Hang things in a rented home without losing your deposit

Learn safe, deposit-friendly ways to hang items on any wall type without damaging your rented home.

HD-01Plan the job and check what's allowedLook at what you want to hang and estimate its weight - light frames and postcards need very different fixings from mirrors or shelves. Check your tenancy agreement or ask your landlord about drilling; most allow small picture-hook holes but some don't. Take a photo of the wall before you start, so you have proof of its condition. Decide now whether a no-drill method will do the job, or whether you need a proper fixing.

HD-02Hang light items with no drillingFor anything under about 1.5kg - postcards, light frames, fairy lights - use a removable adhesive strip or hook rated for the weight. Wipe the wall with a dry cloth first; dust stops the adhesive gripping properly. Press the strip firmly for the time stated on the pack, then leave it an hour before hanging anything on it. To remove it later without pulling off paint, stretch the tab downwards slowly rather than pulling straight out.

1 pack · Removable adhesive strips (pack of 8)

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HD-03Work out your wall typeTap the wall firmly with a knuckle. A dull, solid sound with no give at all is solid brick or block. A hollow, drum-like sound means plasterboard on a stud frame, either timber or metal. If the wall sounds hollow but slightly softer, and moves a little under firm hand pressure, it may be dot-and-dab plasterboard glued straight to brick behind. Lath and plaster, common in houses built before about 1930, sounds hollow but feels slightly springy, with a crumbly texture if you press a fingernail into any cracks.

HD-04Get set up safely before you drill anythingCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, not just near sockets, so use a cable and pipe detector but still assume something is there until you've checked. Find your stopcock first, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns freely, so you can shut the water off fast if you hit a pipe. If you have any doubt at all, turn off the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before drilling, and turn off the water at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry water. Detectors can miss deep cables, cables in metal conduit, or anything behind metal-backed plasterboard, and a metal stud frame confuses cheap detectors further, so go slowly and stop at the first sign of anything unusual.

1 each · Cable and pipe detector

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HD-05If it's a stud wall, work out timber or metalRun a stud detector, or a strong magnet, across the wall at socket height; a magnet snags on the screw heads fixing plasterboard to a timber stud, but glides smoothly over metal studs. Metal stud walls are common in flats, new-build houses, and anywhere refitted since the 1990s. Once you've found the centre of a stud, drill a small 2mm pilot hole about 10mm deep: pale wood dust means timber, fine grey swarf means 0.5mm steel. Keep the safety checks from the last step in mind - you're now actually drilling.

1 each · 2mm drill bit

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HD-06Fit the right fixing for your wall typeIn solid brick or block, drill an 8mm hole to the depth of the plug, insert a matching wall plug, and drive in a screw sized for it. Into a timber stud, skip the plug and drive a wood screw straight into the centre of the stud. Into a metal stud, use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor - never a plain plastic plug or an ordinary wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel. Fixing into plasterboard between studs, or into dot-and-dab plasterboard, needs a toggle or hollow-wall anchor rated for the weight, and for dot-and-dab it must be long enough to also reach the masonry behind; into lath and plaster, aim the fixing into a lath timber where possible, or use a spring toggle if you land between laths. A metal stud alone will not hold anything heavy, or anything that pulls away from the wall in use, such as a TV arm or a wall-hung basin - that needs a timber noggin or pattress fitted between the studs, or a fixing through to the masonry behind.

1 pack · Wall plugs (8mm, pack of 10)

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1 pack · Woodscrews (assorted, pack)

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1 pack · Self-drilling metal-stud anchors (pack of 4)

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1 pack · Hollow-wall toggle fixings (pack of 4)

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HD-07Hang the item and check it's secureHook or fix the item onto the screw or anchor and check it with a spirit level before you let go. Give it a firm downward tug to test the fixing takes the weight without moving. Don't overtighten screws into plasterboard - it crushes the board and loosens the fixing. If anything flexes, creaks, or the wall around the fixing moves, take it down and fit a stronger fixing before trying again.

1 each · Spirit level

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HD-08Fill, touch up and tidy upIf you've made a small hole and want it gone by the time you move out, push a little decorators' filler in with your finger, let it dry, then lightly sand it flush. Dab on a little matching paint if you have some, or ask your landlord for a small pot. Vacuum up any plasterboard dust or masonry debris straight away, and wipe down skirting and sills. Keep any off-cuts or spare fixings in a labelled bag in case you need to match them later.

1 tube · Decorators' caulk or filler

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1 sheet · Fine sandpaper (120 grit)

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