By Jean Nayar
From Home Sweet Solutions 

What's the best way to hang a bathroom mirror? The answer depends on what kind of bathroom mirror you'd like to mount, as mirrors are either framed or frameless:

Framed mirrors can be hung using a traditional picture hanger, or by way of the wire hanger typically pre-attached to the frame.

Frameless mirrors, on the other hand, are best hung with mounting clips and mirror brackets.

Both mounting methods are easy and ideally rely on wall studs to ensure that the mirror will have enough support to keep it from falling off the wall and breaking. If mounting onto studs is not feasible, you'll need wall anchors to support the frame. Frameless mirrors can also be mounted with mastic, a very strong adhesive. If you want to remove a mirror applied with mastic, however, you'll damage any drywall behind the adhesive, and the mirror will break. (The methods described here do not involve mastic.)

SUPPLIES

Pencil
Measuring tape (or metal ruler)
Level
Stud finder
Drill
Screwdriver
Drywall anchors
Drywall screws
Metal mirror J-clips and slide-in brackets (optional)

HOW TO INSTALL A FRAMED MIRROR

Determine bracket type:

1. Examine the type of brackets on the back of the mirror. They will either be individual picture brackets or two brackets on each side of the frame attached to a long piece of wire. Individual brackets will require one screw for each bracket. Wire hangers that are less than 3 feet long can be hung on a single screw in the middle. Wire hangers that are more than 3 feet long will require more screws.

Position the mirror:

2. Hold the mirror against the wall and place a level at the top of the mirror. Mark the mirror's placement with a pencil around the top and bottom corners.

3. Slide the stud finder along the bathroom wall to locate the stud(s). Mark the location with a pencil.

4. Measure the distance from the top of the mirror to the hangers or wire on the back of the mirror. Use this measurement to mark the positions for the screws, placing at least one mark on a stud if possible. Use a level and a yardstick/metal ruler to mark the position of the other screw if needed.

Insert the screws:

5. Drill pilot holes into the marks for the screws or wall anchors. If the screws will be mounted on drywall rather than on studs, tap the anchors in place with a hammer, using a threaded wall anchor, plastic toggle anchor, or metal expandable anchor, depending on the weight of your mirror. If your marks fall on a stud, drill a small pilot hole directly into the stud. Then insert the screws, leaving a short length of screw extending from the wall surface.

Hang the mirror:

6. Place the mirror hangers onto the screws. If your mirror will be hung on a wire, adjust it to make it level.

HOW TO INSTALL A FRAMELESS MIRROR

Position the mirror:

1. Hold the mirror against the wall and place a level at the top of the mirror. Mark the mirror's placement with a pencil around the top and bottom corners. Determine the number of clips required to support it.

Locate the studs:

2. Slide a stud finder along the wall to locate the studs. Mark their location with a pencil.

Install the clips:

3. Measure and mark the positions of the bottom clips. Drill holes for the screws into the studs if they're centered behind the position of the mirror. If not, aim to position at least one clip on a stud if possible. Otherwise, mark the positions of the bottom clips on the drywall.

4. Tap in appropriate wall anchors and screw in the clips, squaring them into place.

Install the mirror:

5. Slide the mirror into the clips. Mark the positions of the upper clips and brackets on the wall. Remove the mirror.

6. Mark and drill pilot holes. Insert wall anchors if necessary and screw the clip brackets into place.

7. Replace the mirror into the bottom clips and insert the top clips into the brackets to secure the mirror in place.

Jean Nayar is a licensed real estate agent and design journalist who's authored nine books on decorating and design, including Green Living by Design, the best-selling Staged to Sell (or Keep) and The Happy Home Project: A Practical Guide to Adding Style and Substance to Your Home. The former editor in chief of Kitchens & Baths, Easy Decorating and Remodeling & Makeovers blogs at TheHappyHomeWorkshop.com about living with style, sustainability and substance.

Copyright © 2012 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.

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How to mount a mirror in your bathroom

MILWAUKEE — Remodeling your home can feel like a never-ending project and can be stressful! Many wonder where to begin, and how much it’ll all cost, and others need help coming up with a design. This weekend, those hoping to find some answers and ideas filled the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park for the 2012 Milwaukee NARI Home Improvement Show.

A home is one of the biggest investments most people will make in their lives, and the idea of home ownership has changed in recent years. “People are staying home. They’re not selling their houses. They’re saying ‘okay, let’s make this a comfortable place,’”

Experts at the 50th annual NARI Home Improvement Show spent the weekend giving advice on how to make your house a home. When it comes to the exterior of your home, Randy Miller from Alright Home and Remodeling says a good tip is starting with the roof, and working your way down to the siding and windows. “Taking care of the top and making sure that’s not going to end up having leaking problems, and then you can completely seal it up, and finish up with the siding and caulk,” Miller said.

A common theme at this year’s NARI Home Improvement Show was less maintenance – whether you’re interested in replacing your kitchen countertops: “If you’re looking for a beautiful, almost an art piece, you might go with a piece of granite or marble,” Or – remodeling your bathroom: “We are going to much smaller soaking tubs, bubble massage with a larger luxury shower with maybe some specialty sprays,” Some are getting rid of their bath tubs altogether, as people are busier and don’t necessarily have time to take baths.

The NARI Home Improvement Show even offered tips for redesigning your garden. “Some of the smaller fruited shrubs are really healthy for you and good for the birds, so even if you don’t eat it, it’s good for the birds,”

Nicki Losinski from Bella Kitchen and Bath says: don’t get too caught up in finding the right finish for your wooden cabinets and floors. “You can have the old oak floors that you refinish. They look gorgeous brand-new, and you can pair it with maple or cherry, different wood species,” Losinski said.

Experts say they can provide tips, but the bottom line is: how much are you willing/able to spend to make that dream home a reality.

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NARI Home Show offers remodeling tips

WASHINGTON — Do you fit any of these descriptions?

- You came through the housing bust and recession far more debt-averse than you were before.

- You’ve been reluctant to consider selling your house because you don’t believe you’ll get what it’s really worth.

- Buying a new home is out of the question, even with today’s low interest rates, because it’s so difficult to qualify for a mortgage.

- You’ve gradually come to the conclusion that it’s smarter to improve the house you already own — spend some money on making it more comfortable, more up to date — and just stay put for a while.

Whether you share them or not, sentiments such as these are having profound effects on real estate markets across the country, fueling post-recession interest in remodeling. In fact, according to federal estimates, by late last year the annualized dollar value of expenditures on renovations outstripped expenditures on newly constructed single family homes — a huge change from pre-recession years, when the ratio was sometimes 3-to-1 in favor of new construction.

Underscoring this trend: In late January, the National Association of Home Builders’ remodeling market index hit its highest level in five years. It’s not that remodeling is moving into boom territory, said David Crowe, chief economist of the association, but rather that for many consumers, fixing up their house now fits their sentiments — and their finances — far better than selling or buying.

Interviews with builders and remodelers in different parts of the country point to important changes in homeowner strategies. In Seattle, Joe McKinstry, president of Joseph McKinstry Construction Co., says inquiries about possible remodeling projects have nearly tripled in the past 12 months.

“I feel like people are starting to say, ‘Well, we’re not going to move anytime soon because, if we do, we’re going to get 30 percent less than the house is worth. Why don’t we do something in the kitchen or bathroom for our own enjoyment, since we’re not going anywhere real soon?’”

Generally the projects that people want to do are no longer on the grand McMansion show-off scale, but smaller, more modest, less costly efforts than five to seven years ago, with more emphasis on finishing details and quality than square footage. “Now (owners) are being much more judicious about how they spend their money,” said McKinstry.

Bob Peterson, chief executive of ABD Design/Build in Fort Collins, Colo., also is seeing a significant jump in interest in renovating, especially from owners who have been in their houses for years, have built up some savings and managed to get through the recession without falling behind on their mortgages.

The average project that Peterson’s firm is doing now costs about $45,000, and 90 percent of his clients are finding ways to pay cash.

“If they’re financing anything, they’re not telling us about it,” said Peterson, who is also chairman of the Remodelers Council of the National Association of Home Builders.

Bruce Case, president of Case Design/Remodeling of Bethesda, Md., agrees that because of high underwriting hurdles in the mortgage market, the majority of his remodeling clients are tapping savings, retirement accounts, liquidating securities and the like. But 20 percent of his firm’s dollar volume still involves some form of financing, particularly for higher-cost projects.

Where do these folks go for their money? Case says local and regional banks and credit unions are increasingly important sources. They tend to know the local real estate environment better and “are willing to look at (applications) more holistically.”

Some clients are successfully using the Federal Housing Administration’s renovation financing program known as “FHA 203(k).” Others who have solid equity stakes, high credit scores and other assets that they can bring to the table are convincing large national banks to give them a mortgage. And a few are pulling on lines of credit that weren’t yanked or slashed during the recession.

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Remodeling momentum builds in post-recession market

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26-07-2011 18:25 Orange County Bathroom Remodeling Contractor http://www.3dayflooring.com If you're looking for a high-quality bathroom remodeling contractor in Southern California then look no further. If you're stuck on ideas for your upcoming bathroom remodel project, here is a small sample of the top quality work we've done to help inspire you. Our clients span all across SoCal and we have locations in Granada Hills, Anaheim, and Torrance

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