Blog.DoDesignDIY.com

Feature your pictures or hang your framed pictures in a mass display on an entire large wall with the minimum of holes in the wall and the maximum of flexibility. The secret is to install a master Main Rail that will support a thin wood picture shelf, held-up in turn by the wall studs. Secret number two is to use an overlooked, very inexpensive but very strong material: Steel EMT electrical conduit.

See the DIY section of our website (http:DoDesignDIY.com/) for more picture/photo and other projects, and our other Blog postings.

Materials and Tools (ID= Interior dimension):
— Electric drill, 1/8 and 1/4 inch bits and screw bits, small hammer, 3-5 heavy 2.5+” nails or a drill punch, wire-cutting pliers, hacksaw, plumb line with plumb bob, level
— One 10 foot length of steel electrical conduit (EMT). This is steel pipe used to protect permanent electrical wiring. It comes in 10 foot lengths at Lowes, Home Depot, etc., and in 1/2″ ID (about $3), 3/4″ ID (about $6), and larger sizes. I will feature more metal conduit potential uses in following posts.
— Optional (See Variations): One 10-foot length of PVC water pipe (about $5+) that will slide onto the size of conduit you are using, as snugly as possible. Remove the printed labeling using nail polish remover on a rag (lightly). Add this to the conduit before drilling holes.
— 3 to 5 PVC 1/2″ (ID) PVC Couplings (not Caps), which will served as standoffs. Use five if your pix are heavy and many.
— 3 to 5 #10 or #12 x 3 inch+ long round-head wood screws.
— One 10-foot piece of 1×4 (3/4×3.5″ Actual)
— One 10-foot piece of decorative molding.
— Five #8 x 1.25′ flat-head metal self-tapping screws
— Framed pictures, or stiff picture mats, or Dollar Store frames, etc.

Steps in order:
— Determine where your structural conduit bar is to go on the wall— it will support the Wood Shelf.
— Mark the horizontal screw line on the wall using LIGHT pencil or a color chalk line using a string line and level.
— Find (the centers of) the wall studs along the line— This is ESSENTIAL: Wall studs are generally spaced at 16 inches on centers from the stud at the corner of the room. You can use a magnetic stud finder that detects the nails/screws holding on the wallboard. Or you can tap THIN 1-1.5 inch brads or nails into the wallboard very near the top of baseboard to find the studs with minimal damage, then use a string plumb line to mark the locations for your Main Rail screws on the pencil/chalk line.
— Cut the conduit, and PVC ‘cover’, if any, to the width of the wall or space you are using, minus 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Keep the Hacksaw blade vertical. Flip the cut end(s) to the corner (to be least visible).
— Transfer 3 to 5 of the stud locations to the Conduit (or its PVC cover, if any). These must be more or less equidistantly spaced, and about 3 to 6 inches from the pipe ends. Tape the ends of the nested pipes on the end to temporarily keep them aligned with each other.
— Use a hammer and nail to dimple/mark the metal or PVC before you drill, to position the drill bit, and put a block of wood under the wood to protect your floor. Drill 3 to 5 1/4-inch holes in the Conduit (with PVC cover, if any), completely thru the pipe. Keep the drill vertical so the holes are aligned (|) thru the pipe. As you drill each hole, insert the 3″ screw thru the holes to keep the pipes in alignment.
— Put the 3 inch screws into the structural hang pipe and thru the PVC Couplings.
— Using the 1/8th inch drill bit, partially predrill the wall stud (about 1/2″ deep) just before you screw them into the wall in the following steps.
— Get some help. Screw the Conduit (and PVC) into the first mark. Make sure the screw enters 90 degrees to the wall and that it bites into the stud. Leave it just a little loose for now.
— Move to the other end of the Conduit (and PVC), and set the screw point on that mark. Have your helper tell you if the pipe VISUALLY looks level compared to the corner wall, ceiling, etc. (the ceiling or walls could be ‘off’). THIS IS CRITICAL! When you’re SURE, screw it in and tighten it, then tighten the first screw.
— Move to the middle, have your helper visually check that to make sure the pipe is not sagging, screw it in tightly. Ditto for screws 4&5, if used. Test the Conduit; it should be very rigid. If not, add more 3″ screws into other wall studs.
— Now you are ready to add the shelf atop the conduit. Drill 5 vertical 1/8″ holes thru the conduit, evenly spaced. Put the wood shelf on the conduit, and screw the self-tapping screws upwards thru the the conduit into the bottom of the shelf.
— See the diagrams for further details.

Cautions:
— Do NOT try this using butterfly or expanding wall fasteners— you will need screws securely fastened into the actual wall studs.
— It would be safer to use plastic glazing in the frames, not glass.
— Do not use for valuable frames unless/until you are SURE of the strength of your wall supports.
— If you need to remove the Shelf assembly to move, etc. use a small container of premixed wall spackle (white) and a putty knife (Lowes, Home Depot) to fill the screw holes. Touch up the paint it if needed, after its dry.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Comment on this posting.