Removing glue between mirror and walls

[highhung723]

I had a chance to get 7 big mirrors (4'x4') for free. The only catch was that I had to remove them. They're glued onto drywall with Gunther glue and won't come off. I tried to find glue removal at Home Depot, but all they had was stuff that removed glue stains/residue. I was thinking of getting a thin wire and scraping/cutting the glue off, but somehow I doubt this would work. Does anyone have any advice on this?

[Jimbo.]

I am interested in this as well, but from what I understand it is next to impossible to remove the mirrors without damaging them or the drywall. There are mirrors glued up in the hallway of the house I just bought and I freaking hate them. I just know what a project its going to be to get them down. Maybe somone in here actually knows how to get them down cleanly.

[qwan456]

You could used a piano string or something similar and saw it through like you were planning. Of course, this may cause the reflective backing to be scratch off.

If you have one, you could try to soften the glue by using a heat glue, and then using a pry bar and some shims to slowly get it out. If you going to do this, make sure to tape the mirror and wear gloves in cases it breaks.

[cgc]

Option 1:


Option 2: If the piano wire does not work...cut the sheet rock our WITH the mirrors, get them home and slowly work on breaking up all the sheet rock at that point. Worst case, you have spots of sheet rock paper on the back of the mirrors where the glue was.

If you're not allowed to cut the sheet rock up....go back to option 1

[KBKB]

If you have one, you could try to soften the glue by using a heat glue, and then using a pry bar and some shims to slowly get it out. If you going to do this, make sure to tape the mirror and wear gloves in cases it breaks.

I think the heat gun could be a good idea. I don't know enough about the glue used to bond the mirror to the wall though to know whether it has any chance of working.

I think any attempt to pry the mirror off the wall will cause it to break.

I know free is free, but this sounds like a lot of work for almost no potential gain. The guy offering the mirror panels (for free) will have gotten free labor to remove them. However, I will be very surprised if any of the mirror panels can be removed from the drywall in one piece.

[cgc]

Call a company that installs commercial mirrors and see if they might have some tips. Or actually talk to someone at Home Depot in the bathroom remodeling section or somewhere on the isle that has all the glues. I don't know about you're HD, but most of the guys/girls at mine are pretty knowledgeable...

Personally, I think whoever glued them on the wall should be punched in the face...they make brackets for mounting those things and I can't see them being THAT expensive...

[mountainstone]

Though an electrician, I work with structures folks and have asked this very question of them. Gluing mirrors to walls is more common now than mounting with brackets, but the glue used is specifically designed to permanently hold large heavy mirrors to drywall (or various other substrates). It is nearly impossible to remove a mirror from drywall without damaging either the mirror or the drywall. The carpenters I know do not even try; they simply break the mirror to remove it and then patch the drywall wherever the glue tears it apart.

In addition to asking somebody at Lowe's or HD or a mom-n-pop hardware store, you can call your local glass supply place (yellow pages). They sell mirrors and may have some advice for you. I actually got a large mirror from my local glass place for way cheaper than any other source I could find, and they can do custom sizes, thicknesses, beveling, edging, etching, etc. An inexpensive option is a large piece of regular glass that has a reflective coating (mirror tint) applied to the back. Mount it on a wall and it is basically a mirror. The thinner the glass the cheaper it is (just be careful since it is weaker), and without fancy edging it is even cheaper. If installing in a weight room, I would pay more for tempered glass so in the event of an accident it shatters into tiny cubes instead of huge deadly shards.

[highhung723]

I actually called the company that installed them and they told me to either break the mirrors or try the wire thing. Apparently installing mirrors with glue is common now, even though there were brackets also glued...

I think even if I broke one mirror to get enough space to put a wire through so that I could save the others, it would be too much work cleaning up and wouldn't be worth it. If I tried anything else, I would still have to clean a bunch of stuff on the back before I could use the mirrors. Not really worth the effort.

I called the woman offering the mirrors (they were from a kid's gymboree) and told her it was next to impossible to get them out without breaking, so I would have to pass. Mirrors are pretty common for free on Craigslist (at least in my area, even ones without frames), so I'll just be a little more patient. Thanks for the advice everyone.