A frame is a finish, not a structure. It hides the raw edge of the glass and draws a line around it; a frameless mirror does the same job with an edge that is ground and polished instead. The choice changes how the mirror is sized, how it is fixed, and how it ages in a wet room.
What is the difference between a framed and a frameless mirror?
The frame, and nothing else. Both are silvered annealed glass, usually 4 mm to 6 mm thick, and both reflect the same. A framed mirror hides its cut edge inside a moulding, while a frameless mirror has that edge ground and polished so it can be seen. Lux Glass cuts both across the GTA.
Does a frameless mirror need a finished edge?
Yes, because nothing covers it. The edge is ground and polished before the glass leaves the shop. A flat polished edge reads square and quiet; a bevelled edge is cut back at an angle, and 1 inch is the standard bevel width, with narrower quarter inch work also common. Lux Glass finishes every frameless edge in the GTA.
What does a mirror frame actually do?
It covers the edge and adds a border. A frame lets a plain cut edge go unpolished, hides a small gap where the wall is not flat, and gives the mirror an outline that reads from across the room. It carries no load on the glass itself. Lux Glass supplies mirror for framed work across Toronto.
Which one suits a bathroom better?
Frameless, in most bathrooms. A frame holds water along its lower edge, and the joint between moulding and glass stays damp after every shower. Frameless glass sheds water and wipes dry in one pass, with no seam to trap it. Lux Glass specifies copper-free mirror for wet rooms across the GTA.
Why does a bathroom mirror go black around the edge?
Moisture reaching the silver. A standard mirror carries a copper layer over the silvering, and copper oxidises wherever water gets past the backing paint, creeping inward from the edge as a dark line. Copper-free mirror uses a passivation layer in place of that copper. Lux Glass supplies copper-free glass on GTA bathroom orders.
Is mirror glass tempered?
No. Mirror is annealed glass, because tempering leaves a slight roll distortion that shows as a wavy reflection once the sheet is silvered. Thin glass also warps in the furnace, and glass of 5 mm or less is never tempered. Lux Glass uses annealed mirror with safety backing across the GTA.
What happens if a mirror breaks?
Annealed mirror breaks into shards rather than the granulate a tempered panel produces, so the backing carries the safety job. A Category II vinyl backing film is bonded to the rear of the sheet and holds the broken pieces in place. Lux Glass specifies safety-backed mirror on GTA orders.
How is a frameless mirror held to the wall?
On a continuous aluminium J-channel screwed to the wall, which cradles the bottom edge and carries the dead weight, plus mirror mastic bonding the back. Those two do different jobs and both are used. Ordinary construction adhesive attacks the silvering and leaves black patches. Lux Glass sets frameless mirror on GTA jobs.
How does a framed mirror hang?
From the frame, not from the glass. Rings screwed into the frame sit over wall screws or a cleat, so the moulding carries the weight and the sheet rides inside it. A heavy framed mirror still wants at least one fixing landed in a stud. Lux Glass sizes glass for framed work in Toronto.
Does the frame change the size you order?
Yes, and this is where orders go wrong. A frame adds its own width to all four sides, so the glass ends up smaller than the opening while the finished mirror ends up larger. Frameless glass is the finished size. Lux Glass works both dimensions back from a site measurement across the GTA.
How thick should the glass be?
4 mm suits a small framed mirror, where the moulding stiffens the panel and hides the edge. Once the mirror is large, or frameless with nothing around it, 5 mm or 6 mm holds the sheet flat. Thin glass flexes over a span and bends the reflection. Lux Glass specifies thickness by panel size in the GTA.
How heavy is a large mirror?
Heavier than it looks. Glass weighs about 2.5 kg for every square metre and every millimetre of thickness, so a 6 mm sheet runs near 15 kg a square metre. A moulding adds its own weight on top of that. Lux Glass works out panel weight before choosing a fixing on GTA jobs.
Is a thick black frame still a good choice?
Yes, where the mirror should read as an object rather than a surface. A wide dark moulding puts a hard outline around the glass and suits a powder room or a hallway. In a small ensuite it eats visual width. Lux Glass cuts mirror to 6 mm for heavy mouldings across the GTA.
Can a frameless mirror be taken off later?
Not easily, once mastic is behind it. The adhesive bonds hard to the wall and lifting the sheet usually breaks it, which is why the J-channel and clips do the carrying. A framed mirror lifts off its cleat in one piece. Lux Glass agrees the fixing method before any mirror goes up in the GTA.
Framed and frameless mirrors across Toronto and the GTA
Lux Glass works out of Oakville and covers Toronto and the surrounding region, including Mississauga, Etobicoke, Burlington and Milton. The frame decision usually follows the building rather than the address. Downtown Toronto condo ensuites are small and tiled wall to wall, where a frameless panel keeps the room reading wide. Older Oakville and Burlington houses carry deeper painted trim, so a framed mirror sits inside that language instead of looking bolted on. Newer Milton builds go either way, and the vanity tends to settle it.
- How a custom mirror is specified
- How the custom mirror process works
- Mounting a mirror on an uneven wall
- Custom mirrors in Toronto
- Custom mirrors in Oakville
Choosing between framed and frameless
Send the width of the opening, a photo of the wall, and whether the room takes steam. Lux Glass will confirm the glass size, thickness, edge finish and backing before anything is cut. Call +1-416-897-0767 or request a quote.