The Great Guitar Hanging Debacle

I’d like you to think that all of our home projects go off without a hitch. We don’t encounter any unexpected challenges. The husband and I always agree about the ideal method of approaching a project. We always come in under budget. Heck, we probably make money because we find a suitcase of $100 bills hidden in the walls – every time. Furthermore, my husband reads my mind when I have a vision of how I want something to look. It saves so much time with the communication process.

Doesn’t this happen in your house too?

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Real-life home projects with your real-life significant other are slightly less perfect than that.

At least, they are in my house.

So sit back and let me tell you a real-life story of that time we hung a guitar on the wall.

It all started because a wall-mounted hook I ordered specifically for a guitar never showed up.

Instead of reordering and hoping for the best, I decided I could make my own hook. Right then. Because in my head, I knew how it could work.

While my husband had the drill out working on another honey-do project, I explained my idea. Essentially, if we (he) inserted two really long screws into the wall side-by-side, we (me) could create a makeshift hook for the guitar. Then we (me) would be really happy. YAY!!!

I chose to ignore forgot how much Handy Husband dislikes drilling into concrete walls, which he had just been doing for that previously mentioned honey-do project. I also neglected to check didn’t realize that we didn’t have the right anchors to hold the screws in place. Details, details. I’m a big picture person!

Handy Husband and I will both agree concrete is way less predictable and far more annoying to work with than wood or drywall when it comes to home projects. That’s why we are so glad, so glad that 90% of the walls in our current home are made of concrete. YAY!!!

It should also be noted that I appreciate sarcasm way more than Handy Husband does.

Fast forward 5 minutes and 5 muttered-under-the-breath curse words later and the screws were in the wall. But there was no way they were actually going to stay in the wall – let alone hold anything up.

Handy Husband just rolled his eyes. I KNOW! That cute man rolled his eyes. At me!

In case you haven’t been married for fifty bajillion years like we have, that’s nonverbal communication for, “See, I told you so, but I go along with your crazy ideas because I love you. Also, you kept bugging me. But mainly because I love you and you’re beautiful and smart.”

When he does this, and I think it’s why he actually does it, I consider it a personal challenge.

Fine. I’ll come out of my big picture cloud and wade into the details. I LOVE creative problem-solving.

That wasn’t sarcasm. I actually do.

I could have walked down to the hardware store, but it was Sunday and it was closed. I could have waited until Monday, but hello? We’re solving problems here! Creatively! Plus, that would have involved waiting and I’m not very patient.

I decided this situation called for the big guns. The crafter’s best friend. Hot glue.

I figured, I’ll try it. If it worked, great. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t tell Handy Husband no harm. I would endure the eye rolls because, yes, he was right. Then I would go to the hardware store for a proper anchor. Or I would reorder the proper hook that never arrived. Something proper would happen.

I held the screws level and with a little prayer, squeezed hot glue into the hole and around the screw. This, in effect, filled up the gaps between the screw and the concrete and made a makeshift wall anchor.

At that point, I may or may not have sang an “I’m so awesome” song. That part is a little fuzzy.

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To protect the guitar when it was resting on the screws, I wrapped the screws in twine, securing it with, you guessed it, hot glue. For the finishing touch on my makeshift guitar hook, I hot glued a pom pom on the end of each screw. Is there anything hot glue can’t do?

Now, even though I’ve qualified that this is not a proper guitar-hanging solution, I feel the need to offer some technical qualifications. Normally, you’d hang a guitar just below the guitar head. This particular guitar is an inexpensive child’s guitar and it has open space in the head allowing for this particular solution to work with 2.75-inch screws. I’d need a lot longer screws to hang the guitar below the head. Is it good for this particular guitar? I’m sure it’s not ideal, but I haven’t noticed any difference – this guitar needs constant tuning anyway.

It’s been about 3 months and the glue is still holding strong. Frankly, that kind of surprises me! I don’t know how long this solution will ultimately last, but I’ll be happy if it lasts until we move again. Ha!

I wouldn’t risk this fix if I was hanging something super heavy, if this was a valuable guitar, or if I was hanging it high off the ground. In this particular situation, however, it has worked. Plus, this story is about the foibles of real life, so I’m letting it all hang out off the wall, so to speak.

Truth be told, I’m quite happy with how this quirky solution turned out. I like it way better than the boring guitar hook that got lost in the mail. I’m also thankful for Handy Husband who indulges my whims and works together with me to create a pretty happy home. Eye rolls and all.

P.S. In case you are wondering what kind of guitar hook I would purchase, this is not it.

Well, this has been fun! Let’s not part ways so soon. How about one of these posts next?

Joanna Gaines Made Me Do It – Baskets for Sheet Music

Our Best Hidden Storage Purchase

Fall Dining Room

How NOT to Make a Book Pumpkin

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