How to remove the ‘Slimline Art Hanging System’ track from the wall?

Moving home and want to take your ‘Slimline Art Hanging System‘ track with you? While it’s definitely possible to remove the track, we generally recommend leaving it in place for the next occupants and purchasing new track for your new space. Why? Well, removing it can be tricky and often leads to wall damage that will need repairing—so in many cases, replacing the track is actually the more economical option.

But, we understand that sometimes the track just needs to come down! Whether you’re rearranging or relocating, here’s the process I’ve found works best when removing the track from the wall.

A Quick Note Before You Begin:

If your track was installed directly into plasterboard using ‘Wall Mates,’ keep in mind that this process might cause some or all of the ‘Wall Mates’ to pull through the plasterboard leaving larger holes behind. Unfortunately, this is usually unavoidable. However, if your track was anchored into studs, masonry or a brick wall, the following steps should work smoothly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing the Slimline Art Hanging Track:

1. Locate the first anchor: Start at one end of the track. To find the nearest anchor, either peek underneath the track or gently run a fine paperclip along the back of the track.
2. Pry the track from the anchor: Find something soft (that won’t damage the track) to pry the track off the anchor. I personally use a 14mm wide x 2mm deep section of aluminum bar that I picked up from the hardware store which I insert into the channel of the track on top of an anchor location. While it might bend, it’s gentle on the track’s fascia and gets the job done without causing damage.  A flat head screw driver could be used but will cause damage, so it is best to look around and see what you can find.  Work gently and take your time, this is not a fast process.
3. Work along the track: Once you’ve unclipped the first anchor, continue along the track, unclipping it from each anchor in sequence.
4. Slide the track off: When there’s only one or two anchors left holding the track, you may be able to slide the entire track off those remaining anchors.
5. Remove the anchors: With the track down, you just need to unscrew and remove the anchors from the wall.

The process is a bit tricky, so take your time and work methodically.  🙂

Good luck,

Ed Banks

Shakespeare Solutions.

Both ‘The Gallery System’ and ‘Slimline Art Hanging System’ have some ability to absorb fluctuations that regularly occur in walls due to age or bricks that weren’t originally expected to be seen.  Sometimes a compromise has to be made but usually a solution can be found.  It is also true to say that both systems can conform to minor curves in walls although we highly recommend using extra wall anchors and fixings when installing in this fashion and certainly the ‘Slimline Art Hanging System’ is more forgiving in this application.  

If however, you have some architecturally or otherwise design curved walls on which you are wanting to place a picture hanging system, then we have the solution for you!  The process is called ‘cold rolling’ and we have been working on developing a process to ensure we can provide neat curves to your specifications without damaging the surface of the track which would traditionally require refinishing at great expense.

For simply curves, please contact us with the radius of the required curves and the circumference lengths for a quotation.  We love a challenge though, should you have a more complex requirement please provide a drawing with the relevant specifications.

That’s all for this week! Do let me know if you have any picture hanging system questions! 

Cheers,

Ed Banks – Owner

‘The Gallery Lighting System’ is an excellent addition to ‘The Gallery System’, it provides a dynamic and cost effective solution to lighting your artwork 

Over the years however we have had one reoccurring issue that sometimes causes the system not to work correctly or at all!  

If we look at the ‘Lighting Wand’ we can see that it has two prongs designed to bite into the low voltage ‘blue cable’ and provide current to the globe.  It is very important that these prongs make a good connection to provide the appropriate current to the globe.  Interestingly, in days gone by when we used incandescent globes, the globes would light up even if a proper connection was not made.  However, modern LED globes are far more digital and if they don’t receive a minimum current will not light up at all.  

So, how do we ensure the Lighting Wand prongs are making appropriate contact with the blue cable?  

This is simply a case of installing the wands using the following method:

1. Turn the ‘key’ on the lighting wand to open the lock and allow the wand to mate with the track.

2. Place the wand on the track with the flat edge of the lighting wand firmly (and flatly) against the track.

3. Using your hands, squeeze the lighting wand down onto the track and in turn seating the prongs into the blue cable.

4. Now lock the lighting wand in place with the key.

The secret here is to ensure that the lighting wand is squeezed into place with one’s hands before locking it in place with the key.  Using the key to lock the wand in place without squeezing it down will lead to a poor connection at best and most likely no connect at all; subsequently the system not functioning correctly. 

Once you have done this once or twice it becomes second nature and is a quick and easy way of ensuring ‘The Gallery Lighting System’ is properly setup and will function correctly.

That’s all for this week, if you have any picture hanging system questions, please do let me know.  As always, I’d be delighted to help.

Cheers,

Ed Banks

Shakespeare Solutions.

‘The Gallery System’ and the ‘Slimline Art Hanging System’ are wall mount picture hanging systems and we often receive the question, ‘at what height should I place the track (or rails) on wall?’  Let me walk you through all the considerations we discuss with clients when helping to make this decision. 

In general terms you want to go as high as you can allowing yourself the greatest amount of gallery space possible.  However, if you are lucky enough to have very high ceilings, you should firstly check to ensure that droppers are available in the appropriate length to suit and further, you should consider how the end user will add and remove droppers as pieces are changed.  It may or may not be appropriate to have staff or loved ones climbing high ladders especially when there may be no benefit to having the track so high – ie when the viewer can only enjoy the pieces from the floor.

The ceiling height is most regularly used as a guide, however, it is very much worth checking all the walls to ensure the cornice or ceiling is in fact straight and true.  Even a good ceiling can dip by a few millimetres here and there; we have seen some that dip by as much as an inch (25mm) – not visibly noticeable when going about daily life but very noticeable when a straight edge is placed against it.  If you are confident that your cornice or ceiling is straight, then by all means go ahead and use this as a guide or install firmly against it if possible.  If it turns out that it is not as straight as perhaps it should be, we highly recommend lowering the track height by 40 to 60mm from the lowest point and using a laser line or straight edge and pencil as a guide. 

If super height ceilings are not your problem or you don’t wish to use the ceiling height as a guide for the track, you should consider other visual elements in the room.  The traditional Victorian picture rail (for which we carry some great hardware by the way!) was regularly placed inline with the top of the doorways.  This and other similar cues, such as windows, might provide a sensible and aesthetically pleasing guide as to an appropriate height for your track.

Should you be installing the system on a masonry or brick wall, it is often best to allow 40 – 60mm of space down from any ceiling or above obstruction to allow room for a rotary hammer drill to do it’s work.  These are available in many different sizes but all are typically larger than a standard drill and therefore require some space.

In addition to the above, there are also some system specific requirements that will help you with the decision 

The Gallery System

If you are intending to, or you may in the future, use ‘The Gallery Lighting System’, then you must be aware that the track should be placed no higher than 2.7m from the floor; unfortunately above this height the effectiveness of the lighting system is diminished.  Further, the track must have 1.5cm of clearance from the top of the track to a cornice, ceiling or anything above to ensure you have room to add and remove the lighting wands as required. 

‘The Gallery System’ is fixed to the wall by passing a screw through the top of the track and as such, installing firm against a square set ceiling is an almost impossible task as there is not enough clearance for most power drills (and their chucks).  It may be possible where a cornice exists or removable ceiling panels are installed but this will need to be assessed on a case by case basis.

Slimline Art Hanging System

The ‘Slimline Art Hanging System’ uses specially made ‘wall anchors’ which fix to the wall with screws, over which the track is pressed into place (employing an interference fit for the engineers out there).  Our wall anchors have been engineered to include two tabs at the top which can be used help vertically align the pieces to a straight edge above such as a cornice or ceiling.  This generally will allow enough room for square set ceiling installations to install a screw on an angle, however, a ‘right angle drill attachment’ makes the job a great deal easier, especially if drilling into steal studs.  

Many customers will decide on the appropriate height for them once they have the system on hand; this is generally a very reasonably approach.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss the height at which you wish to install your track, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.  As always we’re delighted to help! 

Until next time, happy hanging!

Ed Banks.  

In 1989 the Berlin Wall was still up, ‘Seinfeld’ first aired on television and we began selling ‘The Gallery System’!  Since this time there have been a number of hanging systems come and go which has led to problems for people trying to source additional components as new pieces of art come along and fashions change.   Naturally, we assist where ever possible in using the existing infrastructure a potential client may have, however, on some occasions, the only option to remove and replace… If only our system had been installed initially!  

During this time ‘The Gallery System’ has changed too, with improvements and additions over the years that make the system more usable and generally better than it was in 1989.  The improvement, however, has always been done with a commitment to backward compatibility, and because of this our very first customer can still purchase new components to use with their system!  

This might seem trivial at the start of your product journey, however, given the investment, I would urge you to do your future self (or a future owner!) a favour and purchase a brand with a track record of availability and compatibility over a long period of time.  ‘The Gallery System‘ and ‘Slimline Art Hanging System‘ both deliver on this front!

Cheers,

Ed – Shakespeare Solutions