New House - Need to Remove Floor to Ceiling Mirrors
#1
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New House - Need to Remove Floor to Ceiling Mirrors
My wife and I had an offer accepted on a house here in the Nashville metro area last week. Other than a few window seals needing to be replaced everthing was in good shape according to the home inspector so we're set for closing on March 14th.
Here's what the house looks like.
house-1.jpg
We're planning on replacing the carpet downstairs with hardwood to match the the entry way and staircase as well as doing some painting. What I don't know how to approch is removing the hidious floor to ceiling mirrors on the back wall in the formal living room.
house-3.jpg
They are not being held on with clips of any kind, they're glued straight to the sheet rock. I read you can heat them up to soften the adhesive and use a wire of some sort to go behind the mirror like using floss to debadge a car. The problem is being floor to ceiling there's no room to get a wire behind the mirrors so I'm at a loss. Does anyone have any experience taking something like these down? Is this better left to a professional so I don't screw up the wall behind the mirror or have shattered glass everywhere when they come off the wall and fall to the ground?
Here's what the house looks like.
house-1.jpg
We're planning on replacing the carpet downstairs with hardwood to match the the entry way and staircase as well as doing some painting. What I don't know how to approch is removing the hidious floor to ceiling mirrors on the back wall in the formal living room.
house-3.jpg
They are not being held on with clips of any kind, they're glued straight to the sheet rock. I read you can heat them up to soften the adhesive and use a wire of some sort to go behind the mirror like using floss to debadge a car. The problem is being floor to ceiling there's no room to get a wire behind the mirrors so I'm at a loss. Does anyone have any experience taking something like these down? Is this better left to a professional so I don't screw up the wall behind the mirror or have shattered glass everywhere when they come off the wall and fall to the ground?
#3
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No clue either. But try not to break them so you can move them to the bedroom ceiling.
Is that a crown molding on top? Can it be removed so you get the wire in behind from the top?
Is that a crown molding on top? Can it be removed so you get the wire in behind from the top?
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Chances are they used Liquid Nails (adhesive) to mount the mirrors. It's a bitch to get off and will always tear the paper (or more) when you try to remove it. Considering how big the mirrors are I'll assume they used a lot of adhesive.
The end result is a lot of patching on the sheetrock. Is there a chance the mirror doesn't go all the way to the ceiling? Pull the crown moulding down a little and look. How about the baseboard? Can you pull some off and see if you can get to the mirror that way?
May be worth it to hire a handyman to pull the mirrors down, cut out the Sheetrock and replace with new. Any spot patching will be noticeable.
The end result is a lot of patching on the sheetrock. Is there a chance the mirror doesn't go all the way to the ceiling? Pull the crown moulding down a little and look. How about the baseboard? Can you pull some off and see if you can get to the mirror that way?
May be worth it to hire a handyman to pull the mirrors down, cut out the Sheetrock and replace with new. Any spot patching will be noticeable.
#5
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I had the same issue when I moved into my home but the mirrors were 1 foot squares which made for easier removal. They were all stuck to the walls with sticky foam. Removing the mirrors damaged the drywall and I had to patch the hell out of everything.
Your problem is different. They had to have used some type of calk adhesive and I can guarantee you that removal is going to be a bitch. I would get a throw-away tarp, a hammer, some safety glasses and canvas gloves. Then I would remove the glass to cut out all of the drywall and start from scratch. It's the easiest and least time consuming procedure.
Your problem is different. They had to have used some type of calk adhesive and I can guarantee you that removal is going to be a bitch. I would get a throw-away tarp, a hammer, some safety glasses and canvas gloves. Then I would remove the glass to cut out all of the drywall and start from scratch. It's the easiest and least time consuming procedure.
#7
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Thanks for the responses guys. I think we'll have to hire someone to do this. I was hoping to get them down myself and then hire someone to come patch anything up that got damaged, but sounds like getting them down in one piece might be beyond my abilities.
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Wallpaper or paint over the mirrors if you want a painted surface.
We have a similar mirrored wall in our dining room opposite the windows on the front of the house-- I like the mirrors.
Looks like a nice house; conrats!
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OMG congrats Todd!
I WANT A GARAGE!!!!!!!!!
I WANT A GARAGE!!!!!!!!!
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#12
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They're beveled mirrored trim pieces which I suspect are glued on as well. I'm 99% sure everything is glued because there's another large mirror above the fireplace in the other living room with no trim pieces and I can clearly see on the edges behind the mirror there's some kind of adhesive bonding it to the wall. Looks like I'm going to be paying for sheetrock patching in quite a few places. They also have a huge mirror in the hallway on top of the stairs and in front of the garden tub in the master bathroom. They also had a 220 Volt outlet installed in the 2nd bedroom for a tanning bed. I kind of wish I got to meet them but they currently live in Denver.
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JS + XES (02-22-2012)
#14
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Gonna have to break 'em and put up new drywall...or patch the crap out of the existing drywall.
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They're beveled mirrored trim pieces which I suspect are glued on as well. I'm 99% sure everything is glued because there's another large mirror above the fireplace in the other living room with no trim pieces and I can clearly see on the edges behind the mirror there's some kind of adhesive bonding it to the wall. Looks like I'm going to be paying for sheetrock patching in quite a few places. They also have a huge mirror in the hallway on top of the stairs and in front of the garden tub in the master bathroom. They also had a 220 Volt outlet installed in the 2nd bedroom for a tanning bed. I kind of wish I got to meet them but they currently live in Denver.
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SuperTrooper169 (02-23-2012)
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a tanning bed.. haha
#19
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nudist. DUDE YOUR HOUSE IS NICE! Congrats on the new purchase! Yeah I'd more than likely pay someone to get the mirrors down and get new drywall. Looks like it'll be a serious job for me if i had to do it myself. I can almost guarantee you I'd break more than the glass.
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Thanks for the comments/suggestions guys. I found a local handyman that quoted me $280 to take the mirrors down and repair the drywall behind them. I think it's worth the money just to let the pro do it. I've never repaired/hung drywall before. We have a bunch of other stuff we want him to do so he'll do it all as a combined cost.
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Just find out what he means by repair the drywall. If he tries to patch all of the holes left by the adhesive it's going to look terrible. It really needs to be torn down and new rock put up.
#24
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Yeah very good point. He did admit it's really hard to tell how much paper the mirrors are going to take off. I'll be there when he does it so I guess if it comes down to what will look best I'll have him replace the sheetrock verses trying to patch huge spots if he feels that's the best approach.
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$280 is a good deal if he patches the drywall too.
#26
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#27
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I have no suggestions on the mirror removal, but - Congrats on the house! I really like it; especially the brickwork.
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SuperTrooper169 (03-13-2012)
#28
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We closed on the house Wednesday and the hardwood floors were finished this afternoon. The mirrors are coming down Monday to be followed with interior painting. Some before and after photos...
Formal Living Room/Dining Room
Before
formal-living-room-w-carpet.jpg
Trying to match the existing hardwood entry
entry-match-hardwood.jpg
Subfloor
formal-living-room-wo-carpet.jpg
After
formal-living-room-w-hardwood1.jpg
formal-living-room-w-hardwood-dining-room1.jpg
dining-room-to-formal-living-room-w-hardwood.jpg
Living Room
Before
den-w-carpet.jpg
During
laying-hardwood-out.jpg
After
den-w-hardwood.jpg
den-w-hardwood-windows.jpg
Formal Living Room/Dining Room
Before
formal-living-room-w-carpet.jpg
Trying to match the existing hardwood entry
entry-match-hardwood.jpg
Subfloor
formal-living-room-wo-carpet.jpg
After
formal-living-room-w-hardwood1.jpg
formal-living-room-w-hardwood-dining-room1.jpg
dining-room-to-formal-living-room-w-hardwood.jpg
Living Room
Before
den-w-carpet.jpg
During
laying-hardwood-out.jpg
After
den-w-hardwood.jpg
den-w-hardwood-windows.jpg
Last edited by SuperTrooper169; 03-16-2012 at 02:07 PM.
#29
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Looks nice! Great view out on to the deck. Love that.
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Nice. Make sure the guy that removes your mirrors at least puts down craft paper and hopefully puts down plywood over that. Would hate to damage those new floors.
#31
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Thanks, T. You see those things out there? Those are called trees. I never knew until I left Arizona.
Good call. I asked him if he wanted to do the mirrors and painting before the floors went in. He said it didn't matter since he always takes care in protecting the floors from damage/paint when he works, so let's keep our fingers crossed he follows through with that.
Good call. I asked him if he wanted to do the mirrors and painting before the floors went in. He said it didn't matter since he always takes care in protecting the floors from damage/paint when he works, so let's keep our fingers crossed he follows through with that.
#32
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Yes, I recall. They made me claustrophobic after 2 years in TN and KY. When I got back to AZ, I couldn't believe how far I could SEE. I understand tornadoes have a habit of uprooting those things and placing them in people's living rooms.
#33
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#36
Whats up with RDX owners?
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Wow, the floors transformed everything
Can't wait to see it without the mirrors. I love the brick too
Can't wait to see it without the mirrors. I love the brick too
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SuperTrooper169 (03-17-2012)
#37
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Thanks all!
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Side not, hows the lip from the street to the driveway? Can you lower the MS6 now?
#39
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