Hanging Items into Masonry Walls: Tips & Tricks

If you've had to hang anything into a tilt-slab, concrete-block, or masonry wall, then you'll know that they are not for the faint of heart. These types of walls are unforgiving, they don't take prisoners, nor do they suffer fools lightly!

In spite of their flaws (haha, dad joke), these types of walls do have their upsides, especially when it comes to hanging larger, heavier items.

The downside is when you want to hang lots of smaller items.

The Plus Side of Masonry

One of the best things about masonry walls is their incredible strength. No matter where you decide to place your fixings, you can be confident that heavy items will be securely held in place.

Another plus about masonry is there's no need to hunt for those elusive studs, as is usually the case when hanging heavy items into plastered gib framed walls.

When a Masonry Wall is not so great to deal with

Unlike hanging big artworks or heavy items into masonry, small items are surprisingly tricky by comparison. The energy that you will expend, and the fixings required, will indeed be comparable to those big items.

The problem is with the bits&pieces

when attempting to hang small artworks or items into masonry, even the tiniest plugs and drill bits available for concrete, tend to be too large for our little artworks & items. The industry has not yet produced anything smaller than 3mm diameter drill bits, so the hole ends up being at least 3.5mm to 4mm in diameter. So when considering hanging a group of photos, or collection of artworks, the amount of drillholes required (also factoring in the occasional mistake, or two), will be significant. this Swis-cheese effect will put anyone off the original idea of a salon hang.

A Simple Solution (it may not be that simple, but it is a solution)

When drilling your pilot holes into masonry or concrete block walls, try to catch as much of the concrete dust as possible whilst drilling (this can be achieved simply by holding a cup or piece of paper underneath the drill while it's drilling the hole). This powder is essentially the correct colour cement for the given wall/hole. The powdery cement can simply be mixed with a tiny bit of water, becoming a ready-to-use mortar (keep any surplus powder in a little jar/plastic bag, for future mixing & hole-filling).

Adhesive Hangers (to stick or not to stick)

Adhesives can indeed be an alternative option to mechanical fixings.

However this option does have its own challenges. For example, the adhesive is not aggressive enough to hold the weight of the picture or item being hung, and therefore falls off the wall. On the other hand...

The Adhesive is too strong and therefore cannot be removed from the wall or the item.

The greater the adhesive's strength or stickiness, the harder the cleanup. Not to mention the unsightly blemish from all the solvents applied to the wall in an attempt to remove any residue that has been left behind by said adhesive.

in some cases you might need to grind aggressive hardened glue off from the masonry wall. Its also likely to peel off any painted surface, or pull render off the surface of the wall (render is an expensive polished or textured plaster finish).

This inevitably becomes a problem (a much bigger problem than a 3.5mm drillhole), when wanting to change the artwork or items from one location to another. The 'scarring' of your beloved walls left behind by previously hung artworks, mirrors and other items, is a constant factor when considering where, and what to use when hanging into masonry, or any types of wall for that matter.

In conclusion... Hanging items into masonry walls is not for the faint of heart.

But as with all life challenges, the sense of epic achievement will be worth it, not to mention the Kudos from family & friends when they come over and notice your new additions to those previously stoic & uncompromising walls!