Hanging a heavy mirror on a plaster board wall

SWMBO has purchased a 4'X3' oak-framed mirror and wants it to hang on a plaster board wall. It weighs 20Kg. The mirror has two mounting brackets on the back which I would describe as a rectangular steel plate screwed to the back of the mirror with a D-shaped 'buckle' hanging off it (apologies, can't find it on Screwfix site to get its proper name). Can I put two large screws with spring toggles, or similar, into the wall and just suspend the mirror off those?

thanks, Paul.

Reply to
Paul
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PB fixings may be OK just in the PB, but I would try and fix into a stud (the timber frame) behind the plasterboard. You can locate the studs by tapping and/or pushing something through the board (in an area definitely behind the hung mirror). If the mirror fixings do not line up with a stud, either relocate fixings on the mirror, or screw some plywood into the studs and fix the mirror to the plywood. You could use a plywood "french cleat" (google for it, there was a recent thread here). Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

I can foresee you being woken up in the early hours one morning thinking you've got a burglar, then discovering you've got 7 years bad luck instead!

If I were you I'd try to find the studding timbers and either fix directly to those, or fix a metal strap between the upright timbers and attach the mirror to the strap. The strap would not be visible as it would be hidden behind the top of the mirror. Don't use anything too thick though or it will hold the mirror too far away from the wall and look odd.

With a similar mirror in our house I was able to fasten a strong steel screw hook directly into a ceiling beam, but we have exposed oak beams anyway which modern houses lack.

Reply to
David in Normandy

Talking about getting it flush, sometimes as with kitchen cabinets, folks cut out a rectangle of PB and replace with ply, and BYU (bobs your uncle). You need to check it's not PB on a solid wall with dot and dab, If so, long screws right into the wall. Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

Spring toggles need the screws to be permanently pulled up tight. You'll need to have the screws projecting from the wall to hang the loops on so the toggles won't do unless you use them to attach some sort of hook to the wall. Hollow wall anchors like should do the trick. Screw it up tight on its own first to expand it then back the screw out enough to hang the mirror on it.

Reply to
Mike Clarke

I would use the screw-type plasterboard fixings.

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have used these to hang radiators on the walls, and the radiator weighs more when filled with water than any of the mirrors we have (and that includes a mirror we have which is real plate glass and a heavy oak frame).

Reply to
Steve Firth

Get a 3/4" masonary bit and drill right through into the back brick as far as possible with bit with the fixing dimensions of mirror hanging points marked out. Get some 3/4" dowling and cut it to the depth of the hole so that it lies flush with plasterboard and hammer the dowling into the holes so that it IS flush with plasterboard.

put screws into dowling and hang mirror

Reply to
George

Hah yes but don't forget some of the weight rest on the pipes as well you know. :-)

Reply to
George

Have you thought of Velcro? I used heavy duty Velcro to fix a very large mirror on tiles above the sink in my bathroom.

Admittedly there is a wide wooden panel sitting on the back of the basin, but my impression is that the Velcro could safely have taken a large weight.

Reply to
Timothy Murphy

I'd agree. done the same with radiators myself. Very strong fix.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I can honestly say that scares the crap out of me.

Reply to
Paul

Thanks, those babies look just the job. Presumably one drills a small pilot hole in the wall, taps in the fitting and then screw into the wall?

The more I think about it - and I realise this is famous last words, tempting fate etc. - the more I think it ought to take one Hell of a vertical force to pull any reasonably sized screw out of a plaster board wall. No?

Reply to
Paul

Although not in this case because there's a long run of pipe under the floorboard and the risers for the radiator aren't clipped to anything much. With no radiator in place I can push the tubes up and down with a little finger.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Not even that, just identify the location and screw the fitting into the wall. That tiny little prong on the sharp end drills the pilot hole without the need for a drill. Don't overtighten it, hand tighten only, because this will reduce the strength or even worse pull the fitting right through the plasterboard.

Umm sort of. But these fittings have an axtremely deep thread which is part of their strength. Woodscrews just don't have that much grip on a friable material like plasterboard. The plasterboard fittings are distributing the weight over a relatively large area.

Also remember that with a mirror, some component of the weight will be trying to pull the mirror away from the wall because we don't hang mirrors absolutely upright.

Reply to
Steve Firth

I've used Velcro for some serious work, including securing things under high-g. It's OK for limited uses, but over time the glue softens and the adhesion of pressure sensitive tape to cemetitious materials is ..ummm.. 'poor'.

Reply to
Steve Firth

we have 2 x 32" LCD TV's hanging off 6 metal Plasterboard screws each (to the TV mount) and they've been there for over a year now no problem :-)

Reply to
Vass

IME these are very good on walls but SFA use on ceilings where the tapered profile ensures the weight is taken solely by the spiral / helical worm, YKWIM. And once it goes it goes.

So, anyway -go for it.

Reply to
Derek Geldard

Same goes for glass and sound painted metal surfaces etc after about

18 months depending on the temperature.

Think what happens to cable tie bases after a few years. The inside of some of our equipment after ~5 years in service is something *not* to behold. 8-(

DG

Reply to
Derek Geldard

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