When you're choosing a picture hanging system, you need to consider several things. First and foremost, what's the weight of the picture or pictures that you want to hang? Different picture hanging systems can take different amounts of weight, so you need to choose the one that works with your artwork. Once you've established the weight of the artwork, you'll need to think about which picture hanging system appeals the most to your aesthetic sensibilities. You can then go with picture hanging systems with ceiling rails, wall rails, cables, rods etc.

Here are some options to consider when you set up a picture hanging system:

Wall vs. Ceiling

The picture hanging systems with wall-mounted rails can generally take more weight—up to 114 kg while the ceiling-mounted rails can take up to 65 kg. If you don't need to hang anything heavier than 65 kg, then you can choose whichever rail appeals to you the most. The slimmer, more unobtrusive rails can take less weight while the slightly wider rails will be sturdier.

Visible vs. Hidden Fittings

When you're choosing a rail for your picture-hanging system, you also get to choose between rails where the fittings are visible and the ones where they are hidden. For example, the Click Track and Deco Click Track rails are constructed in such a way that the hooks and wall anchors are hidden. If this appeals more to your aesthetic sense, you can go with this option, but keep in mind that these rails can bear a maximum of 35 kg. As opposed to this, the Moderna and Sky Picture rails can bear a maximum of 114 and 65 kgs respectively. However, the fittings in these rails are not completely hidden as they are in the Click Track and Deco Click Track.

Cable Vs. Rod

Once you've chosen the rail of your choice, you'll have to figure out whether you want to go with a cable or a rod. A cable will, of course, be thinner and more unobtrusive than a rod. However, it can also take less weight. A Nylon Cobra cable can bear 6.3 kg while an Aluminum Classic hanging rod can take up to 24.5 kg. If you prefer the look of a cable, however, you can get more heavy-duty cables such as the Stainless Steel Heavy Duty J Hook cable which can take about 70 kg of weight.

Side Screw vs. Self-Gripping Hooks

Once you've got the rail and cable/rod of your choice, you'll need to get a hook that the artwork will be hung on. There are two choices—the side screw hooks are the kind which can be manually tightened by hand, at the height chosen by the you. The self-gripping ones simply slide on the cable or rod. Once the hook is at the desired height, you just let go and the spring mechanism clicks the hook into place. Choose the hook that you find most convenient.

Contact us to learn more about the various options open to you when it comes to picture hanging systems.