In this bathroom remodel I'm almost done with, I ran into a stupid-me measurement... the backsplash on the existing sink was 4" high on both sides, so I naturally assumed (I know, I know) the back backsplash was the same... WRONG! So know I need to cut about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the mirror, and it's still attached to the wall... can this be done? I'm not sure I want to tackle this one. My only adventure into cutting class was with Ronco's Bottle and Jug Cutter from the early 70's... remember cutting the old Bud bottles and making candles? But, I digress....

I'm so peee-oh'd. All that's left of this project is the new sink install, and tiling the backsplash!!! AAAAAKKKK!

Any help on what I should do? And BTW, a new mirror is out of the question...

Take the mirror into a glass cutter and let him cut it.

Mark

+1
Since a new mirror is out of the question, and a broken one won't look good, take it to have it cut.

Nu2 - If you do attempt to cut it while it's mounted on the wall, let me know.....I want to watch you do it......

Take it off the wall and get it professionally done.....

LOL, MadDog! I don't think you'd wanna be here for that! I don't take failure very well, especially when it ends up costing me money!!!!
The mirror is 36" high by 40" wide. I doubt she'll come off the wall smoothly anyways.

The tile I'm using for the backsplash is 1" square decorative glass tiles (which is why I can't cut the tiles to fit), mounted on a sheet 12 x 12. The original plan was to cut the sheets into 3 4x12s. The back backsplash ends up about 1/4" too long, so there's where the dilemma comes in.

However, when I put a level on the vanity this morning in a trial fit of the counter, I found out it's not level front to back. It's about a 1/4 inch low in the back, after playing around with the level and shims. I think I can get away with a 3" tall backsplash under the mirror. There will be a bit of a gap between the bottom of the mirror and the top of the tile, but it will be negligible (and if I use a bit bigger spacer it might not be noticeable at all). I'll still run 4" on the side splashes, and as long as the joints line up, it shouldn't give any visual funkiness... we'll see, but I think it's better than trying to cut the mirror... I gotta run it by the designer, ie the admiral, tonite. and show her what I'm thinking..

Thanks for the replies!

Sounds like a workable plan.....post some pics when it's done so we can pick it apart....

Would it be practical to cut 3/4" off the toe kick of the vanity?Not the ideal solution but might be another option.

kdl, I was looking at that and lowering the the whole thing a bit... as it is, it's not a bad solution as I'm installing a big vessel sink... problem is, the toe kick is tiled to match the floor!!!!



Thanks man... just what I need!!! Just cause paint is running all over, the toilet wobbles, and the counter is off kilter, no need to make me feel bad!!! SHEESH!!!!

How about you shim out from the wall the thickness of the mirror and then just run your back splash over the mirror and caulk it?

PH, great idea! I'll have to give it some thought on how to shim it, but Thanks. I have some 1/2" cement backer board left over from the BBQ project last summer... may be too think tho.. But I'll run it by the design team tomorrow...

I ran the idea of the 4" side splash and 3" backsplash under the mirror... that didn't go well, and after viewing some bathrooms on line, I have to agree with her... the line of a backsplash should be continuous from side to rear to side... after holding up the tiles and stepping back, the breaking of that line didn't look good. So we've decided to run with a 3" splash all the way around.. but shimming the wall out may be a doable option.. plus it does away with a problem I didn't know how I was going to solve, and that's a butt-ugly gold trim piece at the bottom of the mirror that helps hold it up... We're going with shiny chrome accessories, towel bar, toilet paper holder etc..
Thanks PH!

The mirror is probably 1/4" thick. Measure it anyway.

Go to a tile shop and get some smooth tile a bit thinner than the mirror. The reason you want thinner is the mastic on the tile and the mastic on the back splash will add some thickness to the total and you don't want a wide caulking gap on top of the back splash.

If you have a router you can router out a relief for the mirror along the top edge of the back splash then you would not even have to space it out at all. But not sure what your back splash is made of, it might splinter and have some jagged edges.

More router ideas, if you can.

Since you have a flat surface with a thick edge (Mirror bracket rail) Maybe make two passes with a router.

The first pass with the router would be along the same plain as the mirror. The second pass would be perpendicular to the mirror and would be a relief for the bracket rail.

If you were to look at the cut you made doing this from the end of the back splash it would look like a lower case "b".

The advantage to this is you can get your back splash tight against the mirror. This would leave a thin caulking line that would not be noticeable. You could even dress it up with a chrome cap rail.

The drawback to the router is that the top edge of the back splash will be narrower across the mirror than the side pieces that join it. Most won't notice this but you will every time you are in there.

i'm going against the grain on this one. i think it's perfectly acceptable to cut the mirror while it's still hanging on the wall. you iron shirts without taking them off first, right?

Can't you raise the mirror? We have a big mirror over our vanity and it wouldn't be hard to raise it just a bit. You'd have to take it off and make new holes for the "holders"/clips, but that would be easier than cutting it. We've removed the mirror over out vanity (it seems the be the same size you have). It takes the both of us to handle it oh-so-caregfully, but it's not really hard.

BTW - I sympathize. We're in the middle of tiling out master vanity and bath and have run into a number of issues.

bowline, our mirror doesn't have those clips.... who ever installed it must have used construction adhesive along with the retainer strip at the bottom...

PH, no router, and I've never really worked with one enough to be that competent... I would break the mirror, gouge the wall and really screw things up!!!!

We're going to go back to the 3" backsplash. Once I got the tile taped up, the back corners looked off, and the tile at the mirror created a nice little dust-collection spot.

I just finished the first step in repairing the wall where the old side splashes were. The old ones being 4", there is about 1/2" of wall that is not 'textured', and in removing the old splashes, I ripped some of the paper off the drywall... so I sanded all the paper off that was loose, applied a layer of drywall mud, (and of course the drywall mud loosened more of the paper!) and once that's dried overnight, I'll sand and re-apply more mud.