tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post3404989718399935044..comments2024-03-25T22:53:37.578-07:00Comments on QUAKETIPS: Are Command Picture Hanging Strips as good as maze picture hooks for quake-proof picture hanging?Matt Springerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16388585440067493359noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-57175569080286999042021-05-14T23:30:02.490-07:002021-05-14T23:30:02.490-07:00I suspect that after a picture separates from the ...I suspect that after a picture separates from the wall, it probably just wants to fall, but it's impossible to predict of course; as it depends on the direction and strength of the shaking. It's hard to picture (no pun intended) but the 1994 Northridge quake tossed items across the room in my mother's apartment. I think you are doing the right thing to assume the worst and secure the picture with more than just the hook, especially given that it's your daughter who is being protected; can't have too many layers of redundancy for something precious like that! If you really wanted to go all out, you could try replacing the regular hook with a maze hook; although I myself have not felt inclined to combine maze hooks and command strips.Matt Springerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388585440067493359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-32813715304721022882021-05-14T10:40:01.138-07:002021-05-14T10:40:01.138-07:00I have a large (not particularly heavy) picture in...I have a large (not particularly heavy) picture in my daughter's room, not above her bed, but sort of next to it, I'd say about 2 feet over from where her bed starts. It's also very high to the ceiling and her bed is a mattress on the floor, so it's a big distance. This concerns me because what if the earthquake is moving side to side and the pictures flies off the wall sideways and lands on my daughter? Is that how earthquakes sometimes work, they throw things sideways? I have it secured with the hook, wire and then 4 command strips along the bottom and sides, but I don't want to take any chances...Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12624406361589444402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-79054389238828971452020-04-11T15:14:54.765-07:002020-04-11T15:14:54.765-07:00I don't see why not. Any hanging approach tha...I don't see why not. Any hanging approach that involves a hook (maze or normal) at the top still lets pictures swing so having a way to tack down bottom corners is useful. I've written in various articles about how quake putty can sometimes leave shiny spots on flat wall paint, and Gripeez pieces leave wet marks on some paint but not others. Using a Command strip approach sounds like a good way to not leave marks on the paint. But if using them on the bottom, you might as well use them on the top also and forgo the hook and the hole in the wall, unless you want the double protection from two strategies in case one fails. Keep in mind that with a hook, your picture won't be flat against the wall; it tilts out a bit. That means that the Command strips on the bottom won't be flush between the wall and the picture corners for the entire length of the strips, but I would think there would be enough contact that it would still work for your intended purpose.Matt Springerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388585440067493359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-24288924111920868552020-04-11T10:11:49.008-07:002020-04-11T10:11:49.008-07:00whats your opinion of using them on the bottom of ...whats your opinion of using them on the bottom of the pictures and still use a standard hanging solution. Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01878332273479401857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-45051975333760912062017-09-18T08:52:41.949-07:002017-09-18T08:52:41.949-07:00Great simulation! I am thinking of hanging poster ...Great simulation! I am thinking of hanging poster frames in my classroom and I saw the strips in Walmart. I think I will give the strips a shot. Thanks again!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-83954169499631853032017-04-30T00:10:43.692-07:002017-04-30T00:10:43.692-07:00I would like to add one more observation to my own...I would like to add one more observation to my own article. I gave one of my talks the other day and mentioned that I was feeling pretty good about using these interlocking strips to hang pictures. Someone in the audience told me that she had used these to hang pictures a few years ago, and they were coming un-stuck. If I understood her correctly, it was not that the adhesive strips were coming off of the wall, but that the two interlocking halves were pulling away from each other.<br /><br />I was surprised to hear this, because in my experience, if you push the halves together firmly enough so that they completely lock in place, they cannot spontaneously separate on their own accord. It is actually rather hard to pull them apart.<br /><br />So I'm left wondering if perhaps the strips were not pushed together firmly in the first place; I have found that when pushing the picture against the wall, sometimes the forces are not distributed correctly and the two halves of the velcro-like hooks don't entirely engage each other. Alternatively, I have noticed that some frames are not perfectly flat in the back, and if you have the top corners and the bottom corners both stuck to the wall but the frame is slightly concave, then either the top or bottom strips will have pressure on them to pull away from the wall, and perhaps that was what happened. <br /><br />Still, without knowing more about this, I wanted to pass it along for transparency. I still feel that the strips I put up in my own home are in good shape; I check them from time to time, although it has only been half a year. One small object that I hung with those about 8 years ago is still securely fashioned, but it is light.Matt Springerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388585440067493359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-15654598774236376302016-10-30T10:23:03.786-07:002016-10-30T10:23:03.786-07:00Thank you! Helpful info and great demonstrations....Thank you! Helpful info and great demonstrations.San Diego Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08330614934370185108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1960936282220367813.post-39566056892175987752016-08-09T10:55:56.214-07:002016-08-09T10:55:56.214-07:00I should add that these Command strips are great a...I should add that these Command strips are great at being removed without damaging paint, but there is a right way and a wrong way to remove them. As the instructions should point out, you want to pull the tab SLOWLY because it is losing adhesion bit by bit. If you pull the tab too quickly, the tab may just break off in your hand, forcing you to pull the tiny little bit that is left, not as easy. If you pull it gradually, like in my video showing me removing the strips, it will remain intact. You also do run a risk of pulling off paint if you pull it so fast that the adhesion hasn't been lost yet, especially if the wall turns out weak painted paper. And I don't think you are supposed to use these on actual wallpaper. <br /><br />Another tip is that you need to pull the tab parallel to the wall. If you pull out toward you at an angle, it will break. Just imitate what you see in my video showing the removal of the strips. You should be able to remove these years later without leaving a mark; I have done this on several occasions; although there have been occasional instances in which I had trouble removing the strip and a little paint came off; that has been rare and isn't much different from having to repair a nail hole anyway so you still come out ahead. <br /><br />One last note: this isn't much of a problem with these hanging strips, but if you ever use the regular Command strips to hang plastic hooks, etc., it's wise to have one hand holding that separate plastic piece because when enough adhesion is lost, that piece and shoot down at your tab-pulling hand and it's painful. This isn't a problem with these Velcro style strips because there is no other piece; the worst that can happen is that the rest of the strip slaps you tab-pulling hand as if someone had lightly slapped you on the wrist.Matt Springerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388585440067493359noreply@blogger.com