The Easy (and cheap) Way to Hang a Picture on a Brick Wall
- by Kelly Smith on Feb 26th 2008 12:00PM
- Filed under home decor, household hacks, weekend projects, stone and concrete, tools, remodeling
The living room in my house has a slightly unusual layout. Its got a nice brick fireplace; the interesting thing about it is that it's not smack dab up against an exterior wall. It stands not in the center of the room, but several feet off the back wall. It serves as a separator between the living room and the dining area/breakfast nook. Because of this, it's got three sides that just beg for artwork. But how to attach a secure hanger on a brick surface? It's easy and cheap!
What You'll Need
- Electric drill
- Masonry bit
- Chunk of dowel
- Picture hanger
- Screw (3/4 inch long)
- Drill bit a bit smaller than the screw
- Wood glue
The Procedure
- Grab a masonry bit that's just a hair smaller than the mortar joint between the bricks.
- Drill straight into the mortar joint about an inch.
- Blow or vacuum the mortar dust out of the hole.
- Cut a piece of dowel the same size as the drill bit, slather some wood glue on it and tap it into the hole.
- Once the glue dries, drill a pilot hole and screw in the picture hanger.
The beauty of this is that you can always drill the dowel out and re-mortar the hole.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-26-2008 @ 2:23PM
diane.rixon said...
Brilliant. It would never have occurred to me to do this. Thanks!
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 5:42PM
leesie said...
I'm wondering if I could hang a small storage cupboard in the same way. I have a firplace in my finished basement that faces an entertainment family room... The back side is a finished brick wall. I have a bar along side the back and would like to attach a small cupboard for glasses above the bar, which would hang from the wall. Do you think it would be secure using this same process? Drilling into the mortar?
thanks!
3-04-2008 @ 6:14PM
Kelly said...
Absolutely Leesie! The recipe I gave was just for an average picture (with a lot of overkill!). If you use deeper dowels and screws you'll get even more support. Always err on the side of caution. Hope this helps; email me if you need more info!
Kelly