method, the president of the company said it was way too high, and had me lower the picture to the point where I was almost looking at the top of the frame, so you never know.

-Mike.

[Ron Eggers]

I'll sometimes hang a problem piece for someone, particularly if it's something I'm going to deliver it anyway. I framed, delivered and hung several huge shadowboxes for a customer who's German Shepherd was winning "best of show" all over the country. One of those, I dropped down a flight of basement stairs as I was hanging it and on another piece, I put the nail for the large-sze Wall Buddies through the medicine cabinet in the adjacent room, but so far nobody's been seriously injured.

In most cases, I refer customers to a friend who has both framing and design experience and, apparently, loves to hang pictures (for about $60/hour.)

[Curly Grumble]

Andy, et al

I've been hanging pictures for 33 years (My first job in this industry was to paint a gallery and then help the owner rehang all of the art). We hang based on the eye level to center theory. Based on this theory, we hang at 65" to center and then figure out mathematically where to put the hooks (notice I said hooks - virtually everthing gets two hooks about one third to one half the width of the picture apart). Our carefully created scientific formula is as follows;
1) with the picture facing and slightly leaning against you, hook the end of your tape measure onto the wire where you want the RIGHT picture hook and with your left hand pull on the wire to "Level" the wire. Make note of the measurement. for this example let's say its 10".
2) Measure the TOTAL height of the picture frame and divide by 2. 28" divided by 2 = 14".
3)Remember we want the center at 65". So add 65" + 14" = 79".
4) Now subtract 10" from 79" = 69". That is the height from the floor that you want the hooks. (Note: that is to the bottom of the hook. Measure the distance from the bottom of the hook to the nail hole on the hook and add that figure to the 69" measurement.)
5) If the picture is 36"wide, I would put the hooks about 18" apart (or 9" right and left of center) Adjust accordingly for narrower or wider pictures.
6) With a little practice it becomes very easy.

We charge $12. per picture to "deliver and install" for corporate work. This has been figured to cover time, materials and other overhead expenses such as insurance.
For residential we charge a $75.00 per hour flat fee from when the van leaves here until it's return.
Remember the 65" is not set in stone, but it works beautifully for us 99% of the time.
Hope this helps!