If you’re a lover of surfing, you’ve probably collected a whole bunch of surfboards.
Sure, they’re great for riding out on the sea, but what happens when you don’t want to ride them? You want to display them! They’re a part of you, after all.
It would be like hanging a painting on the wall that you feel reflects who you are as a person! The only problem is, how do you hang a surfboard on the wall?
How do you get it to stay up there securely without any risk of it falling down and getting damaged? Well, we’ve got the answers for you!
In the guide below, you’ll find out all about the best ways to hang surfboards on the wall, whether they’re on their own or as part of a collection of surfboards.
What if you want them to hang them in a certain direction? We’ve got you covered! We’ll break down in detail how you can fix your surfboards vertically or horizontally.
Choosing A Type Of Rack
Before you begin, you’re going to need to decide what type of rack you want your surfboards hanging on. There are two: vertical and horizontal.
Do you want your boards to be upright on the wall? Then you’ll want to go for a vertical rack.
Do you want your boards to be laid out sideways on the wall? Then it’s a horizontal rack that you’ll want.
Whichever type you choose, it is going to slightly affect how you go about putting it up – so have your decisions ready beforehand!
Putting Up Your Racks
Putting up your racks is going to be a fairly difficult task, so you need to make sure that you’re good at DIY beforehand. If you’re not, then get somebody to help you out!
Before we start, you’re going to need:
- A pencil
- A stud finder
- A spirit level
- A drill
- A leveling laser
- Anchors
Putting Up A Vertical Rack
First, you want to take your stud finder and use it to locate a wall stud. What is this?
A stud is going to be a piece of timber that’s inside your wall, like a large upright piece of wood.
There should be a good few in your walls, so it won’t be hard to find one.
The stud finder is an impressive piece of equipment that can, in a sense, see through the wall and locate the studs.
Once you’ve found your stud, use a pencil to make a marking on the wall, telling you where the stud is.
Now take your measuring tape and put it vertically in line with where your pencil marking is.
Next, bend down and use the tape to measure up from the floor to wherever you want the bottom of your board to be hanging.
You won’t want to have this point too high, because surfboards are very long, and you’ll need room for all of it to fit vertically above it!
Next, take your clear acrylic anchor. Anchors are the things that go into the wall and help hold things in place.
They come in many different materials, but you’ll want a clear one so that people can’t see it!
You don’t want anything distracting from your cool surfboard designs, after all. So, take the anchor and hold it above the pencil marking.
Then get your spirit level, and place it underneath the anchor, adjusting it so that everything is scientifically level.
Spirit levels are brilliant devices that help to tell you if something is exactly level, using a centered bubble to show you that fact.
Now get your pencil and make some new markings on the wall, showing where the screws will go.
Get your drill and drill on the markings, making pilot holes, which are small initial drillings that will help later ones.
Now move your acrylic anchor and secure it to the wall with screws, using the materials that came with your rack kit.
Take your tape again and measure up from this bottom acrylic anchor, right up the wall to wherever you want the top anchor to be inserted.
For reference, the point where the tip of the surfboard (the nose) meets the middle flat area of the surfboard (the deck) will be a good place to put this top anchor.
When you’ve got it, take your pencil and make another marking, using a leveling laser to make sure that it’s directly aligned with the bottom anchor.
Now use your spirit level again so that you can mark precise screw holes in the wall before getting your drill and drilling the pilot holes on the spot.
Then fix the top acrylic anchor to the wall, using the correct screws that were included with the kit. And that’s it!
You should have two anchors directly in line with each other, both screwed into the wall onto a stud. Take your surfboard and hang it onto the wall.
If you want to put any more up? Follow the same steps, making sure to leave enough room, and putting them on the other studs in the wall.
Putting Up A Horizontal Rack
Assembling and putting up a horizontal rack is a more difficult task than hanging your surfboards vertically, though it’s worth the effort!
Your boards will look great when arranged on their sides on the wall. The first thing you want to do is to set your board down on a flat surface and get your measuring tape.
Now measure the distance between the two points on the board where you’re going to want the rack to be holding it.
For many surfing fans, this is near each end of the board, where the surfboard begins to bend at its sharpest points.
Now take your stud finder mentioned earlier and use it to find a stud that’s within the wall.
When you’ve got one, get your tape measure again and kneel down to measure from the floor up to the point on the wall where you want to put the bottom of your board rack.
Get a pencil and draw a marking on the wall at this position. Now, do the same! Measure from this bottom point to where you want the other piece of rack to be placed.
Make a pencil mark, and use a leveling laser to make sure that your new marking is exactly in line with the bottom marking. You need to be precise and correct.
With this next bit, you may want a friend to help, just to make all the bits and pieces easier.
Get your first rack piece and hold it against the wall, making sure that the lower end of it is lining up on the bottom pencil marking.
Use (or get a friend to use!) a spirit level to make sure that the rack will be exactly straight and level. You don’t want wonky surfboards!
Get your pencil and mark where you’re going to drill the screws in, before getting your drill and drilling some pilot holes (preparation holes, not with screws in yet).
Do the same for the other piece of rack, which will be above on the top marking.
Ideally, this other rack is also going to be positioned on a place where there is a wall stud behind it. Use your stud finder to find one.
If there isn’t one where you would like the second rack piece to go, drill some pilot holes at the point and put some wall anchors into each one.
This should make it sturdier and stronger, in the absence of a wall stud.
Now use the screws provided with the kit to secure each rack piece onto the points that you have marked – and prepared already with the pilot holes.
Once those are attached, you should be able to use their arms and holders to put your surfboards safely on. Then, step back and enjoy looking at your great work!
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! If you’re a surfer who wants to proudly display some of their finest boards, this guide has taught you how to do so.
Whether you want your boards arranged vertically and upright, or horizontally and sideways, you now have the knowledge of how to get exactly the rack that you want.
Remember to follow these instructions very carefully, following every step. If you’re not confident or experienced with DIY, then get a friend to help you out.
They will make certain steps much easier, too! And after all that, you can enjoy looking at your boards whenever you’re in the room.
You could even paint the wall behind them light blue, so it’s like they’re on the sea!
