Using mirror as a door

[cgallery]

Hello. I am making a small medicine cabinet. Due to the small size, I'd like to avoid putting the mirror in a frame (to maximize mirror size due to my rather giant head). My thought was to use a hinge like this:

a mirror instead of a piece of glass. Then someone reminded me that the glass that is normally used for this purpose is termpered.

But, because I would already have to laminate something to the back of the mirror to protect the silvering, my thought is tempering would be less necessary. If it breaks, the laminated backing would hold it together.

Any thoughts on what to use to laminate to the back to protect the silvering and to provide protection in the event that it breaks? Would contact cement be safe to use on the back of a mirror?

TIA, Phil

[M Berger]

I'd stick with a tempered glass mirror.

Your adhesive might stuck to the silvering, but not keep the glass in place.

If the backing expands or contracts, it might crack the mirror.

From a safety standpo> with a mirror instead of a piece of glass. Then someone reminded me

[resrfglc]

Could you get double sided foam sheets (sticky both sides) and fix mirror to foam, then create "door" panel out of wood and fix it to other side. Frameless mirror and wood to attach piano hinge to cabinet!

** Double-sided mounting tape avail from ACE hardware locally is 3/4" x 15' and would suffice if you didn't mind cutting and affixing dozens of strips of material.

Spray cans of adhesive would do as well with an intervening layer of foam. Foam compensates for lack of flat surface in wood. Also available at Home Depot here is a mirror adhesive - globs of it are employed - it looks like tar!

In that same department you may find channel designed for mounting mirrors which provides a very small lip at the front leaving sufficient room for an average face.

[Roger Shoaf]

My medicine cabinet has a mirror covered wood door and it uses clips on the side to hold the glass in place.

It is the original to the house (1955) so I do not know if it is tempered or not.

If I was going to build a medicine cabinet from scratch, I would consider making the cabinet deeper than the wall cavity either by building the box so it sticks out or in a bit more. You might also consider keeping the shelves back from the inside of the door and use the space to hang tooth brushes and razors.

[Mike O.]

You may have noticed that the hinge is made for 1/4" glass. If you add much thickness to the mirror (by adding to the back) it may no longer fit into the hinge. I'd ask my glass guy what he recommends.

Mike O.

[Andy Dingley]

Talk to your glass supplier. The standard grade of mirror that I buy, the only one they now offer off-the-shelf, is "bathroom grade" and already has such a laminate on the back.

[Joe Gorman]

Be sure any adhesive you use on the back of the mirror says it is for mirrors. Other adhesives can eat through the finish and give you a custom non mirror. See the first few paragraphs

[Burgy]

Tempered has nothing to do with the strength of the glass or mirror. It only means that the surface of the glass is more scratch resistant.

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[charlie]

2 wrongs.

tempering glass is a method of setting up deliberate tension between the skin and the internal part of the glass sheet. it imparts a higher strength to the glass, and it doesn't have anything to do with scratch resistance.

you can laminate glass with sheet plastic. look into the stuff they use to tint car windows, although it may not stick well to the paint protecting the silvering. i have also seen mirror laminated with very thin sheets of fiberglass batting, almost like a thin sheet of cloth (like they use to repair boats/vettes).

regards, charlie

[bf]

Take your mirror to a glass plate. They can put the safety coating on for you. I just had it done for several mirrors. I'm going to put my windows in a wood frame though. However, the glass company I bought from makes medicine cabinents similiar to your design. I'd ask if the glass company could attach a suitable hinge to the mirror as well. Then I'd build the cabinent portion to accomodate their hinge.