French cleat mounting template
For a mirror, cabinet, or anything too heavy for wire or a couple of D-rings. Enter the piece's width and desired height, and this works out the wall cleat's height and screw spacing. Print the strip below at true size to mark the wall.
Floor to the top edge of the object, once hung
Object's top edge down to its own cleat
Wall cleat height, from the floor
66"
The wall cleat carries everything
Every screw in the wall cleat has to reach a stud, or blocking installed for the purpose — this is exactly the load case a grab bar's anchors face, concentrated on one strip instead of spread across two points. Do not substitute a drywall anchor here.
The cleat in numbers
- Cleat length
- 24"
- Bevel angleFixed — set a table saw or circular saw bevel to this directly
- 45.0°
Screw spacing, at true size
Wider than one sheet, so it prints across 4 pieces you butt together. Print at 100%, check the ruler, then hold this against the wall cleat at 66" from the floor.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Top edge of the wall cleat sits at 66" from the floor, level. Mark each screw tick — every one needs a stud or blocking. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Top edge of the wall cleat sits at 66" from the floor, level. Mark each screw tick — every one needs a stud or blocking. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Top edge of the wall cleat sits at 66" from the floor, level. Mark each screw tick — every one needs a stud or blocking. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Top edge of the wall cleat sits at 66" from the floor, level. Mark each screw tick — every one needs a stud or blocking. Trim on the orange line and butt this piece to the next one — the marks either side of the join have to line up before you drill anything.
Printing this properly
In the print dialog, set the scale to 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”. Measure the printed ruler with a tape before you trust the spacing.
About french cleat mounting
- Why does a french cleat need no drop calculation the way picture wire does?
- A taut wire pulls to a single point below the two rings, which is a triangle to solve. A french cleat's two strips interlock along one continuous line instead — wherever the wall cleat's top edge sits, the object's own cleat meets it there, so the height is a straight subtraction rather than a right triangle.
- Is 45° always the right bevel angle?
- Yes — that's the angle that lets the two strips slide together and lock under the object's own weight rather than just butting flat. A shallower or steeper bevel either won't engage or won't release for a controlled lift-off; there's no job-specific reason to cut it any other way.
- Does the wall cleat really need every screw on a stud?
- Yes, or blocking installed for the purpose. A french cleat is usually reached for because wire or a couple of D-rings aren't rated for the weight — which means the wall cleat is carrying real load concentrated on one strip, the same stakes a grab bar's anchors face.
- Which piece gets which cleat?
- The wall gets the cleat with its bevel cut so the top edge points away from the wall (bevel up and out); the object's cleat is the mirror of that, bevel down and in, so it drops onto the wall cleat and the object's own weight wedges the bevels together rather than letting them slide apart.