Hacker help: Can I fix mirrors on Expedit as doors?

Jules Yap·
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Materials: Expedit, Branäs, Utsira

Description: I want to use 2 Utsira mirrors as doors for Expedit. Mirrors will cover exactly 3 holes.

How do I fix them?

~ conchita muiños, Switzerland

Jules Yap

Jules Yap started IKEAHackers.net in 2006 as a personal blog to showcase the most impressive IKEA hacks from all over the world. Since then, she has learned a lot more about power tools and DIY. Her site has helped thousands modify IKEA furniture with step-by-step tutorials, craft projects and home styling. Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".

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19 Responses

  2. This is going to put a lot of weight on the unit when you open the mirror/door. I would suggest for safety you use a brace to attach the Expedit unit to the wall. Ikea has a brace designed for this purpose, which is usually used for the Effektiv systems when you built a unit over a certain height. Just ask someone at Ikea for the brace. Then you won’t have to worry about it toppling over from the weight of the mirrored doors.

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  3. You could try to find frames that fit the mirrors. If the mirrors fit exactly across the width of the Expedit unit, then the frame may have to extend a little past the edge of the unit, but it would eleviate the need for drilling the mirrors or glueing them (which can be iffy).

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  4. j’aurais bien une idéé, se serait de creer des portes en mdf ou en autre bois fin puis de colle les miroirs dessus en aillant bien prix soin d avoir exactement la bonne taille.

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  5. In any case, using mirrors that are not meant to handle such stress, I suggest you tape the back of the mirror with sticky based paper (or contact paper in US). That way, if the mirror happens to brake the pieces are not going to spread uncontrollably. There is also plastic meant for covering glass doors (atleast in Finland) in case a child or a pet runs into it (I know a family where a small toddler died accidentally when he fell through a glass cabinet door). I don’t know if such product exists elsewhere, but I would imagine so.

    What comes to modelling a door, I would definately use a door or at least build a frame for the mirror, and attach the hinges to that. This also reduces the extra strain put on the mirror glass. I also would check that the Expedit units side material can support a heavy door, and if not, sure to place at least three, if not four, hinges depending ont the hinges size.

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  6. If you have the sideways space, I think the idea by sneakybuffalo is the best one in terms of even weight distribution and simplicity.

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  7. I work at IKEA and i have know it can be done. There are hinges you can use from a different set of products from IKEA… The besta and pax series have glas doors, the hinges with these door can also be use for the mirrors you wanna use. It does take drilling the mirrors, which is kinda tricky. (BTW, you can’t actually get the hinges I mean seperatly, but iff you ask the people at the customer service desk, they can order them for you, at my store we usually even give them away for free, or sometimes at a small fee)

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    1. 1 other good solution might be to glue them to the front of the bigger drawers you can buy for the cabinet. Not the set of 2 drawers, but 1 big one per hole. You can easily fix the frame of the drawer a bit more up front in the cabinet to ensure the mirrors cover the exterior.

      Reply

  9. Out of the box idea:

    Attach the mirrors to drawer sliding tracks things at the top and bottom, and open the dresser by sliding the mirrors outwards.

    The issue will be whether the tracks can support the weight of the mirrors, but you dont have to worry about adding extra bouards, or hinges snapping your mirrors

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  10. I see a few issues with this hack:

    I don’t think you can glue hinges directly onto the back of the mirrors and attach them like regular doors. There’s going to be a large amount of asymmetrical stress/weight on the points of attachment and I’d pretty much expect the mirrors to crack at some point.

    You can glue the mirrors onto a flat board of some sort, and attach the hinges to this board with screws like you would with any other type of door. But a mirror-on-board door is going to be quite heavy, and the Expedit is mostly hollow cardboard except from where the shelves and dividers are attached. Basically, I’m not sure the structure is strong enough to hold the doors.

    If you’re still set on the Expedit, you can get 6 of the official inserts with doors and glue 6 small mirrors directly onto them. (E.g. the 30×30 cm Lots mirrors or similar). This is a pretty straightforward solution that doesn’t require a lot of handymanness, but the result is of course not exactly like your original plan.

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    1. Depending on the weight of the mirror, maybe buy 6 of those doors, attach them, then glue the mirror to each set of 3? As I stated at the beginning though, it depends on the weight.

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    2. I don’t think this would work with the Utsira mirrors because they’re wider (38 cm) than the doors on the inserts (33 cm) – you’d not be able to open the doors – but it may work with narrower mirrors.

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  11. Merci.
    Non, je n’ai pas encore cherché, le projet est tout frais!
    Je me demande plutôt si ça supporte le poids du miroir. La bibliothèque est assez légère, sauf erreur c est une structure intérieure en nid d abeille

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  12. En France, on trouve des chanières spéciales pour portes vitrés, avez vous cherché dans les magasins de bricolage en Suisse?
    Je me demande si la consistance du “bois” de la bibliothèque supporte ce type de charnières, mais le vendeur du magasin saura sans doute vous renseigner.
    Bon courage

    Reply

  13. I think you are going to need to first mount them onto another door (liquid nails or some other construction adhesive should work fine), and then mount those doors to the expedit unit with hinges.

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    1. do you have an idea of what door?
      not too heavy door+mirror?

      maybe is there special hinges for mirrors existing?

      thanks, Conchita

      Reply

    2. There may be existing hinges for mirrors, but I would think that would make the doors very fragile as these mirrors were meant to be mounted to a wall, providing some rear support. You might need to make your own doors for something like this.

      Reply

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