How do I deal with taking mirrors off a wall?
Question:I recently bought a new house and the previous owners had stuck several square mirrors to the wall from floor to ceiling. I want to try to remove them myself. I imagine that they used glue, and I'm afraid that if I try to take them off myself I could break the mirrors (and cut myself) or hurt the wall.
Any suggestions? Anyone deal with this 70s style decor? Thanks for the help.
Answers:
Yes, I removed a whole wall of mirrors. Be sure you wear gloves (and goggles)to avoid being cut. I used a large flat head screwdriver and using light pressure, pry the glass up on all sides. Some will break, it's impossible to avoid. But, most of my mirror squares came off intact.
We removed two walls of mirror. Most of them just popped off. They were only glued in the corners and the middle.
Wear gloves, goggles, and use a crowbar to gently pry the mirror, starting at a bottom corner. Make sure you have someone there who has brute strength, as these panels of glass are heavy.
If the mirror does break, it should break off in pieces.
They are probably attached with some kind of adhesive, probably construction adhesive. You probably will be able to get the mirrors off the wall in one piece without hurting yourself, but the adhesive will pull the paper layer of the underlying drywall off when you remove the mirror. Your choice then when will be to either repair a lot of damaged drywall or replace it. The more adhesive they used, the worse it will be. I don't know anyway to get the mirrors off without causing damage to the wall. On the plus side, drywall is not particularly expensive.
first get help a friend or someone who can help if they are heavy i had the same problem on paneled walls i used wood putty to fix the holes it lefted and painted the walls oatmeal with white trim i love it
use a wide blade flexable paster knife (4-6 inches) ease the blade in from a corner wiggiling it until the mirror tiles start to lift.
sometimes working with two wide blades helps
WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION just in case one or more "pops" there will likely be a residue of either glue or two sided tape left. remove this with either the plaster knife or a razor scraper (wallpaper or window)
4 or 5 pieces of double sided tape is what they came with.
Best bet is to wear safety glasses no matter where you get them or how much they cost. They are cheaper than an eye injury.
Get a flat blade putty knife and slip it behind them to pop them off.
You'll need some dry wall patch (spackle) to fix the little holes.
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