About the Cleats

I use French Cleats to hang my work. If the piece is opaque a metal cleat would work fine. But a lot of my work has been not quite opaque. I wanted it to stand off the wall and I didn't want to see what was holding it in place. I like the work to appear as if it is floating off the wall.

The cleat size I have used most often is 3 inches wide by 1 and 3/4 inches on the short side and 2 and 1/4 inches on the long side and half an inch thick. This size can hold up a significantly large piece of work. In fact the heavier the piece is, the sturdier the hanging (as long as the wall is good!) The cleat half that screws into the wall is identical to the cleat half that gets glued to your work with just one exception -- the two holes drilled into it for attaching the cleat to the wall.

I also have some cleats that are much smaller:
One inch wide with one inch on the short side and one and a half inches on the long side and half an inch thick. Looks teeny, but I have hung a half inch thick six inch square piece from a cleat that small without a problem.

The other cleat I have is two inches wide with one and a quarter inches on the short side and one and three quarter inches on the long side and still half an inch thick.

I find that these cleats work best when they are attached near to the top of a piece and then a simple one half inch thick block of acrylic is attached to the bottom of the piece. Keeps the piece hanging parallel to the wall.

If you have more questions about French cleats check out the warmglass bulletin board.