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Hi,

My question is 2 fold (hence the weird framing of it!)

I have a 32 in X 48 in framed mirror that I am trying to install on a
wall which has studs that are about 18 inch apart.I am using 2 1/2 inch
screws to hold the thing on the wall.

1. The eyeholes on the back of the mirror frame are 30 inches apart and
finding matching stud locations is not possible. I tried this and have
ended up spoiling the wall with screw holes that didnt work for me
(till i got the stud finder!!). I was advised on getting a hanging wire
to attach to the back. Does anyone know what kind of wire I should be
getting?

2. Once I get this wire how do I attach it to the back of the mirror? I
was told it goes into the eyeholes but its hard for me to comprehend
how it would. Do I have to screw the wire into the back of the frame?

Thanks in advance for your help!
manu

I'm not sure what you mean by "eyeholes". You need extra heavy-duty eye
screws and you need extra heavy duty braided mirror hanging wire. Ask for
them at a custom picture framing shop or hardware store. You can even get
them to set it all up for you for a little more (frame shot maybe not
hardware store).

Anyway on the stile portion of the mirror frame, the vertical framing part,
mark two spots 1/3 of the way down from the top, screw in the eye screws.
Never use the top rail of the frame! The weight of the mirror can separate
the body of the mirror and frame from the rail dropping it to the floor.
Push the braided wire through the eye slot, then back around and through a
second time. Leave about three to four inches of excess wire. Twist the
excess wire end around the long part of the wire, around and around until
you use up all the wire. Tape the last remaining end to keep it from coming
unraveled.

Now pull it to the other side and cut it from the roll or length leaving 5
to six inches excess. Push the wire through the second eye screw as you did
the first side. You can pull it up taut or slightly loose. Years ago with
12 foot ceilings they put chains on pictures, and hung them from picture
railings to avoid holes in the wall. They hung pictures HIGH so the chains
would be loose allowing the picture to hang at an angle for viewing from
below. During these times matting was done wider at the bottom than top and
sides because of an optical illusion created by the slanted image.

Today, pictures and mirrors are usually mounted lower and with less angle.
The matting needs no extra weight at the bottom for a picture clinging
tightly to the wall, but decorators sometimes follow the old fashion because
they were so taught by the ancient ones and they do not have the courage to
move into newer ways themselves....or they just like the old ways. The
optical illusion of a tightly hung picture...has become a mental illusion
inherited from the past.

So pull the wire taut or loose as is your taste on the second eyehook. Run
the wire over and around and then one more time just like the other side.
Cut the excess and wrap....then tape...just like the other side.

How to fasten: You can use any number of patented wall fasteners including
the anchors. From the picture framing shop or hardware store where you got
the wire, get heavy duty wall fasteners. Don't worry about the stud. Get
the kind that has a nail that runs through a metal hook. The nail goes into
the wall at a slant. This gives 1/2 drywall the strength of 3/4 drywall
because the nail travels at a bias through 3/4 inches instead of 1/2 inch.

SECRET: Use two hangers six to twelve inches apart. Now you spread the
weight over two areas instead of one..........AND..........you have two
pivot points...both level instead of one. Your mirror will stay straight
once you hang it and straighten it. Using one hanger will cause you to
forever be straightening your mirror of picture. ALWAYS use two...not one
wall hanger.

If you feel the wire is too small for your mirror........use two hanger
wires, one an inch or so below the other and slightly longer so that the
weight is distributed as equally as possible over the two wires.

Final Test: Observe when you lift the wire after you have installed it. If
the stiles of the frame holding the eyehooks move disportionately to the
rails (Wiggle under the weight) then your frame is insufficient for the load
of your mirror. Take out the screw eyes, add a 1/4 inch backboard to the
backside of your mirror. Use screws. Now put your eye screws back close to
where they were the first time. Using this method even a thin frame can
frame a heavy mirror, since mostly it is the plywood holding the mirror.

Randy R. Cox

Good Luck,
Randy R. Cox