Massive Framed Mirror

Before we moved last year, some friends of ours were also in the process of moving and in so doing were gutting their master bath.  They had this 3 ft. by 7 ft. mirror that they were giving away to anyone who wanted it.

Although I didn't know what house I would be moving to, and if I would even have a place for this big 'ole beast, I went and got it from them.  Big mirrors aren't cheap!  So a free one, PLEASE! I had to take it.

We stored it in our pod while we were trying to sell, and have been storing it down in the basement since we moved last March.

FINALLY...it is done and hung up. (it took me some time to figure out exactly where I wanted it to go)

The first thing we had to do was to cut off about a foot of the length.

Where it is hanging is only an 8 ft. ceiling and since I wanted it framed it wasn't going to work at that length. I bought a glass cutting kit at Home Depot for about $13.  I practiced a couple times on some scrap mirror until I figured out how best to do it for myself.  And then hubby helped me on this big piece. It was a thicker mirror than my practice pieces.

Hubby cut the 1 x's so that the mirror would inset a little.
We then attached a backing to keep the mirror in place.
Sorry, but I didn't take any pics of that.

We made two wood cleats to hang the mirror. One piece goes on the wall and the other on the mirror. We did this on both the top and bottom of the mirror since it was so large and heavy.  We also didn't want it to bang back and forth if someone touched. Check out this video to get the idea of how to make the cleats.



It now hangs in our foyer by the front door.



I really like it here.
Though it definitely is massive.
Easy way to check your present-ability on the way out the door.






This is to show how far it is off the wall.  The wood is only 7/8 inch thick.



I used pine boards and a gray stain because I like the knotty look and this makes it appear somewhat distressed without having to actually do anything to get it that way.

Details:

• RF Supply Glass Cutting Tool Kit at Home Depot
• 2 - 1 x 6 boards 10 ft length. (or enough for your needed size)
• OSB 3/8" board for backing--cut to size
• Scrap board to make the hanging cleat
• Minwax Wood Stain in Classic Gray.  Same stain I used for the boys' headboards.