Fixing Mirror to Ceramic tiled bathroom wall using which adhesive ?

[Problemo]

Hi ,
I have a mirror measuring 800mm wide by 600 tall .

Because the large ceramic tiles on the wall are so hard it is extremely difficult to drill fixing holes even with expensive diamond tipped drills .

For that reason I want to use a suitable adhesive . The mirror weighs 6.3 Kg and along each side has 10mm wide metal strips which are each about 25 mm in length.

I want to add adhesive to these and as they come painted I have used an abrasive head on my small Deremel drill to break the surface up ie remove much of the paint and help the adhesion process .

Having done that i used a Dyson to suck of any of the dust and cleaned each of the strips thoroughly with mineral spirits ie Meths.

My question is . What is the best ie safest adhesive to use.


I have some CT1 ( 50ml ) size and it is their Superfast Plus .

I also wanted to fix a metal double hook to the opposite wall and having read the CT1 product details it seemed appropriate for this small job. I first having cleaned that part of the tile again with meth which I then left for 30 mins or so to thoroughly evaporate . Used the CT1 Superfast plus to attach the fixing plate to which the hook par would later be attached to the wall.

Left that for about 45 mins and went back to screw on using a small Allen key the outer part with the hooks .

To my huge surprise while doing this the inner bracket came off the wall ie for some reason the adhesive process had totally failed . Boy was I glad I had decided to do the mirror fixing test run on this little 40 mm diameter hook plate

Can anyone explain why the CT1 should have failed so miserably and what adhesive I should use to make sure this relatively heavy mirror stays fixed to the ceramic tiles .

Do I have to go down the Expoxy route ,if so which one will safely do the job .

Mystified by the failure of the CT1 to be totally inadequate for such a tiny light fixing - is my fixing process to blame if so in what way .

The tiles are not glossy or finished with a polish they are textured a little bit like a concrete surface .

[big-all]

you really really need mechanical fixings use a tile drill withhout hammer action or a normal masonry drill until you get behind the tile then hammer action
something like this [random link]
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw= ... m570.l1313

Masonry drill random link
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Masonr ... 7-1&ia=web

2 0r 3 layers off masking tape or other thickish tape like electrical to stop the drill point skipping
you can use selotape packing tape or other thin tapes but go for perhaps 6 plus thicknesses

[Someone-Else]

I agree with big-all, it's not a case of if the adhesive will fail, but when. Something that big needs mechanical fixings. 1 layer of masking tape will be fine, multiple layers of any other tape, not good. Take the drill off hammer when you start, once you have gone through the outer layer change to a masonry bit and use it on hammer.

[dewaltdisney]

Those arrow head looking tile drill bits are best for the initial ceramic breakthrough. You can buy sets on eBay with progressive bit widths.
A tile has the hard ceramic face and then the softer bisque centre. I find that blips on the cordless helps breakthrough the ceramic rather than constant drilling. Let me make a point here you are entering the world of ' I wish I had not started that' land. Always work out the what if it goes wrong factor making good would be awful. Use the mirror you have elsewhere and buy an acrylic sheet mirror that is light and easily glued up. I just did a price for a plastic mirror the same size from this firm https://www.*****.co.uk/pr ... ror-sheet/ ( our site doesn't like it put cut plastic sheeting over the asterisks with no spaces) and it worked out at £65. A warmer surface will not steam up as much as glass.

DWD

[Problemo]

Thanks for that . What you say makes sense but this mirror was expensive and doesn’t really fit anywhere else at all in the house whereas it is an ideal look and size for the shower room it was originally bought for.

For that reason think I will take the risk ,knowing that I might ultimately regret it but I am patient which helps .

Bought a few of the cheaper arrow headed ceramic bits today and the Expert Bosch Hex-9 which ( about £14) they say is specifically for very hard tiles which these most def are .

I have drilled tiles before without any real problems and was staggered to find these were unbelievably tough hence the adhesive idea .

The only way I can mount the mirror now if I abandon eg epoxy is to drill holes in the mirror to start with because I don’t want to add a frame round it .
Mirror is about 7 mm thick so bit nervous about making a start and thinking of practicing on one of the cheapo ones I have around .

Last thought I had because I know ceramic to steel isn’t an easy adhesive fix is to cut thin exterior ply or similar into a shape say 10 mm all round smaller than the mirror . Drill holes 8 in total on the 4 pieces and fix them to the ceramic . Then having got a good solid fix use epoxy or superglue to stick the mirror on to the wood which seems to me like a not unreasonable option as I really don’t want to start drilling the mirror itself before getting into then drilling holes thin the granite hard tiles .

Any thoughts ,welcome

[Problemo]

Thanks for that .
Used the tape when I did the first two jobs in the same shower room ie mounting a towel rail and a glass shelf for shampoos ,soaps etc . That’s when I found out just how hard these big tiles are . Got both jobs done but took a few expensive diamond bits and at least 5-10 times as long as I ever expected hence my thoughts on adhesive with the mirror .
Take your point about not using the hammer action and picked that up from the instructions on the card which came with the Bosch diamond tipped drill bits
See my other replies

[Problemo]

Thanks Someone -else ..

Have had my doubts about the adhesive and normally would choose fixings but for reason explained in my other replies would much prefer using an epoxy if I felt it would be safe.
Ctec are advertising what they call their “ New Tribrid Technology ie P.G.B Power Grab n Bond .
They claim it is for “ heavy duty vertical bonding without the need of additional fixings” and has “ phenomenal immediate grab and thereafter an incredible structural bond that has an excellent resistance to the elements “

At about £14 it’s not cheap and I am going to ask their technical people tomorrow if they consider it up to the job .

[dewaltdisney]

I do not want to pee on your bonfire but there are so many things that could go wrong. Drilling holes in the glass mirror potentially cracking it, cracking a tile by drilling the pilot hole, misaligning the wall holes with the mirror, dropping the mirror trying to mount it, and mounting it on the p*ss. It makes me shudder. Cut your losses to cut more potential losses and hardship and put the glass mirror on Gumtree. Acrylic is the way to go, lightweight easily glued up, no dangers in a balls up.

This might seem harsh but I have your best interests at heart and I speak from experience.

DWD

[Problemo]

DeWalt Disney.

Believe you are right and anyone else thinking of doing what I am trying to do should take your advice .

However having gone half way down the road eg cut of the metal swivel hinges on the back etc to get a flush mount dont think it would sell. SO I will probably carry on and if I succeed will led you know what I did .
Thanks for your advice .

[dewaltdisney]

I was thinking about this again, would any of these mirror mounting brackets help? See https://www.amazon.co.uk/heavy-mirror-b ... r+brackets particularly these. I wish you well with the job

DWD