Best way to attach a frameless bevelled mirror to a drywall

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kuluchicken

kuluchicken

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
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Auckland, New Zealand
I would appreciate your advice on how to do the above. It's for a bathroom. The size is 36"x40".

For a plastered, brick wall, I know that mirror mastic gets used. I don't have much experience with dry walling.

1. I was wondering whether one can attach a strip of wood that is cut at 45 degrees to the back of a mirror which would hook over another strip attached to the wall. My concern is that the mirror may snap from pressure at the bottom or be bumped off the wall. If one has a second strip towards the bottom, would that strengthen it.

2. Would a mirror mastic stick to wood.

2. Would 4mm be thick enough, or would it be safer to go to 5mm (.157inches)

3. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much
 
I see them stuck directly to dry wall all the time. Mirror mastic is used. There may be holes drilled in the dry wall so the mastic goes through to the back (called keys in plastering), but I have seen large mirrors without.
Have also built mirrors out from the wall using plywood panels just slightly smaller than the mirror. This was only done to accommodate a deep rabbet in a decorative frame that was in itself not strong enough to support the mirror.
 
The weight/size of the mirror helps determine if the mirror can be attached to drywall without support.

Many homes in the US have plain mirror attached directly to drywall with an appropriate mirror mastic such as those sold by CRLaurence. http://www.crlaurence.com/apps/sitesearch/search.aspx?query=mirror mastic The key factor is to be sure the drywall is properly prepared- if it is painted, it is important that the paint is sound, otherwise the mastic and mirror will pull off the paint.

For larger mirrors, we use either an "L" moulding (if we are putting a frame around the mirror) or a "J" moulding on the bottom which helps prevent the mirror from sliding down the wall while the mastic cures. http://www.crlaurence.com/apps/sitesearch/search.aspx?query=j moulding

Here's a shot from a very large mirror installation we did where we floated the mirror off the wall with plywood and used an "L" moulding on the bottom for support. The mirror was floated off the wall so it would fill the contents of a frame that was slipped over it and attached to the wall as "trim".


Alternatively, we have use mirror clips such as: http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/s...13&History=39325:1491:2263:2674&ModelID=11113

There are also decorative clips that work well such as these from Gyford.

http://www.standoffsystems.com/SO-APC-125.html

If you want a mirror to hang on the center of a wall without any visible means of support, you will need to support mirror/mastic until it cures. This means either long 2 x 4's running down the wall to the floor to hold up the bottom, or a cleat screwed to the wall under the mirror (and the wall repaired afterwards.) The mirror will also require some form of pressure to keep it flat to the wall until the mastic cures. This can be as simple as a good quality duct tape (again the wall may need some repair afterwards- which is sometimes easier to fix a screw hole) - or we have even used long braces from an adjacent wall.
 
Some additional points for bathroom installation:

Regardless if the mirror is framed or unframmed:

It is most important in bathrooms that the edges of the mirror be sealed - especially the bottom - using something like Gunther's Mirror Sealant:

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/s...1991&History=39324:330:1797:1885&ModelID=1991

In bathrooms, there is usually a splash behind the sink where these mirrors are installed. We like to put a small gap between the edge of the mirror and the splash so the edge does not sit in splashed water. This can be accomplished with shims made of a stack of desk disks that are trimmed flush to the edge of the mirror-

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/s...&History=39325:1491:22135:22414&ModelID=22415

or clear setting blocks: http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/s...pID=2734&History=39324:2169:2264&ModelID=2734

For a mirror without a bevel, we like to use a j-channel with a wider lip and put setting blocks inside so the mirror does not sit on the bottom of the channel. This protects from black-edge caused by splashed water.

CRL has branches in Australia:
http://www.crlaurence.com.au/default.aspx
 
Thank you so much Rob and Wally for the excellent information.

An excellent point about lifting the mirror off the bottom Rob. I was concerned about water splashing, but must admit that I would never have thought of that. I was aware of needing to seal it :)

If the mirror isn't flush with the wall, do you think that 4mm is thick enough.

Once again thank you so much for taking the time out to help me, much appreciated.
 
kuluchicken said:
If the mirror isn't flush with the wall, do you think that 4mm is thick enough.
Click to expand...

IF YOU WANT HELP FROM US YANKS, IT WOULD BE BETTER IF YOU SPOKE ENGLISH :)

4 MM IS LESS THAN 1/4" thick. The problem with a large mirror is that it can flex (yes, 4MM can flex) and you will have distorted lines - or a wavy appearance. Also, 4mm glass is very difficult to bevel greater than 1" (25mm) and the edge becomes very fragile.

I would use a minimum of 6MM glass if it is being beveled and especially if it is not going to have a frame.
 
Rob Markoff said:
IF YOU WANT HELP FROM US YANKS, IT WOULD BE BETTER IF YOU SPOKE ENGLISH :)

4 MM IS LESS THAN 1/4" thick. The problem with a large mirror is that it can flex (yes, 4MM can flex) and you will have distorted lines - or a wavy appearance. Also, 4mm glass is very difficult to bevel greater than 1" (25mm) and the edge becomes very fragile.

I would use a minimum of 6MM glass if it is being beveled and especially if it is not going to have a frame.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rob, I'll go for a thicker mirror....I forget sometimes that you Yanks are a little bit behind the times when it comes to using the metric system :icon21:
 
I thought that I'd share what I found. It may just help someone else, maybe even you Rob...although you seem to know it all :)

To hang a mirror so that it seems to float and there is no visible sign of attachment, there seem to be two excellent products. The one is called Prof-Spiegelset and the other one is by Bohle.

They have two metal plates that already have the correct glue one. These are attached to the back of the mirror. They also supply the two brackets that get screwed into the wall as well as two 'spacers' that get screwed into the wall towards the bottom of the mirror. There are different sizes for different mirror sizes and go up to 2.6m2 (Rob, you do the maths) :)
 
kuluchicken said:
Thanks Rob, I'll go for a thicker mirror....I forget sometimes that you Yanks are a little bit behind the times when it comes to using the metric system :icon21:
Click to expand...
They're masochistic! That's why they hold on to the feet, inches and stupid fractions at any cost! LMAO!
 
2.6 m2 = 3.1 yd2 or about 28 square feet or a 63" x 63" mirror

That's a pretty big piece of glass - and I would be concerned with a 6mm beveled mirror floating off the wall. That's a pretty frail/sharp edge hinging in the air. As the mirror gets larger, so does the number/size of the plates. That's why they furnish eccentric disks, so the alignment can be adjusted to grab all the brackets evenly.

You need to be very sure the back of the mirror is properly prepared and that the adhesive is adequately cured. Suction cups will make handling the mirror easier, especially for larger sizes.

Bohle has an American Branch: https://www.bohleamerica.com

I didn't understand from your original post that you want the mirror to appear "floating" off the wall.

A simple way is to use a wide black frame with a bevel on the interior top, then attach it to the back of the mirror with mastic. Then hang the frame with a piece of stock that mates with it (french cleat). Or you could use z-bar and bumpers on the bottom to keep the mirror parallel, but it won't hang as flat to the wall and you can see the hardware from the side. (Same with the Bohle system)
 
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