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| I have a large breaker panel that is the focus of a wall in my living room. I would like to cover it with a photo and am wondering if it is safe to drive a nail and picture hanger above the box in the center of the space it occupies. Any ideas on this?
Thanks for your help. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ronnatalie (My Page) on Thu, Dec 15, 11 at 15:50
| What is supposed to happen is that if the wire passes through a stud within 1-1/4" of the surface, it should have a metal plate. HOWEVER, close to the panel and drilling into the void, you have a good chance of hitting a cable in the void. Might I suggest one of the 3M Command products. I've hung some quite heavy pictures with that stuff. |
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| find the studs on each side of the box and drive the picture hanger nail there. If you use two hangers for a picture with a hanging wire you can move it side to side wand it will still hang level. |
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- Posted by nycarolina (My Page) on Fri, Dec 16, 11 at 13:41
| Thanks so much for the feedback. I like the idea of the 3M but it has to be removable and I am leery to use velcro backing for the weight of the art being hung. It is a large breaker box so a large piece of art is needed. I do not have a way to find the studs and would like to ask if I tap a small nail into the void area centered above the box, what is the worst that could happen? Will I hit a metal plate stopping the nail or could a truly hit a wire? I have been "zapped" big time in the past and do not want to re-live that experience :). I will not be drilling but just using a large picture hanger and a single nail. Thanks again! Carol |
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| I like the idea of the 3M but it has to be removable ??? How is a 3M picture hanger any less removable than a nail in the wall? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean though. |
Here is a link that might be useful: 3M Command example
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| Oops. I just noticed that the 3M "picture hangers" are what you were describing while I was imagining the 'general hooks'. So I guess my suggestion is to use a 3M General Hook. |
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- Posted by ronnatalie (My Page) on Fri, Dec 16, 11 at 16:55
| I have heavy signs (painted on wood) mounted in my house that are held up with the command strips that are like 3/4 x 1-1/2" plastic velcro. Several pieces of it support the sign quite well. |
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| "I do not have a way to find the studs..." Measure the width of the box. Most are very close to 14.5 inches. The studs are on each side of the box. Tapping with a knuckle on the wall should also let you find the studs. Now start moving to the side. A large piece of heavy art work should be supported by nails into the studs. |
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- Posted by nycarolina (My Page) on Thu, Dec 22, 11 at 10:18
| Many thanks to everyone who responded. Home Depot and Lowes did not have a 3M solution for my 24x30 art work and with textured walls I feel uneasy using the 3M velcro type solution. I will try to find the studs today and see how that goes. I am still a bit uneasy hammering a nail anywhere near the box without understanding where the wires may be. I'll post a follow up with the results. |
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- Posted by nycarolina (My Page) on Thu, Dec 22, 11 at 22:57
| The art work is hung! Not sure why it took so long to consider this, but the breaker box is encased in a second box that has screws into the wall. I nailed the picture hangers just above the screw points in the case and voila, the picture is hung without being zapped. Thanks again for all the kind suggestions! |
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| nycarolina- You've gotten a lot of good suggestions on how to do this safely. brickeyee's observation about the studs flanking either side of the box is a good one. You can always get a simple magnetic stud finder for a couple of bucks if you want to confirm this. Also bear in mind that you don't need big nails to hang the picture: anything that goes beyond the back side of the sheetrock will have no additional holding power (unless it goes into the stud). You can use a standard pair of hooks that are held in place by single nails: the nails go in at a 45 degree angle and are about 3/4" long, which means that, even if you don't find the studs, they barely break through the other side of 1/2" sheetrock. They can hold a lot of weight. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Hanger
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