[OC to HK]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought some great old photos of Hong Kong and had them framed. When I talked to my landlord, he said I can't make any holes in the walls of my flat to hang them. While the photos are not really heavy, they do have some heft. I'm afraid if I use those 3M sticky hooks, the frames will come crashing to the ground one day.

Does anyone have some good advice on how to to hang these? Are the 3M products reliable? Is there someone I can hire to put these up?

Thanks in advance for any information you can send my way.

[nina_70]

I would NOT recommend the sticky hooks. They have pretty low weight threshold. Great for keys, hand towels etc, but not framed pictures. I'm surprised your landlord said "no" to holes. That's pretty unusual. You could go ahead and drill the hole, and then plaster it up when you leave. This shouldn't leave any trace unless your wall is a wierd color.

[Expatriate]

If I have something heavy to hang, I make some holes.

BUT.

I use a hammer drill with hard-metal masonry bits. A hole takes not more than 2 minutes.

And I use plastic wall plugs that fit neatly into the hole I made and take one screw on which to hang the things.

That means, if I need one hole, I make one hole. That way it looks neat and tidy. And so far no landlord complained.

Most people, especially local people, make more holes than they need. They use no hammer drills and no pressure and take half a day for one hole.

In the end, the wall looks like a swiss cheese. And it is noisy as hell. Mostly after work or on Sunday.

(If you want to hire me, how much you are going to pay?)

[jgl]

I've used the 3M Command hooks- they were very strong and the larger ones are rated to multiple kilos.

However, the weak point might be the paint or plaster of your walls. HK apartments seem to have fairly weak interior walls- not sure if that's a humidity or shoddy build thing.

[KnowItAll]

jgl : from what I've seen in the places we've lived in .. its the many layers of paint that cover the plaster. We have rock sold concrete walls with layers of paint and plaster on them.

[Raiqi]

We just bought a Pneumatic drill and are trying it out on our innocent walls this evening - wanna borrow it?

(I did buy it coz it said pneumatic. I sounds so much more professional than 'hammer' I feel the holes in my wall will benifit greatly from the extra status and be the happiest, cleverest hole in the walls in allof Hong Kong!)

I think I need a pet. I wonder if there is such a things as a pneumatic goldfish...

[KnowItAll]

>> pneumatic goldfish...

You remind me of one of my writers who comes up with the weirest word combos.

http://www.devlib.org/resources/gadg...ystem/details/

for "metrosexual gangbangers"

[Raiqi]

One assumes one would googlewhack - even if it isn't trendy - during those odd moments of lucidity in the office..

Pneumatic goldfish, 35,400 hits...

*sigh*

another afternoon of productivity mocked by the internet.

[Raiqi]

And on a more seriuos note, I wouldn't recomend hanging any pictures up with just sticky hooks on drywall, the drywall peels and you end up with a big sharp mess on the floor. We amnaged to hang a Jackson Pollock print a couple of years ago and it ended up in a shattered heap. We reframed it though and so far no one has noticed the hole in the middle ( a little to the left).

You can buy tubes of ready mixed plaster at local hardware stores for when you move out, just squeeze a little into the hole and hey presto - no hole! Just remember that plaster expands when dry so don't be too generous.

For more DIY tips and hints...

[OC to HK]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I need to go back to the landlord and try to negoitiate a few holes.