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We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

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David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
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If you're able to, you can plan to make the vinyl graphic a bit taller than the image, saving room for blank space both above and below it. Then you can wrap the top blank vinyl around a rod that gets installed a few inches from the wall near the ceiling--curtain rod style--and wrap the bottom blank vinyl around another rod which will weigh the whole thing down and keep it taught. A similar method was used at the traveling Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit, which I photographed at the Pacific Science Center just in case such a question arose. (See photo.)

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Angela Mele
MFA candidate, Museum Exhibition Planning and Design
University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2017 01:16 PM
From: David Beard
Subject: Mounting a long vinyl wall mural

We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

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David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
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David, we have just mounted some large murals in one of our galleries. In order to get a smooth surface, the firm we used (DataFlow, here in Binghamton, NY), applied a drywall substrate to our existing wall, then had the graphics printed on a textured vinyl. This texturing helped to mitigate the visibility of seams and glare.

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Terry McDonald
Director/CEO
Roberson Museum & Science Center
Binghamton NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2017 01:16 PM
From: David Beard
Subject: Mounting a long vinyl wall mural

We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

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David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
------------------------------

David,

This seems like a simple problem, but it is not. I have seen many poorly mounted murals. In this case, I would have a simple wooden frame that is similar to stretcher strips used to mount a canvas for a painting, except that it would be sturdier (2x3s perhaps), larger, and include several sections bolted together in the field. Once it is hung on the wall from the ceiling or with fasteners through the existing wall, the vinyl mural can be stretched and stapled to the frame. Ideally you would staple it to the frame prior to mounting the frame on the wall, so that the mural wraps around the edges to the back and forms a nice neat finish, but the size of this mural would make that a bit more difficult. You can also use finish strips painted out black around the perimeter of the mural to hide staples on the sides. The only way to achieve a perfectly flat surface is to stretch the vinyl as tight as you can. I would engage a firm that produces these type murals and have them mount it for you, or bring in a designer that can design a simple frame or mounting strategy for you.

An alternative is to use a graphic printed to a fabric. We have tried this approach on occasion and used what was suggested by someone else here, a pole pocket at the top and bottom with a steel tube inserted to stretch the fabric. 

I hope that it goes well for you,

Mike

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Michael Hanke
Exhibit Designer
Design Division, Inc.
Hadley MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2017 01:16 PM
From: David Beard
Subject: Mounting a long vinyl wall mural

We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

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David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
------------------------------

Thanks for the good ideas.  We have settled on building the frame out of 2x4, attaching the masonite to that, and stapling the stretched vinyl mural in one piece to this.  Our maintenance engineer is a contractor, so he already gets paid for this kind of thing.

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David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2017 09:20 AM
From: Michael Hanke
Subject: Mounting a long vinyl wall mural

David,

This seems like a simple problem, but it is not. I have seen many poorly mounted murals. In this case, I would have a simple wooden frame that is similar to stretcher strips used to mount a canvas for a painting, except that it would be sturdier (2x3s perhaps), larger, and include several sections bolted together in the field. Once it is hung on the wall from the ceiling or with fasteners through the existing wall, the vinyl mural can be stretched and stapled to the frame. Ideally you would staple it to the frame prior to mounting the frame on the wall, so that the mural wraps around the edges to the back and forms a nice neat finish, but the size of this mural would make that a bit more difficult. You can also use finish strips painted out black around the perimeter of the mural to hide staples on the sides. The only way to achieve a perfectly flat surface is to stretch the vinyl as tight as you can. I would engage a firm that produces these type murals and have them mount it for you, or bring in a designer that can design a simple frame or mounting strategy for you.

An alternative is to use a graphic printed to a fabric. We have tried this approach on occasion and used what was suggested by someone else here, a pole pocket at the top and bottom with a steel tube inserted to stretch the fabric.

I hope that it goes well for you,

Mike

------------------------------
Michael Hanke
Exhibit Designer
Design Division, Inc.
Hadley MA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2017 01:16 PM
From: David Beard
Subject: Mounting a long vinyl wall mural

We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

------------------------------
David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
------------------------------

Original Message------

We are looking for the easiest way to mount a 30' long by 5' high vinyl photo enlargement in an exhibition.  The wall is covered in coarse carpeting, kind of like <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Atstro</g>-Turf, for lack of a better word.  It needs to be pretty smooth and tight.

------------------------------
David Beard
Executive Director
USS KIDD Veterans Memorial Museum
Baton Rouge LA
------------------------------