I decided to upgrade the plain builder mirrors in our master bath. You can buy frame kits online, but it was going to be very expensive, since the mirrors are about 54” x 42” and I have two of them. Also, I wanted them to match the frame of the cabinets, and none of the kits did. I wanted a butt joint, like the cabinet doors and I wanted it to match the trim paint, so looked like I was going to have to do it myself.
When we moved, I didn’t bring most of my tools, miter/chop saw included, so I had to buy a hand miter box kit. Since they were flat cuts, it wasn’t too bad, but it would have been a lot quicker with my chop saw.
The thing that made it take so long was that the only trim I could find in the exact size I needed, was bare pine. That stuff really soaks up paint, even with me priming it first. It was also a little rough in a few places, so sanding and a little filling was required. If I could have found PVC or pre-primed wood, it would have been very nice, but no such luck.
I attached the pieces to the mirrors with the 3M clear double stick tape. That stuff is never coming off. If you ever need to mount something permanently, it’s what you want.
Anyway, it is done now. I don’t like the light fixtures above the mirrors, but I haven’t found any that I really do like, so I’ll keep looking and will replace those, eventually, fingers crossed.
Sorry for the not great pics, but you can see the frames.
The bedroom has crown moulding, and there was a time I might have installed crown in the bath, but I freaking hate installing crown, and I am not doing it again. Lol. I like it ok without the crown in the bath, at least I don’t mind it enough to put up crown.

Cabinets are white, and match the frames which are also white, but the lighting makes the cabinets look gray. Walls are gray and trim is white.



Before



After, with mirrors framed out.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Looks great. No more dust collectors at the corners of the room.

It's odd the builder didn't size the mirrors to the cabinets. I guess the builder really wanted you to pay him to put the frame around the mirrors at a pretty penny.

Looks very nice. What’s up supposed to go in the open space in the middle?

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Asheville, NC Area

NIce!

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MartyStickle
Looks very nice. What’s up supposed to go in the open space in the middle?

Towels . . . . lots of them.

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MartyStickle
Looks very nice. What’s up supposed to go in the open space in the middle?

We use it like a bench to sit on to put on shoes and socks. The storage down below is for whatever. I keep the towels in the laundry room, but you could put them there.
I think it is a rather odd set up, and would have been better to have it moved up, like a vanity area. It would have been the same amount of materials, but it was already installed, so we couldn’t change it. They do offer it with the vanity option, so maybe this was just something they were trying out. Oddly enough, my husband really likes it. Lol

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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Forrest
Looks great. No more dust collectors at the corners of the room.

It's odd the builder didn't size the mirrors to the cabinets. I guess the builder really wanted you to pay him to put the frame around the mirrors at a pretty penny.

Yeah, maybe the mirror size is a standard size or something, but it is odd that it didn’t match up.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Wait, you attached the frame to the mirror with tape? In a humid bathroom? Hope it lasts! If it doesn't, maybe try silicone adhesive. Looks nice! Very profesh. Crown moulding next

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Nice work! And it only took you two hours.

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d4
Wait, you attached the frame to the mirror with tape? In a humid bathroom? Hope it lasts! If it doesn't, maybe try silicone adhesive. Looks nice! Very profesh. Crown moulding next

This is the same type of tape I used outside to put my street numbers on my front door. I had an older roll that was rated at five pounds, but the new roll I had to buy, is rated higher, at 15 lbs.
Also, the bath isn’t really humid as there is a vent above the shower and no tub. The mirrors never fog up, even when someone is taking a shower.
I needed to adjust one of the pieces by 1/16”, so I tried to get it off. There was no way. I even tried to use a piece of dental floss to run behind it, and it was no go.
It might come off, never say never. but the wood is very lightweight and the tape is rated at 15lbs and I doubt each piece is even 1/4lb.
I think the foam double stick tape might not have held up as well. It can get brittle over time.
Here is which tape I used.
[www.scotchbrand.com]

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2021 02:39PM by rgG.

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GGD
Nice work! And it only took you two hours.

I wish. Lol.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Very nice!

And, as a retired journeyman carpenter, you have my seal of approval.

Oh, and you shoulda kept your power tools!!

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Rick-o
Very nice!

And, as a retired journeyman carpenter, you have my seal of approval.

Oh, and you shoulda kept your power tools!!

Thanks! That is high praise.
Well, to be honest, I hated the chop saw I had, so I had planned on using that as an excuse to upgrade, if I ever needed one.
I did bring the drill and a small 4 1/2", hand held circular saw.

I am going to finally get to go see my mom, hopefully in a week or two, so I may see if she has one I can either use or borrow. I don't remember what my dad had in his shop. If not, HD has a couple of possibilities.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2021 04:25PM by rgG.

I can see that you have one of those large bathrooms that doesn’t need medicine cabinets.

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mattkime
I can see that you have one of those large bathrooms that doesn’t need medicine cabinets.

Lol, yeah, I wasn't much help with your last problem.
Although, having some stuff at eye level is far superior to having to root around in cabinets and drawers.

My MIL had a very nice large bathroom that had cabinets, drawers, AND two very nice lighted medicine cabinets. Best of all worlds.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2021 04:07PM by rgG.

According to the clock, it only took about 2 hours.

Just kidding - great job. I hate working on those large mirrors. They are heavy and fragile!

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Fred_Also
According to the clock, it only took about 2 hours.

Just kidding - great job. I hate working on those large mirrors. They are heavy and fragile!

Lol. I didn’t notice that.
Sad part, both photos were not taken on the same day.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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rgG

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mattkime
I can see that you have one of those large bathrooms that doesn’t need medicine cabinets.

Lol, yeah, I wasn't much help with your last problem.
Although, having some stuff at eye level is far superior to having to root around in cabinets and drawers.

My MIL had a very nice large bathroom that had cabinets, drawers, AND two very nice lighted medicine cabinets. Best of all worlds.

Its made me realize that design choices like this are often tied to other building decisions. We live in an older house (and I favor them) - older houses are _never_ going to have the bathroom space displayed in your photo. Tradeoffs.

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Nice work, and I dig the clock!

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RAMd®d
Nice work, and I dig the clock!

Thanks!
I have a thing for clocks and I loved the color of that one.
It came from Target.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

very cool. Did the exact same thing with our frameless mirror when we first moved in, almost 17 years ago. Used some silicon sealer/glue.

Used a pre made moulding

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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jdc
very cool. Did the exact same thing with our frameless mirror when we first moved in, almost 17 years ago. Used some silicon sealer/glue.

Used a pre made moulding

Very nice. I so wish I could have gotten pre-finished moulding for mine. That would have cut the time down to a few hours, instead of painting and then waiting for all those coats of paint and primer to dry, and sanding, and painting, etc.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Terrific!

I’m afraid this thread just cost me ‘2 hours’ - I’m sure I can no longer look at my cheap builder mirrors now and unsee their nakedness...

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sekker
Terrific!

I’m afraid this thread just cost me ‘2 hours’ - I’m sure I can no longer look at my cheap builder mirrors now and unsee their nakedness...

Do your best to find either pre-finished, which is the best option, PVC, or at least pre-primed. The prep work on mine took far too long, and to get it absolutely perfect, would have taken even longer.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Hey rgG!
Did you use photoshop to erase your arms out of pic2? Affinity Photo maybe?
Enquiring minds...

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rich in distress
Hey rgG!
Did you use photoshop to erase your arms out of pic2? Affinity Photo maybe?
Enquiring minds...

Top pic, where you can see my arm, I took it from the side. For the bottom pic, I sat down on the floor, directly in front, so no arms to be seen.
That's why the angle is slightly different.
Too much effort to PS out my arms.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)