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Home » DIY Home Projects » How to hang a heavy mirror

How to hang a heavy mirror

August 21, 2013 By Jamie Dorobek 7 Comments

You might remember this awesome little  Craigslist list trip Andy and I took when we first moved into our new to us house in Austin. I barley remember, so no worries if you don’t. This post will catch you up! Along with 3 chairs and a desk, we also bought a super awesome giant mirror. The mirror is 8 feet long x 3 feet tall. Next step, figure out how to hang a heavy mirror.

How to hang a heavy mirror

The heavy mirror sat in our house like this for way too long.

How to hang a heavy mirror

This sucker weighed about 86 pounds, and when you research how to hang heavy mirrors, they always say to double the weight to allow for the pull of you cleaning the mirror. So we were on the hunt for a 200 lbs hanger.

Hang a heavy mirror

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more!

What to use to hang a heavy mirror

We ended up finding these OOK french cleats on Amazon and each one can hold up to 200 lbs each! Perfecto. Oh and crazy Andy made us buy 2 pairs, because he did not like the idea of putting only one set in the middle o f the mirror. So our mirror is extra sturdy and has 2 sets of OOK french cleats. Wha to the hoo. I could basically lay on top of the mirror and it would supposedly hold me.

Hang a heavy picture

Andy was going to buy these L shaped brackets to brace the 4 corners of the mirror, but when we lifted the corner of the paper, we realized the mirror already had the L brackets. #OneLessThingToBuy Oh and I just think it is neat that our mirror came to us all the way from Chelsea Frames in New York City!

MIrror 2

So each pack of OOK french cleats comes with 2 cleats that interlock together. You will attach one side to the wall and one side will be attached to the mirror. Andy is using a pencil to mark where he is going to drill the holes into the wall. The cleats are rated for 200 lbs each, but the cleat is only as strong as the material it is fastened to. Because of this, paranoid Andy, wanted to make sure that both cleats were secured to a stud in addition to using sheet rick anchors. Andy claims he likes to make things “bomb proof”. #BoysAreWeird

Mirror 4

The tricky part to hanging these things is making sure that they are level. You have to make sure that each cleat is level, but then you also have to make sure that both cleats are level with each other. Volia!

Mirror 5

The cleats are drilled into studs and now it’s time to attach the other half of the cleat to the mirror. The first thing is to make sure that the spacing of the cleats on the wall is the same distance as the spacing of the cleats on the back of the mirror. Then make sure that the cleats align perfectly with the edge of the frame. Next, make sure that your holes fall on a meaty part of the frame. Then pre drill holes where your screws will go so that you make sure not to split the wood frame. Finally, screw in your screws.

How to hand a heavy mirror

Now for the super tough part, at least for me, you have t0 lift this bad boy off of the ground and fit the cleats together. Yikes. It actually wasn’t that hard.

hang a heavy mirror
If you’re brave, once you get that sucker on the wall, stick a level up there and see how you did! Andy gets a gold star for this mirror hanging job… that bubble is dead center!

How to hang a heavy mirror

Have you had to hang a really heavy something on the wall? Have you ever used OOK french cleats? So you think the mirror can really hold 400 lbs? Should I try hanging from it? Tomorrow Sometime soon, I’ll share the fun table Andy and my mama bought me for my Burfday. It lives under the mirror, and it’s really cute. You can see it in the top picture : )

Filed Under: DIY Home Projects, Our Current House

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Comments

  1. Dave says

    September 3, 2019 at 11:06 am

    I would like to hang a frameless (beveled) mirror in our bathroom. Can the french cleat method be used by gluing/cementing one of
    the cleats to the back of a mirror? Appoximate weight is 20lbs.

    Reply
  2. Hanna Whang says

    October 19, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    What are the “L” shaped brackets for? Are they a necessity? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jamie Dorobek says

      October 21, 2016 at 11:52 am

      The L shaped brackets brace the wooden mirror and give the frame extra support. If you’re frame is really large, I would use them to just to be sure.

      Reply
  3. toya says

    October 7, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    hi will this work on dry wall ?

    Reply
  4. Denise says

    August 5, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    What are the l shaped brackets? How do I know if I need it?

    Reply
  5. Jeannee says

    July 26, 2014 at 1:15 pm

    Yes, I have used these very same French Cleats to hang a very heavy mirror that crashed down off the wall about an hour after hanging it from the wire that was attached to it for that very purpose when we bought it. The store we bought it from replaced it but my husband was not taking chances again and like Andy, insisted on 2 sets and screwing into studs! It hung securely till we moved to the house we are in now and we are preparing to hang it the very same way here ! French Cleats rock !

    Reply
  6. Candice says

    August 23, 2013 at 9:44 pm

    Thanks for the info. I’ll have to remember this if I ever hang something heavy. Did you ever try hanging from it? 🙂

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Jamie!
I Create Really Awesome Free Things for your home, wardrobe, kitchen, and kids in Austin, TX with the sometimes help of Andy!
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