How to Hang Anything on Your Wall

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, you probably have a list of small-scale home-improvement projects that you want to accomplish — someday. Maybe it’s a room that needs a paint job, or a leaky toilet that you wish you didn’t have to call a plumber about.

You’ve come to the right place. In our new D.I.Y. series, we’ll be tackling some of these projects, from basic repairs to simple restorations, which you can do yourself in just a few hours. They’ll be realistic for renters and homeowners alike, and they won’t require expertise. Nor will they require a lot of tools, and the tools they do require will be general purpose — you’ll find them useful for all manner of jobs around your place.

Finally, even though each project will have a specific goal or solution, our real aim is to impart a set of general skills that you’ll be able to draw on again and again.

Take our first project as an example: With Super Bowl LIX coming up Feb. 9, we’ll be learning how to install a TV mount so you can hang that big flat-screen in time for the game. Of course, if you’re like me and you’d rather do anything other than watch football, you can spend the evening putting up a heavy mirror, a big piece of framed art, or a floating shelf or cabinet.

Whatever it is you’re hanging, the crux of the job is finding the studs inside your walls, and that’s really what this project is about. If you’re unfamiliar with what’s hidden behind your paint or wallpaper, it can be scary to hang heavy or valuable things. But once you know how to find a stud, it’s no sweat.

Studs are the internal framing that give a wall its strength. Because they can bear a lot of weight, studs are also used for hanging heavy objects. (For lightweight stuff like photos, posters and small paintings, you don’t even need the studs. It’s fine to hang them anywhere using small nails or removable adhesive strips.)