Picture Hanging Done Properly: Level, Secure and Exactly Where You Want It in Wolverhampton

What the job involves

Hanging pictures sounds like the simplest job on any list, and it is the one most often got wrong. Hooks end up out of line, frames sit off level, and a print that deserves a feature wall ends up lost above a radiator. A proper picture hanging service covers all of that: deciding the height and spacing, choosing fixings that suit the wall, drilling or hooking cleanly, and checking every frame with a level before we pack up.

It suits everything from a single framed print in a hallway to a run of family photographs along a landing, canvases in a living room, or a child's artwork that keeps falling off sticky pads. We bring the drill, the level and the fixings; you bring the pictures and an idea of where you want them.

How we assess the wall first

Before anything goes up we look at what the wall is actually made of, because that decides the fixing. Solid brick or block takes ordinary wall plugs and screws. Plasterboard needs hollow-wall fixings, or a fixing position over the timber studs inside the wall. Older lath-and-plaster walls need a gentler approach, because the plaster can crumble if you hammer into it blind.

We also think about what might sit behind the surface. Cables and pipes run through most homes, and while nobody can see through a solid wall, we plan sensible routes — avoiding the obvious runs near sockets and switches, water feeds and areas around a boiler — before any hole is made. If we are not satisfied that a fixing will hold, we say so and suggest a different spot rather than drill and hope.

Heights, spacing and layout

The rule most people find useful is to hang artwork so its centre sits roughly at eye level, around 145 centimetres from the floor, rather than up near the ceiling. Above a sofa or a sideboard, the bottom of the frame usually works best fifteen to twenty centimetres above the furniture. In a hallway or on a staircase the eye line rises, so the grouping climbs with it.

If you are unsure, we hold the frames against the wall and let you look before a single hole is drilled. Small adjustments at that stage cost nothing. Once the positions are agreed, we mark up, fit the hooks or plugs, and hang each piece, checking the level and adjusting the hanging cord or fittings until it sits square.

Fixings and who supplies what

Most pictures hang happily from small hooks, D-rings on the back of the frame, or purpose-made picture plates. We normally ask that your pictures already have their hanging fittings on the back — the string, D-rings or sawtooth hangers — since these come with the frame and match it. If anything needs new fittings fitted to the frame itself, tell us when you book and we will discuss it. The hooks, plugs and screws that go into the wall are the sort of thing we carry or agree with you in advance, and any materials are quoted separately from the labour.

Limits and honest boundaries

A standard picture hanging visit is sized for lightweight and medium frames — the sort you can lift comfortably with one hand. Very large, heavy canvases or mirrors change the fixing strategy completely and are better booked as a dedicated job, so the right time and fixings are allowed for them. And if a wall turns out to be unsuitable where you wanted the picture, we will talk through alternative positions rather than force a fixing that may pull out later.

After your visit

There is very little aftercare. Keep an eye on the hooks after a few weeks, particularly on plasterboard, and if a frame ever leans, nudge it back level. Dust frames with a dry cloth, and avoid hanging valuable originals in direct sunlight or directly above a radiator, where heat and light age them faster than any of us would like.

When to call us

Book us if the thought of drilling into the wrong spot is putting you off finishing a room, if you have a batch of frames that all need hanging in one go, or if you simply want the job done neatly in one visit while you get on with your day. Same-day slots may be available, and we cover the whole West Midlands.

Tell us roughly how many pieces you have, what the walls are like, and how soon you would like the visit. We will confirm the booking fee, the hourly rate for the notice period you choose, and the full cost for your approval before any work begins.