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I have a full wall vanity mirror (70" x 42") in my bathroom wall. I need to drill some holes through it in order to install a vanity light. I realized that if the mirror is made from tempered glass it might shatter completely if I try to drill on it. The mirror probably is construction grade installed originally when the house was built in 1988.

Is there any way to tell if a mirror is made from tempered glass or not, without breaking it, and assuming that there are no "tempered glass" labels anywhere?

Tester101
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Jose Cifuentes
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4 Answers4

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First really look for the watermarks. These are usually ultrafaint in a corner. They could even be upside down.

Second look for any chips on the edges. If there are chips it isn't tempered.

Third if you need the hole just drill it. Use the smallest bit you have to start and work your way to the size you need. Wear gloves but putting a tiny hole in tempered glass will probably cause a shatter but probably not the whole sheet. There is probably a 1% chance this is tempered if that as a vanity has no code requirement for that and I don't know of builders willing to pay triple for no reason.

DMoore
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Nobody tempers mirror. Just fyi. Some companies for equine specialties from Europe claim to have tempered mirror. I've never seen it and the cost makes the hundred millionaires I work with balk. If you have a mirror in your home, it is not tempered.

Joe
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Most of the installed mirrors I've met in the course of my work have been non-tempered.

Especially since you can't find markings, I'd assume that it's not.

And really -- the worst that can happen is a cascade of smallish hunks of glass. Then you'll send out for some glass that's appropriate for your needs.

Wear safety gear and go for it.

User95050
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Mirrors cannot be tempered because the process burns the paint. You can have a safety film attached to the back.

David Morrow Guthrie
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