Picture, Mirror & Art Hanging in NYC
Level, secure, and in the right spot the first time — on plaster, brick, or drywall, without a constellation of test holes.
· same week · exact quote from a photo, before the visit · minimum $90
Floating shelves and heavier single pieces start at $60 each with me, a full gallery wall of up to 10 pieces is a flat $140, and a heavy mirror starts at $90. My minimum visit is $90 — which usually covers a handful of frames. Send photos of the pieces and the wall, and you’ll have an exact flat quote before I arrive.
What’s included in an art hanging visit
I’m one guy with a level, a stud finder, and a real anchor kit — not a rotating cast from an app. Here’s the process:
- Photo quote first. Pictures of your frames, mirror, or art plus the wall. Flat price confirmed before booking.
- Layout on the wall. For gallery walls I tape out the arrangement full-size so you approve the composition before any drilling. Moving tape is free; moving holes is not.
- The right hardware. Every piece gets hardware rated for its weight and matched to your actual wall. Heavy mirrors get two-point mounting so they can’t rotate or walk.
- Level and secure. Checked with a level, not eyeballed from across the room.
- Cleanup included. Dust vacuumed, packaging broken down and out. I can also patch and touch up the old holes — see drywall repair and painting touch-ups.
I work evenings and Sundays, so your art doesn’t have to wait for you to burn a vacation day — and every job carries a 30-day warranty on labor, in writing.
Hanging art on NYC walls: plaster, brick, and concrete
Here’s the part most people learn the hard way: in New York, “just use a nail” is a plan for exactly one type of wall, and it’s probably not yours.
Prewar plaster. Plaster over wood lath is brittle. Hammer a nail in and you can crack a plate-size chunk, or the nail slides into a gap between lath strips and holds nothing. The fix is drilling a clean pilot hole and using the right anchor — slower, boring, and the reason your frame is still up in five years.
Brick. Brownstones and exposed-brick walls need masonry anchors set with a hammer drill, placed in the brick, not the crumbly mortar joint. A nail bounces off or blows out the face of the brick.
Concrete. Glass towers and postwar high-rises. Nothing goes in without a hammer drill. Once anchored, it’s the most secure hold in the city.
Drywall. Renovated walk-ups and new construction. Fine for light frames on hooks; anything heavy needs a stud or a rated toggle anchor. A heavy mirror on a bare drywall nail is a slow-motion accident.
If you rent, I’ll default to the smallest holes that safely do the job and can go fully damage-free for light pieces. For a big mirror, honest answer: it needs real anchors, and a few small patchable holes beat a shattered mirror every time.
What I don’t do
- Museum-grade conservation mounting. Genuinely valuable or fragile art deserves a fine-art installer with the specialized rigging for it. I’ll tell you when your piece is in that category.
- Anything requiring wall demolition or structural work. Not handyman territory.
- Hanging over unknown pipes or wiring without checking. I scan first. If a picture light or sconce needs new wiring run inside the wall, that’s a licensed electrician — though swapping an existing light fixture is something I handle, from $110.
Picture and mirror hanging prices
Flat “from” rates, confirmed exactly by photo. Materials extra.
- Gallery wall, up to 10 pieces — flat $140
- Heavy mirror — from $90
- Floating shelf — from $60 each
- Curtain rod or blinds while I’m there — from $80
- Drywall patch + paint (erase old layouts) — from $140
Minimum visit $90; hourly work runs $75–95. Full list on the pricing page.
Why one guy beats an app for this
Gallery walls are precision work. An app sends whoever’s nearby with whatever’s in their trunk; I show up with the layout planned, the anchors matched to your wall, and a fixed price you saw before booking. Same phone, same guy, including Sundays. I hang art across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens — and I also do the bigger stuff, like TV mounting, while I’m there.
Send photos of the pieces and the wall — you’ll have a flat price today. Contact me.
Letters to the desk — answered
How much does picture hanging cost in NYC?
A gallery wall of up to 10 pieces is a flat $140 with me. A heavy mirror starts at $90, and my minimum visit is $90 — which usually covers several frames. Exact flat quote from photos before I come.
Can you hang a heavy mirror on a plaster or brick wall?
Yes. Heavy mirrors start at $90, and I match the hardware to the wall — toggle anchors for plaster, masonry anchors for brick or concrete. A nail alone is how mirrors end up on the floor.
Can you hang art without drilling? My lease says no holes.
For light pieces, yes — there are damage-free options that genuinely work. For heavy frames and mirrors, I'll be honest: adhesive hooks have real weight limits, and I'll tell you where the line is instead of gambling with your artwork.
Do you help decide where things should go?
Happy to. I'll tape out the layout on the wall so you can see the whole arrangement before a single hole is drilled. You approve the layout, then I hang it.
My building has rules about when work can happen. Can you work around them?
Yes. Co-ops, condos, and doorman buildings often restrict work hours — tell me your building's window and I'll book inside it. I'm open 7 days until 10 PM, so there's usually a slot that fits.
Do you patch the holes from old picture hooks?
Yes. I can fill and touch up old nail and anchor holes while I'm there, so the wall looks clean before the new layout goes up. Small patches are quick; a full drywall repair with paint starts at $140.