How to Install Acoustic Wall Panels: Clips, Pins and Anchors

To install acoustic wall panels, screw a mounting clip into a drywall anchor and hang the panel on it: Z-clips for panels with a wood frame, impaling clips for bare fiberglass board. ATS Acoustics uses 2 Z-clip pairs on a 24 x 24 in. panel and 4 on a rectangular one (ATS install guide (opens in a new tab)).

Side view of a Z-clip pair: the panel clip, holes up, takes two number 6 by 1 inch screws into the panel frame; the wall clip, holes down, takes two number 8 by 3/4 inch screws into wall anchors; the panel slides down so the clips hook together — The hook on the panel clip drops over the hook on the wall clip, and the panel's own weight keeps them locked together.

Mark the wall. Pencil in the panel outline and where the clips go.
Fix the panel clips. Screw them to the back of the frame, holes up, using two #6 flat-head wood screws each.
Prepare the wall. On drywall or concrete, drill 3/16 in. holes and tap plastic anchors in flush. On a solid wood wall, just drill small pilot holes.
Fix the wall clips. Holes down, two #8 pan-head screws each, and keep them level with each other.
Hang the panel. Slide it down until the clips hook, then check that it sits flat and isn't leaning forward.

Bare fiberglass board goes up on the same anchors. The difference is you screw impaling clips to the wall and press the board onto their spikes, about 4 to 6 in. in from the edges (Primacoustic Broadway manual (opens in a new tab)). Going into a stud takes a longer screw, and what size screws you need for acoustic panels works that out.

Foam: it's light enough to hold with 4 to 6 T-pins per panel (Auralex (opens in a new tab)).
No Command strips on fabric panels: GIK Acoustics (opens in a new tab) says they lack "long-term reliability or safety for heavier panels."
Glue is permanent: read should you glue or screw acoustic wall panels before you reach for it.

However you hang them, panels cut echo, not noise from next door. The soundproof panels guide explains why, and the soundproof panels FAQ answers more.

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