Blog.DoDesignDIY.com

Feature your photos 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. Blog.DoDesignDIY.com gives you three consecutive and different DIY postings, following, that will make this possible at low cost and fairly easily. Each posting has diagrams and complete instructions.

Here’s one of the three different DIY diagrams (#2):

DIY Photo and Picture Gallery Wall #1- Multi-picture Shelf
DIY Photo and Picture Gallery Wall #2- Vertical Hanging Bars
DIY Photo and Picture Gallery Wall #3- Multiple Horizontal Hanging Bars

Hold a vivid photo or inkjet print in front of a bright light and you have a basic backlit image display. Notice how the colors become rich and the details come alive. Like to have your favorite art or photo glowing at you when you come home or while you count sheep at night? Here it is. You do not need a $200+ extra-large digital display to make this happen.

The Acrobat PDF file linked to this page will give you detailed illustrated instructions on making your own simpler version than the ones sold in our Store. Electrical and other skills needed are minimal and the total cost is under $25. It requires one recycled glass jar that is not visible in the finished lamp.

Do not use fine art or valuable photos, as exposure to light can fade them over time. Use inkjet printed or developed photo copies only.

Tags: Photos, Prints, Displays, Frame

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.

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 all of the vertical slats and pictures, 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 view our other Blog postings.

Materials and Tools (ID= Interior dimension):
— Electric drill, 1/8 and 1/4 inch bits (and screwdriver bits), small hammer, saw, 3-5 heavy 2.5+” nails or a drill punch, wire-cutting pliers, hacksaw, plumb line with plumb bob, level
— One 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. For this, use 3/4″ ID.
— Optional: 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 before drilling the screw holes.
— Vertical hang bars— These can be wood lattice strip (at least 1/2″thick x 1.5″wide). Buy as many as you plan to use, upto 8 feet long each.
— Scraps of 1.5×3 or 4″ wood (for hanger and spacer blocks), and of the lattice strip (See diagram)
— 3 to 5 PVC 1/2″ (ID) PVC pipe caps, which will served as standoffs. Use five if your pix are heavy and many.
— 3 to 5 #10 x 3 inch+ long round-head wood screws.
— One 1-inch x #8 round or pan head screw for each framed picture to be hung (See Cautions)
— Framed pictures, or stiff picture mats, or Dollar Store frames, etc.

Steps in order:
— Your structural Horizontal Rail conduit bar is to go 9 to 12 inches below the ceiling.
— Mark the horizontal Rail 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 Horizontal Rail screws on the pencil/chalk line.
— Cut the Horizontal Rail conduit 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 to the corner (to be least visible).
— Transfer 3 to 5 of the stud locations to the Horizontal Rail conduit (or to its PVC cover, if any). These must be more or less equidistantly spaced, starting about 3 to 6 inches from the pipe ends. Keep the two pipes in alignment by taping the ends together temporarily.

— Use a hammer and nail to dimple/mark the metal or PVC before you drill, to position the drill bit. Put a block of wood under the wood to protect your floor. Drill 3 to 5 1/4-inch holes in the Horizontal Rail conduit (with PVC cover on, if any), completely thru the pipe (and PVC). Keep the drill vertical so the holes are aligned (|) thru the pipe. Slide a #10×3″ screw thru each hole to keep all in alignment.
— Drill a 1/4″ hole thru the center of the end of each PVC cap.
— Put the 3 inch screws into the structural hang pipe and thru the drilled PVC cap (closed end to the wall), with about 1/4 inch of the screw point extending out of the cap.
— Using the 1/8th inch drill bit, partially predrill the wall stud (about 1/2″ deep) for each Horizontal Rail conduit screw hole just before you screw them into the wall in the following steps.
— Get some help. Screw the conduit 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 pipe, 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 Horizontal Rail; it should be very rigid. If not, add more 3″ screws into other wall studs.
— Now you are ready to hang the vertical bars. See the diagram and use wood blocks nailed and Elmers glued to the back of the Lattice Strip The verticals hang from the Horizontal Rail conduit and are not otherwise fastened to the wall.
— Hang each picture from a small round head screw driven partly into the Vertical Slats.
— See the diagram for further details.

Variations and Refinements:
— Instead of the PVC piper, cover the conduit with wide vinyl or cloth tape, by carefully painting it. Or sew a snuggish fitting tube of cloth as a pipe cover. Do this BEFORE you mount the conduit to the wall. Do NOT drill thru fabric— just ‘bunch it’ mid-pipe and expand/alter it after the screws are in tightly.

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 hang valuable frames unless/until you are SURE of the strength of your wall screw supports.
— If you need to remove the Horizontal Rail conduit 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.

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 all of the pictures and SubBars, 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.

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 all of the pictures and SubBars, 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. For one line of lightly matted pix, use 1/2″. For an entire wall of pix or for more heavily framed pix, use 3/4 or as much as 1 inch conduit. I will feature more metal conduit potential uses in following posts.
— Optional (See Variations): 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 before drilling holes.
— If you want to gang your pictures in aligned horizontal rows, get additional lengths of 1/2 ID conduit ( and appropriate PVC cover pipe) for the SubBars. Add one to the bottom as well, for visual balance. These will all hang from the main structural bar. Also get some strong multi-strand approx. 1/8″ steel cable (3 pieces 1.5 times as long as the wall height). You will also need some machine screws— see the diagram.
— 3 to 5 PVC 1/2″ (ID) PVC pipe caps, which will served as standoffs. Use five if your pix are heavy and many.
— 3 to 5 #10 x 3 inch+ long round-head wood screws.
— Picture hanging material- one or two of the following: Braided picture wire, 25+ pound clear fishline, Strong fabric cloth stripping, Decorative rope or string (1/6 to 1/4 inch in diameter. These loop over/hang on the Main or SubBars and fasten to the back of the frame or picture mat. Or make large wire elongated hooks for hanging.
— Framed pictures, or stiff picture mats, or Dollar Store frames, etc.

Steps in order:
— The main structural conduit bar is to go near the ceiling. Keep it about 9 to 12 inches below the ceiling.
— Mark the horizontal Main Rail 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 the 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 structural Main Rail (and the SubBars, and PVC ‘covers’, 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) toward the corner (to be least visible).
— Transfer 3 to 5 of the stud locations to the structural MAIN RAIL (and its PVC cover, if any). These must be more or less equidistantly spaced, about 3 to 6 inches from the pipe ends. Nest each conduit/PVC cover pipe and temporarily fasten each set together on the ends with tape, to keep them in alignment.
— Use a hammer and nail to dimple/mark the metal 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 structural Main Rail (with PVC cover, if any), completely thru the pipe. Keep the drill vertical so the holes are aligned (|) thru the pipe. If you are using SubBars too, you will need 1/4″ vertical holes in the Main Rail and SubBars (see the Cabling diagram). Put a 3″ screw thru each hole to keep the PVC cover and conduit in alignment.
— Drill a 1/4″ hole thru the center of the end of each PVC cap.
— Put the 3 inch screws into the structural hang pipe and thru the drilled PVC cap (closed end to the wall), with about 1/4 inch of the screw point extending out of the cap; see diagram.
— 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 pipe 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 pipe, 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 Main Rail; it should be very rigid. If not, add more 3″ screws into other wall studs.
— Now you are ready to hang the SubBars (or your one line of pix, etc.) To hang the SubBars, see the Cabling diagram. It is elegantly simple, and adjustable. They hang from the Main Rail and are not otherwise fastened to the wall.
— See the diagrams for further details.

Variations and Refinements:
— In place of the PVC pipe cover, you can cover the conduit with wide vinyl or cloth tape, by carefully painting it. Or sew a snuggish fitting tube of cloth as a pipe cover. Do this BEFORE you mount it to the wall or hang the SubBars. Do NOT drill thru fabric— just ‘bunch it’ mid-pipe and expand/alter it after the screws are in tightly.
— Clip LED picture lights to the hang bars where desired.
— Devise your own variations and let us know (Comments)

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, not glass, in the frames.
— Do not hang valuable frames unless/until you are SURE of the strength of your wall screw supports.
— If you need to remove the Main Rail 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.

Flush doors are a well kept secret available at any Home store (Lowes, Home Depot). For about $25, you can get an 80 inch long by 24 to 36 inch wide x 1+ inch thick totally flat internally framed Luan (wood type) panel useable for many purposes, especially a huge desk.

They are also very GREEN, as they are framed of natural wood with two very thin (1/16 inch) smooth wood facings reinforced internally by a corrugated cardboard honeycomb. They are strong but light weight, cutting down on shipping emissions.

I will feature some of their potential uses in this and following posts.

If you have need of a simple-to-build large desk, the simplest version would consist of one flush door resting on two inexpensive metal file cabinets (fasten the door to them). If you want some “free range storage space” with it, use two doors separated by two “2×4s” fastened on-edge under the short ends of the doors.

If you are pressed for space, then try the fold-up desk shown in the accompanying diagram. It requires one flush door and a few pieces of 2×2 (actual 1.5×1.5) and 2×3 or 4 (actual 1.5×2.5 or 3.5) available at the wood construction section of Lowes, etc., and a few hinges. It uses the wall to hold up the back. You must fasten the back hinges well into the wall studs with long enough screws. Wall studs are usually 16 inches apart, center to center. Refine the construction to suit.

See many more simply elegant projects and products at our website.

Variations and Refinements:

* Cover the final desk with a thin sheet of metal, clear plastic (plastics store), plastic laminate contact-cemented on (Home store), or a few coats of glossy acrylic exterior house paint or clear water-base polyurethane.

* Construct a pigeon-hole desk storage unit to rest on the back top of the desk, using 1×4 (3/4×3.5) or 1×6 (3/4×5.5)— mount it a little above the desk to allow uncluttered desk space, or add wall shelves above the desk.

* Add a chicken-wire or fencing tool panel on the wall behind (see our Website, DIY section).

* If you make the fold-up version, you can use the folded-up door back as a bulletin board or picture display, or…

Cautions:

* Do NOT sit on flush door desks, as they may not hold up concentrated weights over about 100 pounds, NOR small children jumping on them. Flush doors cannot be used to make worktables that will take a lot of beating, as their skin is only about 1/16 inch thick.

* Do NOT cover the desk surface with glass.

* When adding legs, they must be very near the corners of the door because the internal framing is only about 1.25×1.25 inches in size and the screws need to “bite” into the framing. You can inset the legs if you use 1/2- 3/4 inch thick 12×12 inch plywood pressure spreaders glued to the door/desk “underside” near each corner. This also gives the leg screws something to “bite” into.

* You can cut flush doors shorter, but this requires care, and the cut edge MUST be reinforced with an inserted glued-in wood framing member. Cut the wood door facings carefully with a metal straightedge and sharp utility knife (many cut passes), THEN saw through the edge framing. WATCH YOUR FINGERS!

Make your own low-cost 11×14 inch Backlit Picture Frame that displays your photos and pictures as vividly as your computer monitor can. 8.5 x 11 Inkjet paper photo prints done on your computer printer slip in easily without tools. This is an effective backlit image frame that can hang or stand on a table, in either orientation. Hard-to-find print media is NOT required, and it costs about $30 in parts.

Get more info and access the Acrobat PDF illustrated instructions HERE, or buy it, ready-to-use, at our Store.

I have used both Macs and PCs for the last 20 years or so.

My first Mac tower (OS 9.x) lasted more than 15 years and I’m still considering having it repaired. Though I did graphics and Web design at Cornell University on faster new Macs, I rarely thought my old home Mac was too slow, or not powerful and flexible enough. In all that time, I never once HAD TO defrag my disk (at home or work), though I did have to reinstall OS 9 about three times due to system crashes, maybe ’cause I did not defrag(?). But I lost no doc or image files.

My current Mac is a 3 year old PPC Mini that cost about $550. I use my old CRT, scanner, and printer, and am on a rural dial-up connection.

I use my PC (Win2000) ONLY when I must, which is becoming very rare. It will no longer go online, because (I think) it was bombed with an online virus.

Why I adore my Mac OS X Mini (10.4.11 Tiger):

* Just out of the box, I was using it within about an hour or less. I am on it about 2-4 hours most days. It immediately recognized my old peripherals.
* It is stable, stable, and stable.
* I am able to use my old OS 9 software (on the new Macs, you cannot, but you can run Windows— for a price).
* iPhoto (which comes with the computer) is a superb photo and image visual database, easy to use and capable enough that, with 10,000 images in it so far, lets me find any photo I need quickly, and any category of photos I want (Keywords and Smart Folders). Drag and drop and I’ve got the pic.
* The same can be said for iTunes, AppleWorks (like MS Office, but simpler, and recently improved and renamed), Airport, Firewire, and a host of other applications and capabilities that come with the Mac, some of which I use only once in a while— but it’s great to have them. I find the Email app and Safari browser are excellent, altho a few websites (e.g., bill-pay sites) do not reliably support it, so I use Firefox for them.
* There are many free or low-cost (innovative and intuitive) shareware applications on the Web (Iusethis.com, VersionTracker.com, Apple.com) that give me many added options and capabilities. The great news is that you download the software file, plunk the .app file into your Applications folder, and you’re ready to roll. The only big$ app I have bought for it is Photoshop (and may buy DreamWeaver).
* I am easily able to transfer files to/from my PC using a flash drive or an Ethernet connection, and have rarely had trouble opening any transferred file on either of them, except .wmf image files.
A Mac-friend of mine shares his DSL connection with a PC laptop and with his iMac thru a low-cost router and the wireless Airport.
* It gives me a few prompts and messages I don’t really need, but nowhere like the PC does. If I were still ambitious, I have the option of turning those few Mac prompts off.
* When an application goes bonkers, I can Force Quit it and continue on my merry way.
* I am constantly discovering new capabilities of OS X and the Mini.

* and finally, I find that the PC is mechanistic and robotic in screen appearance, and wants a lot of attention. Perhaps the PC is great for engineers, but the Mac feels visually rich and built for a poet.

The downside:
* The older Mini’s do have a problem with low-voltage feed to a CRT, which makes the screen darker and off-color. When the temperature of my mini hits 86 degrees, that corrects itself.
* Older scanners built for OS9 may not run on Mac OSX reliably, if at all.
* For backups, many add-on hard disks will work, but for rebooting a Mac from a hard disk you need a Firewire drive that is certified OS X compatible.
* I would not recommend the Mini for a professional Web or Graphics designer (I changed careers), but for general use, it’s tops. I WOULD always recommend a Mac, however.