PICTURE RAILS FOR WALL LAYOUT
The eternal problem... the holes!
In the page hang on the wall, I had briefly presented this elegant system to you to arrange your paintings on the wall without constelling it with holes not very decorative: the system of picture rails!
Indeed, the fear of apartment tenants is to recover their entire deposit at the end of the lease... which is not always to the taste of the owners who are sometimes very careful about the condition of their walls (isn't it JJ!). Cliprails are "the" right solution !
Many reactions to this page encourage me to go further and present to you in a more complete way this way of presenting your works of art a little like museums or exhibition galleries...
Very simple to install, the picture rails allow you to place many frames or pictures without having to install, each time, a dowel and hook in the wall. Are you leaving the apartment? Leave the angles in place, practically invisible.... And if the following tenants also have paintings to hang, you can probably get them to take over your investment!
You will find ready to install picture rails on the Amazon website which sells you the complete system (no unpleasant surprises) or that of Wallmart and still on cement-board (but be careful, the lower prices do not include the rods or fasteners which must be counted in addition).
To get the best price for a product and thus save on its purchase, I always start by searching on Amazon (it is "the" reference) to get an idea of the prices... and then I search on Google or another search engine the prices charged by other stores... Very often, Amazon wins the competition!
For cliprails, it will be difficult for you to find complete systems below than $15€ per m ... The STAS brand is the one that seems to dominate the market: excellent products, easy to use and reliable!!!!
The picture rails.
The picture rail or presentation rail is a thin angle that is positioned near the ceiling. Its profile allows hooks to be attached to it to hang picture frames.
There are different models that adapt to all situations:
It's the easiest... and also the most effective! It is in the form of a "J" angle that is fixed at the top of the wall with dowel screws. Depending on the weight of the frames you want to hang, you will have the choice between rails that can support 20kg/m and the most robust at 100kg/m.
On this angle come to hang either aluminium rods equipped with hooks (this is the solution adopted by the painting galleries) or very discreet nylon threads, also equipped with hooks.
Everything is adjustable in height and width... and, on the same rod (or nylon thread), you can install several frames at different heights. At any time, you can therefore quickly change the exposure!
Watch this short video that explains how to mount the "J rail":
Note a variant of the moulding... in the shape of a snail... more aesthetic since the hanging angle is hidden by the shape of the rail itself. This variant is screwed directly to the ceiling... in case of disassembly, the holes will be easier to plug and hide. This is an interesting innovation in more than one way.
In terms of investment, plan around $15 per metre: this may seem expensive for a 4m wall... but if you count the savings on the deposit at the end of the lease... and undoubtedly the takeover by the next tenant... you will find it easy to understand!
Feel free to compare prices... which can vary greatly from one store to another. After comparing possible suppliers on the Internet, I recommend the Amazon store in particular, whose prices are currently very advantageous and the offer is particularly wide.
You can also find them on ebay... for immediate purchase... without necessarily a really significant discount.
Very small in size (1.4cmxO.8), this angle, which is screwed directly into the ceiling, remains particularly discreet.
Si vous souhaitez visionner une video du montage la voici :
Obviously, it is no longer possible to install the panels on the aluminium hooks and rods of the previous system... You will then have to choose between steel cables (very thin) or transparent nylon cables (perlon).
You will also have the choice of the hanging system on the angle: either the "solid slider" which slides at the end of the rail... or the "cobra" hook which can be inserted, on request, anywhere on the rail.
My opinion: the top rail system is very discreet (because of its small dimensions and also because it is fixed to the ceiling). It is suitable for both modern and antique interiors and suspensions.
And I think you should prefer the "Cobra" head for its great flexibility of use (no need to dismantle to add or remove a fastener).
It is also an aluminium wall rail that can be clipped onto fasteners screwed into the wall. This system allows an excellent finish thanks to the use of stop ends and corner connectors....
The implementation is very simple: you present the fixing clip and bring it to the stop on the ceiling... mark the location of the hole... screw the fixing... and click! you insert the picture rail (provide a clip every 40cm).
To get an idea of the dimensions: the height is only 2.5cm! In other words, it is discreet!
If you wish, you can also paint this picture railing in the colours of your wall... which makes it even easier to integrate it into your interior.
The suspension systems are identical to those described in the Top Rail.... You can choose between the "Cobra" head with nylon or steel cable (20kg per cable) and the "slider" head.
Here is another short video that shows you a similar editing system:
It is an easy to install, easy to dismantle chair rail that does not pose any integration problems in a modern or non modern interior.
You will find a 6m pack for less than $150 (STAS CLIPRAIL PRO) on the AMAZON website under the brand STAS Picture hanging system.
The Plexiglas picture rail system
It is an attractive idea of a transparent picture rail system which, unfortunately, has only a pontual utility and which does not support important weights....
The angle, made of plexiglass, measures only 15cm... and is only given for 5kg: in other words, you can only hang one frame on it...
Under these conditions, it seems more judicious to replace it with a single hook screwed to the wall which, at least, will be hidden by the painting it supports!
Transparency is also compromised by the presence of the two fixing screws that hold it to the wall....
This system of chair rails therefore seems more anecdotal than effective.
This system is reserved for those who have suspended ceilings... which are mostly found in offices and public places, where ceiling tiles are simply placed on a framework of angle irons. All you have to do is lift one of the panels, put the ingenious attachment system in place and, in a few minutes, your painting is suspended.
Lift the ceiling tile, fix the support on the angle bracket, sandwich it, let the tile come back... it's finished: you are ready to hang your painting.
And if you don't want to dismantle your picture rails, nothing could be simpler, we do the maneuver in the opposite direction. No headache, no holes... Too practical!
Several models exist... I leave you here the link AMAZON but only on amazon.fr... Not yet available in the USA
Order a picture rail....
Finding an artist supply store near you that offers picture rails is not easy... most of the time, these stores only have a few items in stock and cannot always provide you immediately with what you are looking for... Go and visit them anyway: it will allow you to see, touch and compare prices!
A good alternative: order from a specialized store on the Internet... There are some excellent ones, which will ensure you advice, prices and quality. Be careful, however, with the prices that are often given excluding VAT.
I think of the excellent company https://walkerdisplay.com that distributes all supplies for artists, and in particular the picture rails described on this page. You will find choice and above all advice. Feel free to contact them for any practical information.
If you know what you want, go directly to AMAZON (look this page with all cliprails) , which offers, through STAS, complete kits for 4m of picture rail.... For about $100... and in complete safety!
As always, you can take a look at ebay or PriceMinister, where you can find some complete offers: kits including rails and fasteners.
I did not have the opportunity to test this type of order: all the more so since the slight difference in price did not seem to me to justify a risk in terms of the quality of the goods delivered!
You know almost everything now about the picture rails: I wish you a good hanging of your paintings! Keep me informed!!!!!