How to hang a picture with wire

Picture wire is forgiving to hang and easy to get wrong when you measure. The nail doesn't go where the wire is attached. It goes where the wire peaks when it's pulled tight.

Step by step

1. Decide where the frame's top edge goes. From the layout or the height guidelines.
2. Measure the drop. Lay the frame face down. Hook a finger (or, better, the actual picture hook) under the wire at the center and pull it toward the top edge until it's taut. Measure from the top edge of the frame down to the point where the wire bends.
3. Calculate the nail height. Frame top height − drop. That's where the hook's cradle, the part the wire sits on, needs to be.
4. Find the horizontal position. For one hook, it's the frame's vertical centerline.
5. Mark, level, hang. Put the hook's cradle on the mark (the nail goes in higher, at an angle). Hang the frame and level it by sliding the wire.

A worked example

Two hooks for wide or heavy frames

One hook lets a frame tilt. For frames wider than about 24 in (61 cm), or heavy ones, use two hooks spaced apart on the same level line, usually a third to half of the frame's width apart. Measure the drop the same way but with the wire pulled up at two points that far apart: the drop is smaller than with one hook, because the wire forms a flatter shape.

How tight should the wire be?

Pulled up toward the top, the wire should stay a couple of inches (about 5 cm) below the frame's top edge so it doesn't show above the frame. Attach it about a third of the way down the sides. If it's too slack, the frame leans forward and the drop gets large; re-tie it shorter.