Good Questions: Will the Picture Rail Hold?

Hello AT,
Does anyone know how much weight picture moldings can bear in an old brownstone? We have a 21 lb. mirror that we'd like to hang without making any holes in the wall, but not sure if the mirror is too heavy. If do-able, any tips on making it safe?

Thanks, Hanh

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Anyone?

-regina

Comments (16)

Chances of it holding will be increased if you hang the mirror from two points on the rail, which you may have been planning to do.

Perhaps drive some screws through the rail at point just beyond where the mirror will hang, and for added security, a screw through the rail at dead center?

Patrick is correct. I grew up with all the art hung from the picture moldings. Ours could hold seven foot tall framed vintage posters (heavy!!), so I wouldn't worry about it. Definitely use two hooks.

Wow! I just tried to order this mirror from Piere One and they said it can't be ordered. Where did you buy it? Thanks, Elizabeth

You could also reinforce the rail on either side of the points where the hooks rest. Drive 2" screws a little below the surface of the molding then putty and paint

Hanh, I have a 30 pound mirror handing from the molding on two hooks, and haven't had any problems. I used a heavy-duty wire, though.

Martha Stewart's magazine had a nice article about picture rails a while ago. I'll see whether I can dig it up. I have one of those tiny apartments that this website loves so much, and every now and then I throw away most of my magazines and then regret it!

Anyway, she usually knows her stuff and you could email her.

Ahhh... it'll never hold. You should immediately send that mirror to me to avoid any catastrophe. :)

Seriously ,though, as everyone else says, multiple hanging points will likely work out okay.

Picture mold will hold 10-15lbs on one hook and 15-35lbs on 2 hooks. The wire will matter more then the hooks. If the molding starts to pull from the wall all you need to do is put some Finsih nails in on the studs. No screws, all you will do with screws, is screw up (no pun) nice molding.

make sure that you spread the hooks to distribute the weight and use a good strong picture wire that's well twisted around the hooks on each side of the back of your mirror. and make sure you buy the flat kind of picture railing hooks that are curve around and hug the picture molding (they have a backwards s shape). if your building's been well maintained, the picture railing should hold. be aware that the mirror won't hang flat against wall so you should be prepared for a little distortion in your image.

i just received my order of hercules hooks. you can google them. i saw them advertised on t.v. and could not resist. they're supposed to hold up to 150 lbs. each and the hole they make is quite small. like i said, i couldn't resist...but i haven't used them yet. maybe this weekend...

I concur with the two point theory. I once hung an antique leaded glass window from picture rail. I figured it was safer hanging from the rail than on the plaster wall!

If I recall it was 25 or 30 pounds. Don't worry. It'll work.

thanks so much for all the comments... 2 hooks and heavy gauge wire it shall be! elizabeth, this is indeed the pier 1 mirror... because my parents live in california, i sourced it at a store there, thinking my parents could bring it over when they come for thanksgiving... but in the end the store shipped it for $20.. this was last week. so i'd just click on the icon for "check local store availability", enter some zip codes, and try your luck. i did a random search with my zip code and looks like the store in norwalk, ct has it, 203-852-1718: http://www.pier1.com/catalog/productdetail.aspx?oid=112004&returnURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pier1.com%2fcatalog%2fsearch.aspx%3ffh_location%3d%2f%2fpier1direct%2fen_US%26fh_search%3dlinks%26fh_search_pass%3dliteral%26fh_view%3dsearch&fh_location=//pier1direct/en_US&fh_search=links&fh_search_pass=literal&fh_view=search

I don't know how you would hang it without at least one small hole. Have your looked into the new "hercules hooks" advertised on tv. I ordered them and have hung Mom's heavy mirror with success

Thanks, Hanh, for the info about the mirror. I'm going to give it a try.

Elizabeth

was there any resolution to this? i have picture rails in my chicago apartment and would like to hang a 15 lb. picture and possibly a heavier mirror, but have no idea how much the rails will hold.

-elise