Putting up picture rail

paddy's_mum

Fed up with holes in the walls, I was persuaded to buy some pre-painted MDF picture rail.

The very brief instructions say put it up with a suitable adhesive but I wonder if this method is strong enough to support several kilos worth of pictures, small mirrors etc. My walls are straightforward celcon-type blocks with a standard gypsum plaster finish.

My own inclination is to go with adhesive plus a properly installed rawlplug and screw every few feet although obviously this would involve a small amount of filling/making good afterwards.

What method have others used and found satisfactory?

martinthebandit

I would go with drilling and screwing personally.

Oh and good luck at getting it on so it looks right and level.

Wassa123

Could always use adhesive and a nail gun with the thin long nails.

After all, it's how skirting boards are generally attached!
We also used this method to attach some shelf supports in our wardrobe.

brightontraveller

There are grab adhesive’s ( not cheapo rubbish from likes of screwfix B & Q etc )that do work cant remember the exact make atm remember one that has mixer nozzle orange and black tube but at £25per 300ml price makes it often none starter, Cheaper option is Screw + Plugs or if you ever want to remove it nailable plug fixings some find slightly easier to remove/install or masonry nails but lots find them hard work bending pinging off when nailing ? , Distance between fixings depends on substrate but 600mm upto 1m apart is fine.

Trickiest thing is getting it too look right ( that doesn’t always mean level) some rooms it being level and room not it looks odd optically out ?

50Twuncle

I would say to use EXTERIOR glue - this is much stronger than INTERIOR glue - I put up some curtain rail battens using glue and it will never shift (even if I want it to)

dominoman

I would do it with plugs and screws personally. Picture rail is wood and with the changes in humidity in winter it will try it's best to warp. I just don't think the glue (or the plaster behind it) will hold.

I am halfway through doing all mine and it isn't as big a job as I first thought.

casper_g

I put mine up last year, and used plugs and screws.

I second the comment that the key to success is getting the thing to look right. You need to choose a level that will work well with existing doorways, windows, fireplaces etc. and look in proportion.

We have a period property and luckily by the time we'd stripped the (horrible, textured) wallpaper we could clearly see where the original picture rail had been and replicate this.

We also found that nothing was quite square, so we positioned the picture rail a constant distance down from the ceiling rather than making the rail level in absolute terms. I used a wide board left over from some shelving to mark a pencil line on the wall a constant distance down from the coving.

Kiran

Grab adhesive and a nail gun is how I did mine. I only used brads to avoid blowing the plaster and while the grab adhesive went off.

ljonski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZxNGQ7t0BU&feature=em-subs_digest