Drywall News and New Products

Another 1/8" Deformation Since Last Time

It has been 3 months now since I first hung 23.5 pounds on a single Hercules Hook on a 1/2″ drywall panel. And it is still hanging, although the hook continues to deform, slowly but surely. As you can see from the photo, the hook has deformed another 1/8 inch or so since I checked 2 1/2 months ago. So now there is about 1/4″ of total deformation as compared to a new hook.

Also, the hook is starting to dig into the drywall where it hangs, with a total of about 1/8″ so far.

I have placed the weight back on the hook. The next time I post will be when my 23.5 pounds falls out. See you later on this topic!

23.5 Pounds Hanging On Hercules Hook

A few weeks after I bragged about how well the Hercules Hooks worked in hanging our heavy portrait, wouldn’t you know it - my wife had me move the portrait a few inches down :)  When I removed the hook, to my surprise, I saw that is was 2/3 of the way straightened! It looked somewhat like the hook did in my first Hercules Hook trial that failed when my daughter pulled the hook out of the drywall.

Two things come to mind: 1. Either the hook is straightening slowly with time under the heavy load . . . OR . . .  2. The hook is catching on the insulation of this exterior wall and thus can not function quite like it should.

At any rate, I rehung the heavy portrait with one screw in a stud and one hercules hook in the drywall. This allowed me to hang the photo centered where we wanted, yet gave me a little insurance with the picture wire draped over the screw. I would recommend this solution for any very heavy portrait or mirror.

With respect to the question: “Will the hook straighten out under heavy weight if properly hung?” I decided to conduct another trial. I have hung 23.5 pounds of weight on a hook and will check the condition of the hook after several weeks and perhaps check it again after several months.  The weight is shown pictured on the left. The hook is in drywall that has no insulation in it, thus it is allowed to function as designed.

Stay tuned!

Held Up With 1 Hercules Hook

Well, I had the opportunity to hang something other than my kids up on the wall in the last few weeks with my hercules hooks. Hung a few small framed photos on the wall. The hooks worked nicely. And then, just the other day, I had to move a very large framed photos weighing perhaps 15 or 20 pounds. This was an artist’s sketch of my kids placed into a custom matte and frame. This picture is of great value to us.

The center location was not on a stud. Ordinarily, in a situation like this, I would at minimum, use a molly bolt rather than a flimsy drywall anchor. And I definitely would not use only a drywall screw for this heavy of a picture. But this time, I simply used a Hercules Hook. I marked where I wanted it and poked it in and gave it a twist and I was done! About 30 seconds!

For hanging pictures, these hooks are the best! Don’t take Billy May’s word, take mine - I would not promote them here if they were junk. I was able to get a large pack of these hercules hooks at ebay for under $10.

Every once in a while, we will watch As-Seen-On-TV infomercials, mostly for entertainment value. Nearly all cost $19.95, are the best thing since sliced bread, and include bonus items that result in a “total value” many times the price. And wait, there’s (always) more. . .

Hercules Hooks, however, seemed like they could actually work. So I ordered a bunch to check them out myself. To test these, I had my kids sit on a very low (and safe) platform that was about 11″ off the floor, supported by ropes hung from two Hercules Hooks.

The first claim I tested was the ease of use. The hooks went in very easily, although I need some practice to achieve Billy May’s speed!

Click on Image To View

Then I tested the weight carrying claims. The As Seen On TV ad claims they support up to 150 pounds, but if you read the fine print on The Official Hercules Hook Website, they say “For heavy objects over 40 lbs. use multiple hooks to distribute weight evenly”. So I decided to use two hooks to see if I could get the 80 pounds of carrying capacity they seem to imply. I had my 60 pound daughter sit on the platform - no problem. Then I had my 77 pound son Mark try it. He carefully lifted his feet off the floor and the platform supported him. Then, I had Laura, who weighed 83 pounds, sit on the platform. Laura was OK until she tried to lift both feet off the floor. Then one side pulled out after the hook straightened a bit. So when they say 40 pounds, they mean 40 pounds! Watch The Video Here!.

Finally, the hercules hooks do not damage the wall much. A little dab of drywall joint compound or spackle, or just some paint alone could repair the holes left. Even where the hook pulled out, the damage was minimal.

In conclusion, I would recommend these hooks for holding no more than 30 pounds per hook. So a single mirror on one hook should not weigh more than 30 pounds. You would not want to push the 40 pound limit, as any external force pushing down (like cleaning the mirror) could result in the hook straightening. The same goes for items hung on two hooks - do not put anything heavier than 60 or 70 pounds. With respect to the 150 pound claim, I believe you could indeed support the 150 pounds with 4 hooks, but the weight would have to be distributed perfectly.  So if two of the four hooks were not quite lined up to support weight, the result could be as much as 75 pounds on each of the other two hooks. Getting 4 hooks placed in the exact correct locations might be tricky for some furniture items.

Basically, all the As-Seen-On-TV Hercules Hooks claims are true, provided you add an asterisk* by the Holds Up To 150 Pounds* claim to include a note “*Do not support more than 40 pounds per hook. Items requiring more than one hook must have weight distributed evenly on the hooks”. From the official Hercules Hooks Website statement, one might get the idea that two hooks could support up to 150 pounds. Even so, this easy-to-install hook can quickly hang pictures and items weighing up to 30 pounds or heavier items up to 60 or 70 pounds if two hooks are used. I would say it is a nice product to have around the house.