Plaster walls..Screw hooks?

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JbNormandog

JbNormandog

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Apr 8, 2004
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NJ
Hi all,
A customer just called for my opinion on hanging his art in his house.
The place is 30 years old with plaster. He doesn't want to use the usual courtesy hangers if they will mess up the walls.
His wife mentioned hooks that use screws but I have never seen them in a catalog or in any of the shops I've worked in.
He is not very handy so I'm looking either for validation of the usual courtesy hooks of something he can do easily.

What do you think?
(Is Ron going to chime in with wall buddies?)
3-1odds.
 
WallBuddies will still require some type of hangers on the wall.

Good Floreat-type hangers will do minimal wall damage with the hardened steel pins or (with most sizes) can be used with anchors and screws. Some installers will drive the pin through a piece of masking tape on the wall to minimize brittleness and it may be necessary to pre-drill if you happen to hit the lath.

Where's Frank? He's the go-to guy for installations.
 
I like the courtesy hooks because they go in at an angle, the screws go straight in so you either have to find a stud or sink in wall anchors or moly bolts.

Again the angled nails will pull down and "grip" the wall when the weight of the frame is added to it, the nails that go straight in will want to pull out of the wall when the weight is added to it. So I'd feel better recommending the courtesy hangers.

If the guy isn't too handy then the one step courtesy hanger is going to cause the least amount of damage to his wall. Damage that a can of spackle will fix!

Having said all that, he will probably go with the nail his wife suggests for two reasons. </font>
  • He lives with her, not you. Your opinion counts but it doesn't "matter".</font>
  • If he doesn't then when the hangers fails (no matter how long it takes) his wife will give him the "knowing look". And he'll be looking to live with you!</font>
 
Recently had a customer purchase 3 large frames. She has plaster walls in a much older house. She used the courtesy hangers I gave her and said they worked fine. She had the same concerns to begin with about the old plaster walls. I'd recommend courtesy hangers for all the reasons Bob just mentioned.
 
You could always suggest he predrills the hole with a spare nail as the drill bit. Simply chuck the nail into the drill and use it predrill the hole in the plaster. The only issue would be getting the angle right. Maybe he could use the hanger as an angle guide? Start the nail with the drill, then (deftly) loosen the chuck, remove the drill and drive the nail home with a rounding hammer! (Kidding).
 
don't! REPEATE DO NOT nail into old plaster walls!!!! the plaster can/probably will crack & seperate from the lath work(this keeps it all together & on the wall) or you could actually break the lathwork(& then get to fix the hole)

predrill anything going into plaster walls with smaller nail and be very careful where the placement of the nails go---attempt to put then into lathing, not into the gaps between.. old lath was often made from scrap, etc & may/may not be "standard" widths, thickness & can be horizontally attached or at some angle(& there is no assurance that this angle will stay same room-to-room) ---once owned an "old" one circa 190?....nothing was 'standard'...what a pain!!!
 
If the house is 30 years old (1975) it doesn't have plaster & lathe. It has drywall and the courtesy hangers are fine. Now if the house were 70 years old that would be a different story. On old plaster I would put a piece of tape on the wall and drive the courtesy hanger's nail through the tape. This helps to stop cracking.
 
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