Concrete hanging method

[Mecianne]

84 x 47 two inch black frame with plexi

will be hung in high school gym

suggestion on safe method to hang this thing?

thanks in advance

mecianne

[Bob Doyle]

Z-Bar and secutrity hangers along the bottom?

Or better yet in the hallway outside the gym!

[BILL WARD]

in my hi school gym there was not a safe place inside the 6 sides!!!!!!!!!! I vote with Bob----OUTSIDE the gym!!!! roundballs, footballs, soccer balls, etc can be propelled at alarming rates(having been hit with all of them at one time or another I can say that it will take a mercyless beating over time---cant think of anything that would take/hold the abuse)!!!!

[Jim Miller]

If it's a metal frame, I suggest using two or three sets of FrameTek's FrameSecure security hangers.

If it's a wood frame, Z-Bar or equal would be good, except that it doesn't secure the side rails -- only top & bottom. Two or three pairs of mending plates, anchored securely to the frame and to wall, might be better. If you can't see the drawing below clearly enough, email me.

[Bob Doyle]

I'm going to assume that this is going to be hung really high on the wall. If so then will it need to be angled out for better viewing? And since it is going to be so far from sight and inspection maybe sinking concrete anchors between the bricks and drilling through the face of the frame and holding in place with screws, wood putty and painted over, would also be an option.

Be sure the plexi is thick and rugged! Not just regular plexi.

BTW has anyone here checked out the Wii have a problem (http://wiihaveaproblem.com/)website? Shows what a little toy can do to plexi, as well as flat screen tvs and walls! If the remote from a wii can trash a plasma screen with a plexi guard in front of it imagine what a basketball could do to a sheet of plexi. Especially when you consider that in New England the concrete wall will be cold and the plexi may be a little more brittle in January than in summer! But our perspective may be different than yours Mecianne!

Post pics it will be interesting to see it finished! In or outside the gym.

[Framerguy]

I don't know about y'all but when I was a teen in gym class that would have made a perfect target for my buddies and I to test our accuracy with some well thrown footballs/baseballs/basketballs/volleyballs!! I can see a disaster just waiting for a time to happen with this one.

I would surely tell the principal about your concerns and maybe have him sign a waiver holding your shop harmless if he decides to go ahead and hang whatever it is in the gym.

[PhotoKris]

we did a bunch of 40x60ish prints and frames for a local school gym. Had to work to get them to put plexi in them at all. Used the cheapest metal we had. Im not sure what they ended up doing about hanging them, i got them some secuity hangers. They are haning up rather high and the school is a private school for the mentally handicapped, so I think they were in less danger than at a public school...

[Mecianne]

Thanks everyone. This frame is to replace the old one from the old gym. They just completed their new gym & wanted new frame. Old frame was screwed thru to the wall. They didn't wnat to screw thru the frame this time. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the suggestions.

Also, we have done several large frames for this school that hang in hallways. They insisted on glass....oh boy! Fortunately we never have to hang any of these....their maintenance people do it...oh boy!

Jim,

I was able to view the directions....thanks!

Mecianne

[Jim Miller]

...we have done several large frames for this school that hang in hallways. They insisted on glass....oh boy! Fortunately we never have to hang any of these....their maintenance people do it...oh boy!

Mecianne, next time you talk to the decision maker for the school's framing, ask him/her what would happen if a student broke the glass accidentally during horseplay, and suffered a trip to the emergency room and permanently-disfiguring injuries.

Glass in a large frame, especially in a hallway or other area where incidental contact could break the glass, is dangerous -- especially in a school. I wonder if the decision-maker who specifies glass realizes the hazard.

If scratching is an issue, suggest abrasion-resistant "AR" acrylic. If budget is an issue, remind him/her than one glass replacement would add more to the long term cost than using acrylic in the original assembly.

If I were you, I would make a recomendation for acrylic glazing perfectly clear, including a caution about the hazard of glass breakage, and a disclaimer of responsibility for any resulting injuries. I would have it written and reviewed by my lawyer, and get a signature from whomever accepts that written notice at the school. That is, I would insist on having proof that the notice was received by an authorized representative of the school.

I'm not sure I would even allow the option of glass for school framing. This is the sort of situation that could bring huge trouble later.

[Mecianne]

I discussed with them everything you just mentioned, Jim. They have probably about 60+ of these large frames in the hallways...Graduating classes of past years. They are all hung above lockers (very high ceilings). Some are actually framed without glass...which they want us to replace over time. The reason they give me is budget cost...Cons Clear Glass vs. Cons Clear Acrylite. I agree with you, but I can't argure myself out of a sale....Derek & I even offered to hang these if they went with acrylic, but I refused with the glass. Oh well, I tried. One thumbs up I can give the decision maker is that they actually agreed on conservation issues.

[Jim Miller]

...I agree with you, but I can't argue myself out of a sale...

It would be bad to argue yourself out of a sale. Since you can't impress them with the importance of safety, I still suggest getting a signature as proof that the school received your warning.

High ceilings, huh? That means when some kid throws a book and breaks the glass in one of those big frames, it will rain down like Pennies from Heaven and injure somebody. That is, pennies from Heaven for some ambulance-chasing attorney. Whatever you do, don't get caught in the middle of that.