Opinions Wanted Medicine cabinet

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Bill C

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Posts
265
Loc
North Jersey
I am framing a mirror to be used as the face of a medicine cabinet. The customer is going to hinge the mirror himself to the cabinet. My question is what should I back the framed mirror with? I'm thinking masonite, but I would love to hear what others have used or would use. Thanks.





Bill C
 
If you want a very clean look, you might try a sheet of galvanized metal cut to size. It would probably be lighter than masonite, too.
 
I had a customer want to do this ages ago. We played and played with it but with each plan, we ran into a road block. Unfortunately, it never happened. If I remember correctly, the biggest obstacle was that when one would try to open it, the moulding width hit something, keeping it from opening all the way.

In this situation, we were framing the original medicine cabinet 'door', so it had it's original back. Perhaps you could use Gatorboard and cover it with "wallpaper" and laminate it. Just a thought.
 
I did put a frame moulding on an existing medicine cabinet mirror door, which was meant to have a frame around it. The customer didn't like any of the mouldings offered by the medicine cabinet manufacturer, however. To ensure that the door would open and shut freely, I trimmed down the moulding drastically. At the end, the face of the moulding only had 1/8 inch depth, and the rabbet was extended so that the side of the moulding was only 1/8 inch thick too.
 
Use Formica to back the mirror. Home Depot and Lowes sell it and will give you some free cuts to the desired dimension. You do need to check everything out in the customers home to be sure it will open properly.
 
I used dry erase when I did one. The customer says they use it often for notes and such.
 
Keep in mind that in this kind of installation the frame will be handled frequently and exposed to moisture, abrasion, and cleaning supplies. Choose your moulding finish appropriately, and advise customer that picture frame mouldings are generally designed to be hung where they aren't "exposed to the elements".
:cool: Rick
 
prospero said:
Today's brainstorming idea.:nuts:

Why not back it with another mirror? Then they can look in it with the door open or closed. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Interesting idea. The only thing I would worry about would be the weight.
 
The "back" mirror could be done with mirrored acrylic though. Be a nice touch.
 
Unfortunately I've done several of these #### things - neighbors kept telling neighbors. I bent up "L" clips to screw to the back of the frame and then to the existing door. Hang over on the hinge side was always a problem. Shift the frame away from the hinge edge.

If you're not using an existing door, back the framed mirror with melamine covered masonite - the white stuff- but seal the inside (brown side) against moisture absorbtion. If you use matboard to back the mirror, the points won't scratch the back side and you can bond the white masonite stuff to the matboard with S-Glue. I too like the mirror on the inside. Regular mirror won't add enough weight to make much difference. Cover the edge of the back mirror with GlasGard to finish the raw edge and bond the two mirrors together with S-Glue
 
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