How to add brackets to a heavy frameless mirror?

[DIYLili]

   

Hi all, I’m really stuck with this and hoping someone here might have a solution. I’m trying to hang an oval-shaped, 20kg frameless mirror on a plasterboard wall. The challenge: the existing brackets on the mirror don’t work because:

1. They don’t align with the wall studs, and
2. They’re on the wrong side of the mirror for where we want to hang it.

We don’t want to glue the mirror directly to the wall. So my plan was to glue new brackets (2 D-rings to align with the studs, plus 1 D-ring which, together with 1 original bracket, will be hung on a screw in a Ramset Super Wallmate anchors rated up to 20kg) onto the back of the mirror, which has a thin white plastic film covering.

Here’s what I’ve tried:

Attempt 1:

Glued EverHang heavy-duty D-rings (25kg rated) directly to the plastic film using Selleys Hold Up. After 72 hours, they peeled off easily with no effort.

Attempt 2:

Removed all the Hold Up adhesive, sanded both the film and the D-rings lightly for better grip. Used Selleys Liquid Nails Original (green tube) and followed the instructions carefully. It looked more promising, but after 72 hours, a bit of force still made them pop off. (Pics show where they failed and one that I haven’t removed yet.)

My questions:

• Why are none of these adhesives working? Even the staff at Bunnings was stumped.
• Should I try removing the white plastic film and glue directly to the grey backing? Would that risk damaging the mirror if it fails again?
• Or is there a better approach I haven’t thought of?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated – thank you in advance!

- Lili

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @DIYLili. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about hangin a mirror.

The main issue you're running into is that the adhesives aren’t bonding properly because the white plastic film isn’t a great surface to glue to. It’s likely flexible, extremely smooth, and most glues struggle to stick properly to plastic in general. Even glues that are good with plastic can have trouble on surfaces like this. You'll note the manufacturer's mounts have a much larger surface area and are attached to the back of the mirror and not the film.

That said, even if the adhesives worked better, I’d strongly recommend against trying to glue D-rings to the back of a 20kg mirror. The D-rings you’re using are designed to be screwed into timber frames, not glued onto plastic or mirror surfaces. Their fixing plates just don’t have enough surface area to safely support that kind of weight.

For something as heavy as a 20kg mirror, you really want proper fixings — and they need a good safety margin above the mirror’s weight. Also, two 20kg-rated wall anchors don't automatically equal 40kg of holding strength, because the load isn’t always evenly shared between the two points.

All up, I'd say if you can’t use the original mounting points provided by the manufacturer, it’s safer to look at choosing a different mirror that better suits your wall fixing setup rather than trying to retrofit additional brackets yourself. I know that’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but safety-wise it's definitely the best call.

If you could make do with the mirror facing the other direction, then you can screw a horizontal bridging timber between your studs which will allow you to fix the mirror anywhere along it, instead of directly over the studs.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[DIYLili]

Hi Mitchell, Thanks so much for your prompt and helpful reply. Everything you said makes a lot of sense. I’ve got a few follow-up questions about some alternative solutions – would love to hear your thoughts:

Option 1: the company who sold the mirror is happy to sell additional brackets (the same large ones that are already attached on the back).

They’ve suggested I peel off the white film where we want the new brackets to go, then glue them directly to the mirror backing using a mirror and metal adhesive (they use Selleys for this). 

I am thinking that, if you think it’s a possibility, I would attach two of these large brackets to align with the studs, and hang the existing one on the right-hand side on a screw anchored with a heavy duty wall anchor. This would give it three points of support. 
(Additionally, would it make sense to also install anchors beneath the lower brackets, so the mirror effectively “hangs” on something below as well? Would that help distribute the weight more safely?)

Option 2: Let’s say we decide to hang the mirror the way it is intended to, horizontally but from the side where the original brackets are. Would it be safe to attach a picture hanging braided wire (like this one) on the existing brackets and then hang this cable on two screws driven in the studs?

Option 3: You mentioned bridging timber in your message. Could you please share more details on how that would work? What kind of timber should we use and how thick? Would this method cause the mirror to sit far off the wall?

Thanks again for your help – I really appreciate your assistance. 

[EricL]

Hello @DIYLili 

In regards to option one, if you feel that this is a better option for you, just make sure to follow the recommended procedures suggested by the manufacturer. I recommend looking at the Ramset Super Wallmate Toggle Anchor for the other hooks that are not hitting the stud. If the additional hooks are properly mounted, then yes, adding extra hooks will help support the mirror. 

Option two using the braided wire is also a good option. As long as the wires are securely fixed in place, you should be able to hang the mirror using a single heavy-duty screw on the stud wall.

For option three, it is basically just a piece of timber that is anchored between two studs. I recommend looking at 89 x 19mm 1.2m DAR Pine Standard as a possible mounting piece. You can get longer and thicker pieces if you wish. The timber can be secured onto the studs using Zenith 10G x 75mm Countersunk Rib Head Chipboard Screws - 14 Pack. My best advice is to drill pilot holes both on timber piece and the wall.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric