A Whole Wall of Pictures, Hung Straight and Evenly Spaced in Birmingham

Turning a pile of frames into a finished wall

Most homes reach the same point: a stack of frames leaning against the wall, a bag of assorted hooks, and a half-formed plan to "sort the photos out one weekend". A gallery wall or a matched set of frames — family photos up the stairs, prints along a hallway, a grid above the sofa — needs the planning done before the first hole is drilled. That planning is most of the job, and it is where we earn the result.

Planning the layout before anything touches the wall

We start with the arrangement itself. The classic approach is to work it out at full size first: paper templates cut to each frame's dimensions, taped to the wall and moved around until the spacing, alignment and heights look right. That gives you a true preview and saves a wall full of trial-and-error holes. We talk through the decisions that matter — centring the arrangement on the sofa or the room's sight line, keeping the centres roughly at eye level, aligning edges in a grid or balancing a mixed-size arrangement by its visual weight. If you already know the arrangement you want, we hang to it exactly; if you would rather we lay it out, we will propose one and you approve it before drilling.

The hanging itself, frame by frame

Each frame gets hardware matched to how it is made and what it weighs: D-rings and picture cord for traditional frames, sawtooth or split-batten hangers for lighter pieces, and proper wall plugs or cavity fixings chosen for the wall — masonry and plasterboard behave completely differently, and we assess which we are drilling into and avoid likely pipes and cables as we go. Nothing is fixed blind. Then each frame goes up, is checked level in both axes, and is nudged until the spacing across the whole arrangement reads even — the difference between a gallery that looks deliberate and one that looks nudged-by-hand.

Scope, numbers and honest limits

A typical visit suits a modest set — roughly half a dozen to a dozen lighter frames — within the booked time. A large gallery of heavy or oversized pieces, or frames needing substantial fixings, is a longer job and we will say so when quoting: the estimate covers a defined set of frames, not an unlimited project, and it is worth listing how many frames and roughly what sizes when you enquire. Very heavy pieces go by the same rules as any heavy hanging — assessed for the wall and fixed accordingly, sometimes as their own visit.

What to have ready

Have the frames out of their wrapping with their hanging hardware attached where they have it. Know which wall and roughly which arrangement you want, or tell us you would like us to propose the layout. If any frame is valuable, say so — a little extra care in fixing choice is worth it. Clear the wall and the floor beneath so templates and frames can be laid out freely.

Aftercare

Check the arrangement after a week or two of doors being slammed and the house living its life — a frame that has shifted a degree is a ten-second adjustment, and we would rather you call us than live with a wonky row. Keep valuable or irreplaceable pieces out of direct strong sunlight where you can, and dust with the frame on the wall rather than lifting it down by its cord.

Booking your gallery visit

Tell us how many frames and what sizes, and we will scope the visit honestly. Same-day appointments may be available if you call early. To book, get in touch: you pay a booking fee when you book, the hourly labour rate depends on how soon you need the visit, and the full cost is quoted and approved before we start — any hanging hardware we supply beyond what the frames came with is quoted separately.