Mirror, a thing of beauty –but like a diamond, is not perfect. It hides its imperfections in many sparkling facets. To see them requires great magnification – but they are there, nonetheless.

A mirror, having only one facet, is many times larger. It’s manmade – both the glass and the silvering. Because the glass is silvered, it magnifies and accentuates tiny flaws. Most cannot be seen at less than 10 degree angles or from more than two to three feet distance. This is the common industry standard of measurement for minute imperfections in the mirror. They take nothing away from the mirror’s brilliance, beauty or life.

Allowances are also necessary for the off true conditions of walls that are to support the custom mirror installation. Often, walls can be made to seem true through the design and installation of mirror. However, some wall surfaces bow in and out many times from corner to corner and may require an installation tolerance of up to 3/16” out of plane for adjoining sheets of mirror. While every effort will be made to eliminate distortion of reflection, some may occur where bows and bellies on the wall are too great.

 An important consideration in the installation of a wall of mirror is the allowance for motion in the walls. They expand, contract and vibrate with weather conditions, trains, planes, traffic, etc. Because they do, a maximum of 1/16” allowance is made where mirror joins mirror and up to 5/32” at ceilings and corners.

For insets, the edge of a radius top or special pattern cut should allow up to 3/16” between mirror and side walls. This allows for wall motion and permits the installer to make the installation without damage to mirror or sidewalls.

While clear mirror is normally thought to be without color, it is nonetheless, silvering on glass. The glass, when viewed from the edge of the mirror against white ceilings, could vary slightly in shade or color from sheet to sheet. Every effort will be made to match color tints as closely as possible.

We are concerned with quality and always strive to give the most satisfactory mirror installation. We use the best products available to us in mirror, tools, adhesives and hardware. Our experienced technicians are well trained in the latest techniques of custom design and installation.

Each custom mirror is subject to several inspections during design, cutting, fabricating, and installation. We invite your inspections too – but please let us know quickly, within the first 5 business days, of any imperfections that are beyond the allowable standards. These quality specifications are based on the ASTM industry standard for mirror.