DIY GUIDE · HOME REPAIRS & HANDYMAN · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
How to hang pictures and mirrors yourself
An hour for a few frames. £5–£35 in fixings, plus a detector if you do not own one.
Read the wall, pick the fixing it can hold, find the cables first, and get it level — the method for pictures and mirrors.
- Every step, start to finish
- Checked October 2026 — sources at the end
- Honest about when to call a pro
FIRST, THE HONEST ANSWER
Do it yourself, or get a handymen?
Do it yourself if…
- The frames and mirrors are a weight one person can lift and hold against a wall
- You can reach the fixing height from the floor or a step-ladder
- You can borrow or buy a detector and are willing to use it every time
- The wall is sound plaster or plasterboard, not crumbling or hollow-sounding render
Get a pro if…
- A large mirror or a heavy framed piece needs two people to lift and a fixing into studs or masonry you cannot find
- The fixing goes over a stairwell or above a height you can reach safely from a step-ladder
- The wall is lath and plaster that crumbles when you drill, or tiled
- A gallery wall of many frames has to be laid out exactly to a plan
Safety first
- Find cables and pipes before every hole: use a detector, and keep out of the bands straight above, below and beside sockets and switches, where the wiring rules let cables run.
- Work from a step-ladder on a level floor and do not stand on the top three steps without a handhold. HSE also warns against side-on drilling into brick or concrete from a stepladder, which can tip it.
- Wear eye protection when drilling; masonry and tile throw chips.
- Drilling into masonry makes fine dust. Vacuum it as you go and wear a dust mask for more than a few holes.
- In a house built before 2000, a textured ceiling or wall coating may contain asbestos. Do not drill or sand it; HSE lists drilling into a wall among the jobs most likely to disturb it.
| MATERIAL | COVERAGE | FOR THIS JOB |
|---|---|---|
| Brass picture hooks with pins | Light frames on a cord | One or two hooks a frame |
| Wall plugs and screws | Brown 7 mm or red 6 mm plugs for masonry, matched to the drill bit | Two per heavy frame |
| Cavity fixings or spring toggles | For plasterboard; load and board thickness on the pack | Two per mirror on a stud wall |
| Mirror screws with caps | For mirrors drilled through the glass | One per hole |
Where the hook goes
Decide the height of the centre of the frame, pull the wire up taut to where it will sit on the hook, and measure from that point down to the top of the frame. Hook height = centre height + half the frame height − that drop. For a frame 500 mm tall to be centred at 1,500 mm with the taut wire 80 mm below the top: 1,500 + 250 − 80 = 1,670 mm to the hook.
For two hooks, measure the wire or D-ring spacing on the back of the frame and mark both hooks at the same height with the spirit level.
Knock on it. A dull, solid sound is plaster on brick or block, which takes a plug and screw. A hollow sound that changes every few hundred millimetres is plasterboard on timber or metal studs: it takes a cavity fixing between studs or a screw into a stud. An older house may have lath and plaster, which crumbles; a drill that suddenly breaks through into nothing has found a cavity. The wall decides the fixing, not the frame.
A small frame on a cord can hang from a brass picture hook with a fine pin, angled down into the wall. The pin holds by its angle and leaves a hole you can fill with a fingertip of filler. Rated hard-wall hooks with several fine pins suit masonry where a single pin bends. For anything heavier, move up to a plug or a cavity fixing.
A plain plastic plug in plasterboard spins and pulls out. Use a fixing made for hollow walls: a self-drill plasterboard fixer for light loads, a metal cavity anchor or a spring toggle that opens behind the board for heavier ones. Each pack states its own load and the board thickness it suits; the board thickness is usually printed on the edge, or you can see it at a socket box.
A mirror with a back frame and a wire hangs like a heavy picture. A mirror with holes in the glass or corner clips needs a fixing at each point, all exactly level, and the glass must never sit on a screw head without its cap or washer. A large, heavy mirror is best hung from a timber or metal rail screwed into masonry or studs, with the mirror hooked over it.
A cable and pipe detector costs less than a single visit from an electrician. It finds live cables and metal pipes behind plaster and, on stud walls, the studs. Use it at every hole, sweeping both ways, and treat it as a second opinion to the safe-zone rule, never as a guarantee.
THE PART THAT DECIDES THE FINISH
Before you start — the wall and the space
Find your wall below and follow its prep. Every wall starts the same way: the detector, then the safe-zone check.
Plaster on brick or block
Solid sound, a hard grey or red dust when you drill.
- Sweep the detector over the spot in both directions and mark anything it finds
- Keep clear of the bands running straight above, below and to the sides of sockets and switches
- Use a masonry bit the same size as the plug, with hammer action, and drill a little deeper than the plug is long
- Vacuum the dust out of the hole before pushing the plug in
Plasterboard on studs
Hollow sound, white dust, the drill breaks through quickly.
- Find the studs with the detector and mark their edges
- For a heavy mirror, plan the fixing into a stud; between studs, use a cavity fixing rated for the load
- Drill without hammer action, with the bit size the fixing's pack gives
- Check the board thickness at a socket box before you buy fixings
Old lath and plaster
Hollow but hard, with a crumble of old plaster and thin timber strips behind.
- Drill slowly, without hammer, so the plaster key does not break up
- Aim for a fixing into the timber framing behind where you can find it
- Use a fine bit first to test what is behind
- For anything heavy, consider a picture rail or a batten across the framing
Tiled walls
Bathroom and kitchen mirrors.
- Put a cross of masking tape where the hole goes so the bit does not wander
- Start with a tile bit, without hammer, and only switch to masonry with hammer once through the tile
- Drill into the tile centre, not the grout joint, unless the fixing pack says otherwise
- Seal the screw holes with a dab of silicone in a wet area
Freshly papered or painted
Wallpaper still drying, or paint less than a week old.
- Wait for paste and paint to dry before you drill
- Mark on masking tape rather than on the new surface
- Cut a small cross in wallpaper over the hole so the drill does not tear it
- Touch up the edges of any hole with the leftover paint
A run of frames or a gallery wall
Several frames that have to line up.
- Cut paper templates the size of each frame and tape them to the wall
- Mark the hook point on each template
- Step back and look at the layout from the door before you drill anything
- Run the detector across the whole area once, before marking any holes
THE JOB
How to hang pictures and mirrors, in order
Plan the layout and the heights
15 minDecide where each piece goes and how high. Hold it up, or tape a paper template of the same size to the wall, and look from where you will usually stand or sit. Mark the centre lightly on masking tape. Work out the hook height with the calculation above, and for a frame on two hooks or D-rings, measure the spacing on the back. Then read the section above for your wall type.
- Hang pieces in a group so their gaps match, not so their tops line up
- Over a sofa or a sideboard, leave a hand's width or two between furniture and frame
- Photograph the template layout before you remove it
Mistake to avoid: Drilling the first hole by eye and hanging the rest to match it. A crooked first hook makes every other hook crooked.
Check the wall: detector and safe zones
10 minSweep the detector over every point you have marked, both horizontally and vertically, and over a hand's width around it. Mark anything it finds. Then look at the wall as the wiring rules see it: cables are allowed to run straight up, down and across from sockets, switches and other accessories, and along the top and corners of walls, so treat those bands as off limits whatever the detector says. Pipes often run up from radiators, under windows and down from boilers and taps.
- Look in the room above and below for sockets and lights that might feed a cable down this wall
- Calibrate the detector on a clear patch of wall first
- If in doubt, move the hook a hand's width sideways; nobody will notice
Mistake to avoid: Trusting the detector alone. Cables deeper than its range, or behind foil-backed board, may not show; the safe zones are your second check.
Fix a light frame with a picture hook
5 minFor a small frame on a cord, hold the brass hook against the wall at your mark and tap its pin in at the angle the hook sets, down into the wall, with a light hammer. The angle is what holds it, so do not straighten it. Hang the frame and check it with a level on its top edge. If the pin bends in hard masonry, use a hard-wall hook with several fine pins instead.
- Put a small square of masking tape where the pin goes; it stops the plaster cracking
- Use two hooks for a wider frame, so it cannot tip
- A frame wire should not be so slack that the top of the frame leans out
Mistake to avoid: Using a plain nail driven straight in. It pulls out under the weight and takes the plaster with it.
Drill and plug masonry for heavy frames
15 minMark the hole on masking tape. Fit a masonry bit the size printed on the plug — commonly a 6 mm bit for a red plug or a 7 mm bit for a brown one — and drill with hammer action, holding the drill level and square to the wall. Drill a little deeper than the plug. Vacuum the dust out, push the plug in until it is flush, then drive the screw until it is firm, leaving enough of the head out for the frame's hanger.
- Stand square to the wall and hold the drill with both hands
- Wrap a flag of tape round the bit to mark the depth
- If the hole breaks into a void behind the plaster, switch to a cavity fixing
Mistake to avoid: Using a plug bigger or smaller than the hole. Too small a hole splits the plaster; too big a hole lets the plug spin, and the screw never bites.
Use cavity fixings in plasterboard
15 minBetween studs, use a fixing made for plasterboard. A self-drill fixer screws into the board by hand or with a screwdriver. A metal cavity anchor goes into a drilled hole and is set with its own setting tool or by tightening the screw, so its legs fold up behind the board. A spring toggle passes through a larger hole and opens behind it; hold the fixture away from the wall as you tighten so the toggle does not spin. One maker gives 100 mm as the minimum distance between toggles and from an edge.
- Drill without hammer action; it shatters the board
- Do not overtighten a cavity fixing; it crushes the board and loses its grip
- Into a stud, use a wood screw long enough to go well into the timber
Mistake to avoid: Fitting a plastic masonry plug in plasterboard. It holds for a week and then the frame lands on the floor.
Hang the mirror
20 minFor a mirror with a frame and hanger, follow the frame steps with two fixings level with each other. For a mirror drilled through the glass, hold it up with a helper, mark through every hole, then take it down before you drill. Fix each point with the plug or cavity fixing your wall needs. Fit the mirror screws with their rubber or plastic washers, tighten until the glass is held but not pinched, and snap on the caps. For a heavy mirror, fix a rail first and hook the mirror onto it.
- Never drill with the mirror on the wall
- Tighten in turn, a little at a time, like the wheel nuts on a car
- In a bathroom, keep a gap behind the mirror for air
Mistake to avoid: Tightening a mirror screw hard onto bare glass. The glass cracks from the hole outwards, sometimes days later.
Level it and secure it
10 minHang the piece and put the spirit level on its top edge. On a single hook, nudge the frame until it reads level. On two fixings, a small error needs a hook moved, which is why you levelled the marks. On a wire, the frame can drift with vibration: a small pad of removable adhesive putty or a bumper on each bottom corner holds it level and stops it marking the wall.
- Check level with the level, then check by eye from across the room
- Bumpers on the bottom corners stop a frame tilting forward
- In a hallway, a little more grip at the bottom stops frames being knocked crooked
Mistake to avoid: Levelling a frame against the ceiling line or a skirting. Old rooms are rarely level, and the frame looks crooked against everything else.
Fill, tidy and touch up
10 minFill any false holes with a fingertip of filler, let it dry, sand it lightly and touch it in with the wall colour. Peel off the masking tape. Vacuum the drill dust off the skirting before it is trodden into the carpet. Put the spare plugs, screws and hooks in a labelled bag with the drill bit size written on it.
- A damp cloth over the filler while it is soft saves sanding
- Keep a small pot of the wall paint for touching in
- Write on the bag which wall it was for
Mistake to avoid: Leaving the pencil marks and false holes to paint over later. You will not, and they show in a raking light.
The mistakes that pull frames off the wall
- Choosing the fixing for the frame instead of the wall
- Drilling in the band above or beside a socket or switch
- Plastic masonry plugs in plasterboard
- Overtightening mirror screws onto the glass
Stop here and get a handyman
- You hit a cable or a pipe, or the detector and the safe zones disagree and you cannot move the fixing
- The mirror or frame is too heavy for one person to hold while it is fixed
- The wall crumbles, sounds hollow over a wide area, or the plaster comes away
- The fixing point is above a stairwell or beyond a step-ladder's reach
| WHAT YOU SEE | WHY, AND THE FIX |
|---|---|
| Wall plug spinning in the hole | The hole is too big, or the wall is hollow behind. Fill the hole and drill a fresh one slightly to the side with the right bit, or use a cavity fixing. |
| Picture keeps going crooked | Single hook on a slack wire. Use two hooks set level, or fit bumpers or putty to the bottom corners. |
| Plaster crumbling around the hole | Hammer action on soft plaster, or a pin hook driven into crumbly lime. Drill without hammer through the plaster, then with hammer into the brick behind, or use a fixing that spreads the load. |
| Drill went straight through into a void | Plasterboard or a dot-and-dab cavity. Use a cavity fixing in that hole, sized to it. |
| Cavity fixing pulled out of the plasterboard | Overloaded or overtightened. Move to a stud, or use a heavier-rated fixing, and leave the board uncrushed. |
| Mirror cracked at the screw hole | Overtightened, or no washer between screw and glass. A cracked mirror is replaced; take it down carefully with gloves. |
| Detector beeps everywhere | It is not calibrated, or the wall is foil-backed or damp. Recalibrate on a clear area and work slowly; if it still beeps everywhere, follow the safe zones and move the hook. |
WHAT YOU SAVE
What it costs to do it yourself
| Picture hooks, pack of ten | £2–£3 |
|---|---|
| Wall plugs, a pack | £2–£7 |
| Plasterboard fixings or spring toggles | £3–£13 |
| Mirror screws with caps, pack of ten | £5–£7 |
| Cable, pipe and stud detector | £23–£42 |
| Total, a few frames, without the detector | £5–£35 |
| DIY total | £5–£35 |
Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.
The fixings are pocket money. A detector costs more than the rest together, and less than one cable repair.
RATHER NOT?
Picture hangers near you, with prices shown
The ones who cover your area, nearest first, with one score from every review. No account needed to look.
Or post the job free and let them come to you.
Look at the top edge of a heavy mirror or frame and tug gently. A fixing that has crept is easier to put right before it fails.
Note on a phone picture where the heavy fixings went and what is behind them, for the next time you redecorate.
Packaging goes in your council recycling. A broken mirror goes in the general waste wrapped in cardboard and taped, or to the household waste recycling centre; never in the glass bank, which is for bottles and jars.
Wipe the drill bits, put the detector's battery out if you will not use it for months, and keep the spare fixings with their bit size.
Hanging pictures and mirrors: questions people ask
Light frames can take a picture hook with a fine angled pin. Anything heavier needs a cavity fixing made for plasterboard, or a screw into a stud found with a detector. Never a plain masonry plug.
The plug pack says. As a rule of thumb, red plugs go with a 6 mm bit and brown with a 7 mm bit, but always check the pack.
Use a detector at every hole and keep out of the bands straight above, below and beside sockets and switches, and along the top and corners of the wall, where cables may legally run.
A common rule is to put the centre of the picture at about eye height for the room, and to hang a group as one piece. Use the calculation above to turn that into a hook height.
Yes, into the studs or on a rail fixed into them, or on cavity fixings rated for the load. Weigh the mirror first and check the rating on the pack.
On the Locufy UK price guide a handyman charges £30–£65 an hour, typically £44. Most people pay for an hour or two for a gallery wall or a heavy mirror.
MORE GUIDES
More DIY guides
Sources — checked October 2026
- Rawlplug — SPO spring toggle for plasterboard, product data (minimum spacing and edge distance 100 mm)
- HSE — types of ladder and using them safely (stepladders, side-on drilling)
- HSE — introduction to asbestos: drilling into a wall in buildings from before 2000
- HSE — construction dust
- GOV.UK — recycling collections from your council
- GOV.UK — dispose of household waste: the recycling centre
- Wickes — picture hooks, price check October 2026
- Wickes — wall plugs (red 6 mm, brown 7 mm), price check October 2026
- Wickes — plasterboard fixings and spring toggles, price check October 2026
- Wickes — mirror screws, price check October 2026
- Wickes — cable, pipe and stud detectors, price check October 2026