How to install The Gallery System

1. Plan the track position and access

The Gallery System track is larger than Slimline and is screwed directly to the wall through the upper channel of its H-shaped profile. Check every wall before drilling and plan both the finished position and how hangers will enter the track.

• Straight corniceThe track can be installed directly beneath it when the drill can reach the upper fixing channel without damaging the cornice.
• Square-set ceilingUsually sit the track down slightly. The fixing hole is drilled through the top of the track, making it difficult to hold a drill square when the track is tight against the ceiling.
• Very high ceilingConsider keeping the track lower so it remains accessible from a normal stepladder. About 2.6 metres from the floor is often a sensible height.
• Strong architectural lineA door head or former picture-rail height can provide a considered alternative.
• Clear Tape hangersLeave an accessible track end or a loading gap of at least 40 mm where hangers can be added and removed without sliding them several metres along a long run.

If Gallery Lighting may be added later: install a continuous track run, leave a 40 mm gap at corners, keep the track no higher than approximately 2.6 metres and allow at least 15 mm below the ceiling or cornice so lighting wands can be fitted and removed. Power is introduced through a junction box; a section of track can be cut out for it when the lighting is installed.

Clear Tape needs end access. Stainless-steel cable and Clearline hangers use a removable track slide and can be inserted at any point, so loading gaps are not required for those hanger types.

2. Drill and set out each track length

Shakespeare Solutions field notes

Use five fixings for a two-metre track and seven for a three-metre track. We almost always include a centre fixing, even when it does not coincide with a stud, because it balances the track while the remaining positions are marked and makes the length easier to install and remove.

1. Locate the practical studs. Mark the stud positions, then place the track against the wall and transfer those positions onto its upper V-groove.
2. Plan the full fixing pattern. Include the centre hole, keep the end holes at least 20 mm from the ends and add intermediate positions so the track is supported evenly.
3. Drill the track. Use a 4 mm metal bit for the supplied 8-gauge screws. Support the track securely and remove any burrs that could stop it sitting flat.
4. Use the centre fixing first. Hold the track at the selected height, fix or temporarily support it at the centre, align it and mark the remaining holes on the wall.
5. Remove the track. Prepare the remaining wall fixings using the appropriate method in Step 3, then return the track for final installation.

Do not force every fixing onto a stud. Prioritise every practical stud, then use a suitable hollow-wall fixing where the planned pattern falls between studs.

3. Prepare fixings for the wall type

Shakespeare Solutions field notes

First assess the substrate—the type of wall you are working on—then prepare each marked position. Plasterboard on timber or steel studs and solid masonry are the two most common constructions.

4. Cut, install and join the track

Shakespeare Solutions field notes

Work progressively. Measure for ordering, but mark final cuts against the actual wall as the installation proceeds.

1. Mark the fitted length. At a perpendicular wall, reverse the track against the wall and transfer the cut position, allowing about 1 mm tolerance unless a planned loading or lighting gap is required.
2. Make a cool cut. Support the track in a mitre box and use a 24 TPI or finer hacksaw, or clamp it securely and use a drop saw fitted with an aluminium blade.
3. True the end. Remove burrs with a metal file. Factory ends can be joined as supplied, but removing approximately 0.5-1 mm or carefully filing away the powder coating can produce a cleaner, squarer joint.
4. Fix the first length. Start with the centre fixing, confirm the track is correctly aligned and then secure the remaining positions, taking care not to distort the H-shaped profile.
5. Join the next length. Insert a Gallery System Track Joiner into the first length, position the next track, slide the joiner across the junction and tighten its two grub screws.

Joiners are now our usual approach: tracks can be butt-joined without one, but small wall or fixing variations can leave the ends a millimetre or two out of alignment. A joiner keeps the junction neat and true. It also prevents a dropper passing through the join. Stainless-steel cable and Clearline hangers can simply be removed and reinserted on the other side; omit the joiner only when uninterrupted passage is specifically required.

Do not use an abrasive hot saw intended for steel. Use a hacksaw and mitre box or a drop saw with an aluminium blade.

5. Finish corners and track ends

For a picture-hanging-only installation, stop each track at the corner and fit an end cap to the exposed end. At an internal corner, the tracks can finish slightly short rather than being forced into an imperfect junction.

When preserving the 40 mm corner gap for future Gallery Lighting, stop both tracks short and use the lighting system’s internal or external corner cover to conceal the gap and, later, the connecting cable. These covers can also provide a neat corner finish before lighting is added.

Keep the lighting plan consistent around the room. A mixture of tight corners and accessible lighting gaps can make a later retrofit unnecessarily difficult.

6. Add the selected hangers

Hanger installation

Clear Tape

Cut the required tape length, feed it through the capsule to form a loop and swing the locking bar through the loop. The short end of the tape and the locking bar must face the front or the locking action will fail. Pinch the capsule and insert it through an accessible track end.

Assemble the capsule, then load it through a track end.

Stainless-steel cable and Clearline

Feed the hanger through its track slide, tilt the slide into the underside of the track and straighten it so it sits level. Both hanger types are installed in the same way and can be added or removed anywhere along the track.

Tilt the slide into the track, then straighten it.

7. Fit hooks and hang artwork

• Single hanging: place one hook beneath the centre of the picture wire.
• Double hanging: use two D-rings or equivalent mounting points. Do not place two hooks on one wire; they can creep towards the centre.
• Use two droppers when approaching a single-dropper limit, when the artwork needs help staying level, for visual balance or where it may occasionally be disturbed.
• Do not add a third dropper to gain capacity. If two correctly rated droppers are insufficient, use another method such as a Z Bar or French cleat.

For a Push Button Hook, feed the matching hanger into the top of the hook, hold the button while setting the height and release it to grip. As a starting point, position the centre of the artwork at approximately the viewer’s eye height, then adjust it to suit the room.

Troubleshooting