I need some advice. I'm going off to university for my last year, and I want to hang a sign or two from my budding collection on the wall in our apartment. Does anyone have any recommendations, suggestions, or words of caution for doing this? I'm worried that the sign would be too heavy and just pull drywall off. But I'm not sure if that fear is just unfounded.
I am able to use nails, as long as they aren't too thick. I'm not gonna be using duct table or anything adhesive.
Quote from: JoePCool14 on August 11, 2021, 11:58:04 AM
I need some advice. I'm going off to university for my last year, and I want to hang a sign or two from my budding collection on the wall in our apartment. Does anyone have any recommendations, suggestions, or words of caution for doing this? I'm worried that the sign would be too heavy and just pull drywall off. But I'm not sure if that fear is just unfounded.
I am able to use nails, as long as they aren't too thick. I'm not gonna be using duct table or anything adhesive.
The shield I have had holes punched in it already for bolts to be attached to posts. I just drove nails through them to hang mine up. Easy peasy.
I've always used nails. When I used to rent I would cover the holes and request some touch up paint from the leasing office. As long as you cover and touch up I don't see an issue unless it is your lease agreement saying not to hang anything.
The alternatives that come to mind are...
1. Screws and anchors. This is probably undesirable in a rental apartment. A rental house, it would probably be fine as long as you fill in the holes later.
2. Command hooks that can fit through the top holes in your sign, if your sign has such holes.
Most nails are fine for most signs. Just hammer in the nail on a downward angle.
I used drywall anchors, with screws, in my garage. The anchors are probably far stronger than I need, but since my car is parked in the garage I wanted to be extra-cautious. Toggle bolts or rawl plugs would probably work too. As kphoger notes, however, carefully check the terms of your lease (or of university regulations, if the apartment is university-owned) to find out what they allow and prohibit. Many places allow nails and tacks but would likely prohibit more robust hardware like drywall anchors.
If you need to use nails and you're concerned about the weight of a sign, try hammering the nails into a stud instead of into a part of the drywall with nothing behind it. Buy or borrow a stud finder (do a Google search for how to use one if you don't know; it's very easy) and use it before deciding where to drive the nails.