do you have to tile behind a mirror?

7 years ago

We are remodeling our master bath. There will be 2 - 30 inch wide vanities with 8’ high ceilings divided by an upper 18” wide cabinet. One vanity will be right next to a wall the other will be next to a commode. We are considering doing large tilted mirrors 26-28” wide x 36”high coming out from the wall1.75” -2” . In order to keep on budget though due to the cost of this tile I may consider doing a 24”w x 36 “h mirror directly on the wall without the tilt. The one I like is hexagon like shape so would be an odd tile layout behind it if just did 2” or so inside the edge.It just seems like such an expensive waste of very beautiful tile to put it behind a huge mirror. We have no plans to ever change this in the future as this is first major remodel since moving in 25 yrs ago, the next time we do something will be when we retire to a condo!

Featured Answer

njay

7 years ago

It is possible that at some point you might have to replace the mirror. Finding a replacement the exact size as what you originally have could be tough. If you have tiled the entire wall, you will not be as restricted in finding a replacement mirror.

Additionally, I would think that the labor for leaving a gap in the tile where the mirror will go would negate the minimal savings on tile. Consider that by taking the entire wall, your mirror will rest on a perfectly flat surface.

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Comments (9)

acm
7 years ago
Why not recess a medicine cabinet and pick up some storage at the same time? Only need tile up to the edge of the interior cabinet, which will be about .25 inch all the way around.
Nancy Thomas
Original Author
7 years ago
We had thought of that originally but we are doing vessel sinks and want to have a faucet midline which is 12 inches tall. The mirror would then be 12 high above counter or more and I’m short whereas my husband is tall. Having the ability to have the mirror lower Was the compromise he gets the high sink I get the lower mirror. Great idea- plus he had these Techy mirrors all picked out with clocks in the front , LED lights, plugs etc that were very expensive . I was concerned that eventually they would fail and at that point they are a throw away or the technology would be obsolete in the future. We already have a Nutone intercom throughout our whole house that got fried by lightning but can’t be repaired because parts no longer exist. Don’t need another piece of broken tech hanging around
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Skippack Tile & Stone
7 years ago
Realistically, you'll only be saving about less than 10 SF of tiles; you may already have that in the way the box quantities work out. Installation could take longer as well and end up costing more time and money.
mainenell
7 years ago
And be sure to save some of the tile in case you need to replace any pieces where you’ve drilled through the tile for the current mirrors.
Nancy Thomas
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for everyone’s input. I will tile the whole wall!
Nancy Thomas
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks everyone for the above suggestions again. I have one last question regarding this dilemma. What is the best way to attach the mirror to the wall if tiling the whole wall with backsplash? There is a center stub which due to the new lower cabinet placement is off center just a bit. If we do the tilted mirrors they need to be mounted on either side and there aren’t studs there. Our cabinet guy said he could take the drywall off and place a 2x4 ( I think)board in the wall in the place they need to be mounted then put the drywall back on. Any other ideas?
mainenell
7 years ago
That would probably be the best way. And then they have something solid to screw into.
Suzanne Wright
7 years ago
I'm in the same dilemma. Can you show a picture of how it turned out? I am putting in a 36 in vanity but I don't want to cover my tile with a mirror. I thought about putting a full length mirror in there on the far wall but don't want to have to watch myself sitting on the toilet. LOL