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Help! My new home had ugly bathroom light fixtures attached to the mirrors with a sticky tape. Changed out 2 baths with no problem. The holes in the mirrors were big enough to install fixture bracket. Of course the last bath and the one everyone uses is a problem. Got the old fixture off to find the hole in the mirror is just big enough for the wiring. I thought that's ok I'll just glue the bracket to the mnirror and attach the 5lb fixture. I tried mirror mounting tape, didn't hold. Next tried Loctite power grab tape. Didn't hold. Then I tried a 2 part adhesive made for rear view mirrors and again it didn't hold. Cutting the mirror seems really tricky and removing it to cut isn't an option as it's framed in and feels like it's glued. Anybody got any ideas on what adhesive would hold a 5 lb light fixture (metal bracket on glass) or how the heck I can get this fixture installed?
That sounds way too dangerous. Do you want your family using a wet area that if the fixture does not hold, they could be exposed to an electrical fixture falling off the wall (mirror) leaving bare live wires hanging?
Remove the mirror and replace it with a new mirror and fixture that is pleasing and safe.
It's probably more extensive a repair than you planned, but safety would be my first concern.
It's just a powder room so water isn't an issue. The fixture has come loose twice but has stayed attached to the wiring. It's currently down waiting for a solution. Changing the mirror is not an option. The room is paneled in thick solid oak like an executive library (previous owner eccentric?) and the mirror is trimmed out and glued and runs floor to ceiling behind a pedestal sink. I'm sure there's an adhesive that will solve the problem. Hopefully someone will suggest one.
Thanks for your concern.
Five pounds is significant, and what might be even more significant is the leverage it gets when mounted.
My first thought is to find a lighter weight fixture.
My second thought is to drill holes and mount it properly. Drilling glass can be done. What you want to do is a quick and easy mount. Sometimes quick and easy doesn't work. BTDT
There are adhesives that MIGHT hold, if the surfaces are super-clean, but the operative word is MIGHT. That isn't good enough.
In the short term, hang the fixture from the ceiling with some mono-filament fish line tight to the mirror, then once it is in position tie on a couple pounds of additional weight, glue the fixture to the mirror, then after a couple of days remove the weight. Leave the upper fishline in place. The fishline will be under tension and the glue will be just adhering the fixture instead of carrying all the weight. You'll have a vertical stripe on the mirror from the fishline, but it my not be visible from normal user position. (Who looks up above and behind a light fixture?)
Thanks! Fishing line from the ceiling is actually a great idea. The little hole in the mirror where the wiring comes out is so high up I don't think anyone would even notice it. Happy New Year!
Trust me, doing this sort of thing the correct way is far better in the long run.
The mirror and glass door place I use sends out installers with true diamond drills -- these are not cheap, and they are specialized for just mirrors and glass. You can buy your own: Diamond Drill Bits
The problem with anything that does not rely ob screwing into the structure to support a light fixture is with heat / moisture any kind of adhesive can fail from just slightest torque -- imagine if the fixture fell off when you tried to switch the light bulb? If you use an adhesive and it fails you will regret putting effort into something that will be even harder to make work-- in contrast the effort spent in doing things "correctly" ought to allow you to keep the mirror and this light (or other standard fixtures) indefinitely.
The right way also involves making sure the mounting points that rely on the junction box are accessible. If turns out there is not a junction box I would recommend scraping the mirror and doing the whole project with approved methods and materials.
Trust me, doing this sort of thing the correct way is far better in the long run.
The mirror and glass door place I use sends out installers with true diamond drills -- these are not cheap, and they are specialized for just mirrors and glass. You can buy your own: Diamond Drill Bits
The problem with anything that does not rely ob screwing into the structure to support a light fixture is with heat / moisture any kind of adhesive can fail from just slightest torque -- imagine if the fixture fell off when you tried to switch the light bulb? If you use an adhesive and it fails you will regret putting effort into something that will be even harder to make work-- in contrast the effort spent in doing things "correctly" ought to allow you to keep the mirror and this light (or other standard fixtures) indefinitely.
The right way also involves making sure the mounting points that rely on the junction box are accessible. If turns out there is not a junction box I would recommend scraping the mirror and doing the whole project with approved methods and materials.
^^^This is the correct answer.
Nowhere is it correct to attach a light fixture using only glue or adhesives.
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Just a powder room
