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Hello friends!
A while ago (pre covid / 'the before times'), I fashioned a ceramic mosaic on some 800x1200x5mm MDF board. It was my first project of the kind and I didn't really think far ahead in terms of how I would like to eventually display it. Initially I had planned to mount it directly on the wall, but as the project neared completion I realised just how heavy it was and how that was likely to be infeasible. With all the tiles, grouting etc, the piece weighs just shy of 21kg.
I have recently moved into a home of my own and I would very much like to display it on my wall. Before the project was completed, I screwed&glued the MDF board onto a basic backing frame built from 30x70mm pine beams, per the diagram below.
I am seeking some advice on how best to mount this to my wall (double brick and plaster), as my skills in this area are quite novice. From my readings, I have been contemplating fashioning some French Cleats from the same format pine timber, and attaching them to the underside of the top and 'middle' beams. My concerns are:
- I am not sure if this sort of mechanism is capable of supporting such weights (>20kg)
- I am not sure how structurally sound any cleat will be if I try to attach it to the MDF board. I cannot use long screws which will go into the mosaic itself, and due to the low width of the board I don't know if there will be enough 'grab' from screws which only penetrate that far. I am considering instead mounting the top of the cleat into the beams so that supporting screws run up/down (from direction of hanging) but I don't know if this will impact on the integrity of the cleat (ie, holes in the angled surface of the cleat)
- Most examples I have seen online have been for these cleats to be installed into timber or drywall - is it appropriate to install cleats onto a brick wall?
I'd be very grateful for any advice you could provide, or for some alternatives which I should consider capable of hanging heavy artwork like this?
Thanks very much!
Luke
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @lukeazadeo. It's marvellous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about mounting a mosaic.
I think you're heading in the right direction, but I'd recommend you simplify it a bit. Instead of french cleats, just mount two sections of timber on your wall that match up with the underside of the top and middle pieces of timber on your frame. They will bear the weight, and then you can have a couple of angle brackets at the top and bottom that pin the frame back to the wall. You can mount the brackets behind the frame, so they are barely visible from the front. This works the same as your French cleat system but it is simpler and, I suspect, stronger. I've created the render below for you to illustrate better.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Fantastic! Thanks for your advice - that looks much simpler than what I was envisaging and should be well within my wheelhouse.
Hopefully I will get a chance to give it a go in the next couple of weeks 
Cheers!
Hi Luke (@lukeazadeo)
Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community.
Fantastic work on the Zelda mosaic. You must be a big fan of the games. It looks marvellous.
I would encourage you to hit the Start a discussion button again and share some more photos of the piece and some detail about how you put it together. We have a lot of keen mosaic creators in the community and I'm sure they would be inspired by what you have done.
All the best,
Jason
