The Framers Forum

A couple of my relatives have discovered these picture hooks at The Range and think they're brilliant. The 40mm size has 4 pins that you hammer into the wall and are suitable for hard walls. My reservation is that because they're plastic, the hook might eventually snap under the weight. What do people here think?

https://www.therange.co.uk/diy/hardware ... ks/#163328

Discovered?

They have been around for years.

I wouldn't rely on them too much though. They work best on concrete. Bit iffy on brickwork.

I used them to hold a creeper on the outside wall.

If they are the white plastic hooks with about four pins that you knock through, I'm thinking of, then I have tried them in the past. They require a good wack with a hammer and the blow needs to be delivered head on or straight.

On balance I prefer the more traditional brass hook with the hardened pins.

Never used these hooks myself.

Lion sell them with the following warning:

"Use cord not wire. Do not use these hooks for heavy or valuable pictures or where items below might get damaged."

poliopete wrote:On balance I prefer the more traditional brass hook with the hardened pins.

Me too

For hard/solid walls were a hardened pin & hammer won't do (bent pin) I get out my drill and wall plugs and use these:
https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/9106/Heavy- ... -20-Pieces

Crumbs, I sold Toly hooks almost 30 years ago so hope they're still OK. Great for hard walls where bent pins are the norm. I always instructed customers to use 2 hooks for correct horizontal effect and if one hook fails then picture still stays up! Drills, rawl plugs and plasterboard walls can be a foreign language to everyday folk who just want to hang their picture up pronto. No matter how heavy!
I wonder if my common sense instructions were followed through...
I've reframed/mended items previously hung with wool or cotton thread, yes even a mirror once! "It's been up for years until last night".
There must be other scarey tales out there.

Problem is, people fail to knock in a standard pin (which are hardened) into wall because there is an extra hard brick. So they think
"Right! I'll use these gizmos." And they do and they go in fine. But they only penetrate about 6mm and if the wall is plastered there
might be a 3mm skim so they only actually have a very tentative grip on the brick. If it's bare brick they might fare better, but bricks
are not consistent and the hooks are notorious for fetching out little divots and craters which make the wall look unsightly.

As mentioned, they need a good, square-on smite with a heavy hammer to fix them. Not too easy and you usually end up hitting the hook
which weakens it or the whole thing snaps off.


Grab that hammer drill and put in a Rawlplug. Drill holes can be filled very well with brick dust + Unibond.

I totally agree but customers needn't. In an age of finding someone to wash your car, clean your windows, mow your lawns, walk your dog and fit a wiper (click, done, +£6) etc., some households don't even possess a decent hammer! Especially elderly widows and yes, I've helped a few out over the years. Tool kit at the ready, a long day just got longer!
"Thank you Dear, you're so kind".
Hey-Ho, such is life (and absolutely no regrets).

Rainbow -

I would be careful with these - it's not so much that the hook snaps, but unless the wall is of the right density these will not penetrate properly and will fail. I have several customers who've tried these and come unstuck. I'm sure it's not due to the inherent quality of the hook, but a lack of understanding of the right situation to use it. It's one reason why I don't hang pictures or supply hooks with pictures, because as Prospero suggests, you never know what's under the surface of the plaster and you don't have any way of knowing what's needed to do the job correctly. I work with a very flexible local handyman who takes on these little jobs for people and has a big toolbox full of hooks and fittings - including the right one for the particular job. Not to say that I don't weaken occasionally and tap in the odd hook for a pensioner!

Best wishes, Jonathan

Bear in mind that if you supply these to people and they fail causing untold damage, it's not the hooks or (lack of) DIY skills
that gets the blame. It's YOU.

Also bear in mind that if you go to peoples' homes and start banging about, make sure you are properly insured to do so.

Thanks for all the comments. Personally I don't like the look of them, I think they look cheap and nasty, but one of my relatives swears by them and has now convinced one of my other relatives. I wondered if I was being a bit finicky but probably not from the comments here.