How to hang a neon sign

First, choose the method

You pick the hanging method in the designer, and the kit comes to match. The right one depends on your wall, the size of the sign and whether you can drill.

• Wall screws and standoffs are the classic. The sign sits a little way off the wall on four small posts, which looks tidy and lets the glow wash the wall behind. Best for plaster or brick and for any sign you want to stay put.
• Hanging chains hang the sign from two hooks or a picture rail. Good when you’d rather make two holes than four, or when you want to move the sign about.
• Adhesive strips mean no drilling at all. They are for small, light signs on smooth, sound walls, which makes them handy for renters.
• A table stand turns the sign into a freestanding piece for a shelf, a sideboard or a bar. It is chosen as a backing in the designer, because the stand is part of the acrylic.

Not sure? The demo below has a two-question helper that recommends a method and explains why, and it shows your sign mounted each way with the steps drawn out.

Before you start

1. Find the socket. Hold the sign where you want it and check the cable reaches a socket without stretching. Plan where the power supply (and the dimmer, if you added one) will sit, usually behind furniture.
2. Check the wall. Use a detector to make sure there are no pipes or cables where you’ll drill. Above a socket or a light switch, cables often run straight up or down.
3. Mark the position with masking tape. Stand back, look at it from where you’ll usually see it, and adjust before you make a single hole.

Wall screws and standoffs, step by step

1. Hold the sign against the tape and mark through each of the pre-drilled holes in the acrylic with a pencil.
2. Drill at the marks, using the right bit for your wall, and push in the wall plugs.
3. Screw the back half of each standoff into the wall.
4. Offer the sign up to the standoffs and screw the caps through the acrylic to hold it.
5. Plug the sign into the power supply, and the power supply into the socket. If you added the dimmer, it goes between the sign and the power supply.

Use a spirit level across the top of the sign before you tighten the last cap. A sign that is a few millimetres out shows it more than a picture would, because the glow draws a line on the wall.

Hanging chains

Fix two hooks into the wall, the same distance apart as the holes in the top of the sign, or use picture-rail hooks if your room has a rail. Hook the chains on, hang the sign, and level it by adjusting which link sits on each hook. Chains suit Victorian rooms with picture rails particularly well.

Adhesive strips

Strips are only as good as the surface they stick to. Wipe the wall with a little rubbing alcohol and let it dry; avoid freshly painted walls, textured wallpaper and anything flaky. Press each strip firmly for half a minute, then give the adhesive time to bond before you hang the sign: the strip maker’s instructions will say how long. If your sign is large or heavy, choose screws or chains instead.

Table stand

There is nothing to fix. Stand the sign on a level surface away from the edge, run the cable down behind the furniture and plug it in. A stand is ideal for a bar back, a shop counter or a shelf in a child’s room, and it moves house with you without leaving a single hole.

What’s in the box

Every sign comes with its power supply with a UK plug and the fixings for the method you chose. The dimmer and remote come too if you added them in the designer.

A few sensible rules

• Our standard signs are made for indoors. Keep them out of bathrooms and away from water.
• Leave the power supply somewhere with a little air around it, not buried under cushions.
• Don’t cut or shorten the cable. If it doesn’t reach, use a good-quality extension lead.
• For a very large sign or a tricky wall, a handyperson will fit it quickly. There is no wiring, so you don’t need an electrician.

If the sign doesn’t light once it’s up, our troubleshooting checklist works along the connection chain one step at a time.