Picture Hanging Layout
“How high is the nail, and how do I space five frames evenly?”
Everybody says 57 inches is the height galleries use. I went looking for the gallery. The Smithsonian publishes 54; a museum preparator says 54 to 56; every source for 57 is a shop. You get the range, the source, and the exact spot to put the nail.
- Hook height from centre + half the frame − the wire drop, measured taut
- Four centre heights with the institution or shop behind each one named
- A whole row spaced and marked, with a distance across for every hook
- A scale drawing of the wall that prints
- Fixing weights — and why a 113 kg plasterboard anchor and a 10 kg one can be the same job
- This one is finished and tested — not on the build list
- It will be $9, same as every other tool
- One email when it goes up, no list, no spam
Three steps, then you're done
Pull the wire tight first — this is the bit people get wrong.
And find out who actually publishes it.
One height, and a distance across for each picture.
Questions
Do I need to install anything?
No. Each tool is a single file. Double-click it and it opens in Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox — whichever you already have. No account, no password, no software.
Does anything get uploaded?
No. Your numbers and files never leave your computer — the tools have no way to send them and no internet connection is needed to run them. You can switch your wi-fi off and they still work.
I'm not good with computers. Is this too hard?
The first thing every tool does is walk you through it in five short screens with pictures. Then there's a button that fills it with example numbers so you can watch it work before touching anything.
Will it work on my phone?
Yes. Email yourself the file and open the attachment, or drop the files in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or Google Drive and open them from there — then they're on every device you own.