Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall

[This is a guest post]

At first glance, the prospect of removing a large bathroom mirror without risking serious injury would seem to be a difficult task. All kinds of things could go wrong. The mirror could break into hundreds of sharp, dangerous shards, or you could make a mess of your bathroom wall.

However, it’s not always necessary to pay a professional to help you get rid of that huge bathroom mirror that was installed in your house when it was built in the 1960s and replace it with something a little smaller and a little more 21st century.

A few simple guidelines will help you determine whether you and a few friends can handle the job.

Do it Yourself?

To decide whether you need professional help, you first need to determine how the mirror is connected to the wall. These are some of the methods normally used to install a bathroom mirror.

• Metal or plastic clips
• Wire hangers
• Hooks
• Glue

Safety First

If the mirror has been installed by any of the first three methods, you probably will be able to remove it without a whole lot of trouble. You do need to keep in mind, however, that a 3/4-inch thick glass mirror weighs 3.4 pounds per square foot. That means a 5×3-foot mirror would tip the scales at more than 50 pounds – a difficult weight for one or even two people to handle, considering that you would need to keep the mirror vertical to move it through doorways and to avoid dropping it or bumping into furniture on your way outside.

If the mirror was glued to the wall, you might think about calling a professional. If you insist that you can do the job, you should take safety precautions to help avoid a disaster.

• Wear heavy work gloves, protection for your eyes and long sleeves.
• While you are working on the mirror, your helper should be holding it to keep it from falling.
• Apply masking or duct tape to a large part of the surface of the mirror. This will hold the pieces together if the mirror breaks while you are trying to remove it.
• These same safety precautions apply if you are replacing the glass in a window.

Some Help From Your Friends

If you determine that your mirror is attached to the wall with glue, and you still think you can handle the job yourself or with a little help from your friends, here’s one way to go about removing your old mirror.

• Use a hair dryer to apply heat to the edges of the mirror, which will soften the glue.
• Cut a piece of piano wire to a length about a foot longer than the width of the mirror.
• Connect a short dowel to each end of the wire to serve as handles.
• Stretch the wire until it is taut and slip it between the wall and the mirror.
• Move the handles one way and then the other, working from one top corner to the opposite bottom corner. Work slowly and carefully, and make sure your helper always has a good grip on the mirror so it doesn’t fall while you are working.
• If you can’t pull the mirror from the wall, cut the adhesive again with the piano wire, this time going in the opposite direction. For instance, if you cut the first time from top right to bottom left, move from the top left to the bottom right the second time.
• Another option would be to rent a couple of heavy duty vacuum cups at your local home improvement store. Pump the button on the cups to attach them securely to the mirror, and use a small pry bar to gently pull the mirror forward. If you’re lucky, the mirror will come off in one piece, and you’ll be able to use it again or donate it to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity.

Fix the Wall

Once you remove the old mirror, you’ll probably need to repair the wall before you hang a new mirror.

• Paint the damaged part of the wall with a sealing primer and let it dry.
• Use a trowel to apply a thin layer of drywall mud over the damaged area and let the mud dry overnight.
• Sand down the mud and apply primer to the entire wall.
• When the primer dries, paint the wall the color of your choice, then hang your new mirror.

You can do some home improvement jobs on your own, while others require the attention of a professional. You’ll have to decide for yourself which category removing an old mirror falls into.

Shahab Shokouhi is a glass design expert at www.dullesglassandmirror.com, an innovative manufacturer of glass table tops, glass shelves, and all other glass and mirror products.