One of our pals wants to replicate this look of a white brick wall behind a collection of her amazing photographs. And while the painting of brick isn't too much a stretch, she doesn't want to ruin a newly painted brick wall with crumbling and unstable nails. After doing some looking online, we found a pretty solid solution:
Use a masonry drill bit and drill a small hole in either the brick or the mortar between bricks. Then, screw in an expansion type screw with a plastic sleeve into the drilled hole, leaving a small amount of space for the hanging wire. And that's it!
If you change your mind, simply remove the screw and use wood putty to patch the hole and touch up with some paint to match the brick.
[ Photo by Penny Wincer for LivingEtc. ]
If it's painted - won't a couple of those 3M stick-on hook thingies work just as well?
view bepsf's profile
Any suggestions for unpainted concrete walls?
view bohemianbeauty7's profile
If it's unpainted or worn paint - I also suggest Brick Clips (just search for them online). 3 of our 4 walls are brick and these things are amazing! They expan to basically latch onto an individual brick with sharp "teeth" that help to hold it in place. No holes necessary so you can hang and rehang art on a whim!
view renee c.f.'s profile
Those 3M sticky hooks are genius. We used them all the time at a retail store I worked at to display things on a concrete pillar. The Jumbo size can hold 7.5 lbs. Taking them off is easy too, and leaves no residue.
view Sisero's profile
Or simply use a self taping screw instead of the plastic sleeves. This alows you to use a smaller hole.
view Matthew's profile