Making Safety Glass

[alexy]

Well, not really, but safety glass is the idea. I need to remove a mirror that is stuck on a condo's wall, presumably with some kind of construction adhesive. I'm thinking of using spray adhesive to bond a piece of plastic sheeting to the surface before beginning the removal, to minimize the danger and mess if (when?) the mirror breaks during removal. I'm thinking very thin sheeting (1/2 mil) to maximize flexibility, so glass will be less likely to break away from the film. I also thought about latex paint on the surface to serve the same purpose.

Any suggestions about this: Thickness of sheeting to use? Something else to keep broken glass under control?

And any suggestions for doing the removal while minimizing damage to the drywall beneath it would be most appreciated.

[Sonny]

Glue sheeting to the glass? How about just applying, criss crossing lots of duct tape. Tape a piece of rope on it, also, if you can, for a handle when removing.

Large concrete trowl for possibly separating the adhesive from the drywall.

Sonny

[BobS]

Use the tape as mentioned to keep the glass in place. Next, get some thin, but strong wire and work it down the wall to separate the mirror from the adhesive. Most likely it is double sided hanger pads rather than a glue. If you use a thin enough wire or maybe even fishing line, it should slice through the pads.

Bob S.

[HeyBub]

Good idea. Maybe a guitar string (if long enough).

The fall-back case is to cove the mirror with a large trash bag (tape to wall), smash the sucker with a hammer, then vacuum up all the pieces.

[Larry Jaques]

Why don't you leave it there? Any attempt to remove it (if it is construction adhesive) will damage both the wall and the mirror.

Most folks just put an asterisk of 2" wide painter's tape on them, from edge to edge. That controls the larger pieces if it breaks.

Piano wire between the wall and mirror is your best bet for cutting it off. Also consider attempting to remove the section of drywall with the mirror, then replace it, tape and mud, prime and paint.

You're likely in a no-win situation, alexy. Good luck!

-- You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. --Jack London

[dadiOH]

Never done it but I had it done. Four panels, each 3' x 8'.

They used a piece of wire - think aircraft control cables, piano wire - with wood dowel handles and "sawed" them off. You should find what you need at any decent hardware store, just make sure it is stranded wire and as small as possible.

[alexy]

SWMBO #1: Wife SWMBO #2: Daughter

You got that right! Thanks.

[alexy]

Thanks, all. Tape on the glass and thin stranded steel wire it is!

[Jerry - OHIO]

I took a #14 strand of wire & my extra car battery and made a hot wire to remove a 4 ft. sq. mirror once , it stunk like shit but it worked like cutting butter with a hot knife.

Jr.

[Larry Jaques]

Before you even start, have them help. Let it be partly THEIR responsibility when, not if, it is damaged. Otherwise, you're SOL from the start, whether you take it down or not.

If you're lucky, it will have been put up with doublesided foam tape which -may- split without damaging the mirror or wall. Have them clean the wall. ;)

-- You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. --Jack London

[GROVER]

A professional glass and mirror guy I hired said he takes down mirrors in one piece by using heavy duty suction cups and pulls the glass down by tearing the paper off the sheet rock. Presumably these were hung with that black mirror adhesive. However I did not see him actually do this.

Joe G

[Father Haskell]

If you don't care about the mirror, just smash the crap out of it with a hammer, then peel off the fragments with a nail bar. Gloves go without saying.

[CW]

If you don't care about the mirror, just smash the crap out of it with a hammer, then peel off the fragments with a nail bar. Gloves go without saying.

Back in about 77, my father bought a new house. The builder decided to cheap out on the bathroom mirror by sticking one foot square mirrored tiles to the wall instead of a solid mirror. We took a plastic drop cloth and used spray adhesive to stick it to the tile. We then smashed the mirror and scraped off the pieces. Still messy but not nearly as bad as it would have been without the plastic.

[Puckdropper]

alexy wrote in news:idjlaf$otp$ [e-mail]- september.org:

There's adhesive carpet runners out there. They're about 30" wide by several feet long. That might keep everything intact if something did break.

Puckdropper