We all know the three most important things to keep in mind when picking out a hanger for our pictures: weight rating, the material of the frame, and wall type. We’ve talked a lot about all of these aspects in picture hanging, but we think it’s about time we dedicate an entire discussion solely to the third factor: wall types.
Much depends on the material of the wall you’ll be hanging your pictures on. It indicates how brittle or strong it is for picture hanging, and you can safely act on whether you need to drill holes, whether you need a wall anchor, and most importantly, the weight capacity of your preferred hanger may even depend on it.
In this in-depth guide to types of walls in picture hanging, you will gain a more well-rounded understanding of the most common types of wall materials in buildings, what makes them distinct from one another, and which picture hangers are the most compatible with each type.
Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
Table of contents
7 Types of Wall Materials in Picture Hanging
When we say “wall type,” we refer to the material or substrate of a wall where we will hang pictures. Hanging a picture without thinking of the wall you’re working with can be the start of a problematic picture hanging experience.
For some picture hanging hardware, weight capacity will be subject to wall type. For instance, the wall dog screw can carry up to 50 lbs on plaster walls and drywall, but if you use it to hang a picture on concrete, its capacity shoots up to 200 lbs and you can mount larger and oversized pieces without a worry. There are also many fasteners designed especially for use on certain wall types, like drywall hooks or brick clips.
In picture hanging, there are seven common wall types, and most picture hangers are designed to work on one or more of them.
Drywall
Drywall is a material made out of gypsum (a soft mineral), which is flattened between two layers of paper to create a drywall board. Most commonly used as material for interior walls, drywall is versatile and cost-effective. Its smooth finish, softer material, and being low maintenance make it one of the most convenient wall types for hanging pictures.
Left image courtesy of Greenberg Construction
Installing drywall involves nailing the sheets into wooden studs. Between the studs, the wall is hollow and thin, so picture hanging on drywall more often than not requires locating the wall studs before you drill or nail into a spot. Otherwise, you may cause severe damage and hit electrical wiring and plumbing or even destroy the drywall’s structural integrity in your home or space.
Once you’ve located the wall studs, however, you can work with hardware made for drywall:
#8 Plastic Anchor (The most frequently used drywall anchor)
Read our guide to picture hanging on drywall for a comprehensive how-to on decorating this wall type:
Plaster
The foundation of a plaster wall is made up of laths—thin, flat strips of wood (or sometimes metal or plasterboard)—which are then nailed to studs and coated with layers of plaster. Plaster is also another popular material for interior walls and was the go-to material before drywall entered the picture.
Left image courtesy ofYellow Pages
Compared to drywall, plaster is a harder material, and it takes more specialized expertise to install and repair. Due to its brittleness, it’s more of a challenge to hang pictures on plaster walls, but at the same time, you don’t want to be too hasty with a hammer.
Confused between plaster walls and drywall? We compared these two wall types side by side and shared tips to tell one from the other in this guide:
The correct picture hooks and hangers will help you decorate a plaster wall without damaging it due to heavy pictures, hammering, and incompatible hardware. For plaster walls, we recommend:
Ogee picture rail molding (With gallery systems)
Here’s our complete guide to hanging pictures on plaster walls
Masonry
Masonry is a building practice that involves binding units of a building material with mortar. The three most common masonry walls use concrete blocks, brick, or stone.
Concrete
Concrete is among the most rigid wall materials you can come across today, and builders rely on it for its durability and strength, employing it as the base for building structures. Load-bearing and exterior walls will often be made of concrete.
Images courtesy of Photowall
Since concrete walls are so dense, many will try to impose too much power or force when working with one and hanging wall decor and art. However, like every other wall type, care is needed when handling a concrete wall. It will sometimes have a rough and uneven surface, so if you’re not careful, you could end up with not only a damaged wall, but also damaged artwork.
Concrete may be a little harder to work with, but these hardware solutions make it much more painless:
Dive into our guide to picture hanging on concrete walls:
Brick
Brick substrates are used in traditional and modern construction and are solid and durable like concrete. They’re also fire-resistant, offer good thermal insulation, and work great as load-bearing, partition, interior, and exterior walls. Brick walls have a classic look to them, and most of them can be divided into soft brick and hard brick, the latter being more typical of newer buildings.
Damage on a brick wall is more likely to be irreversible than on other types of walls, and because of its uneven surface, there are not many wall hangers or picture hanging hardware that can effectively grip the material and keep your pictures safe. However, there are a few that are up for the job:
Planning on creating a brick gallery wall? Here’s our handy step-by-step guide to get you on the right track:
Stone
Another masonry wall type is a stone wall, a wall type that offers a timeless aesthetic like brick walls do. Like brickwork, stone walls also have a higher resistance to external elements, and their robustness can be seen in their longevity, with many of the oldest structures in the world constructed from stone.
While it is one of the heaviest wall types and inevitably challenging to decorate (particularly the ones that are not of flat stone), there are hardwall hangers and tools perfectly capable of holding onto stone walls. See them below:
Wood
After masonry wall types, we come to the types of walls that are also prevalent, but not usually the go-to in construction. Wood or wood panels, including hardwood and softwood, are a popular choice for interior non-load-bearing walls. This material is lightweight and easy to work with in DIY projects, although not really offering the same durability as the previous wall types we’ve discussed. The frames that support drywall or plaster walls are also usually built from timber.
Right image courtesy of Rayon Richards
If you’re hanging pictures on wood panels, look into these hardware options:
Glass
Perhaps the least common wall type in this list, glass walls have been in style since only about the later half of the 20th century. Their aesthetic appeal to contemporary design is significant, and glass stands out among all the other wall types due to how the transparent material lets in natural light in a room. Glass is used in the interior and exterior walls of many modern buildings, including houses, office buildings, and various establishments.
Right image courtesy of ILevel
Because of its fragile and see-through quality, it can be difficult and not very ideal to hang pictures on a wall made of glass. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible—when picture hanging on glass, rely on adhesives and hanging systems that utilize the ceiling, like these solutions:
Adhesive hangers
Drop ceiling hooks (For grid ceilings)
Final thoughts
Many things ride on the type of wall you’re decorating, wouldn’t you agree? In picture hanging, wall type should be the chief consideration, along with frame material and weight capacity. Everything else hangs in the balance (pardon the pun) when these aspects are not properly accounted for.
Whether your walls are made of plaster, drywall, or masonry walls, each type can carry a range in weight capacity and depend on a host of picture hangers designed for them. Just remember to weigh your art pieces and use a level to ensure they look neat and steady!
If you need a hand or have any questions, leave us a comment or email support@picturehangsolutions.com. Happy hanging!
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