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I have a Besta unit for shoe storage. It makes sense for us to put a mirror in that room, and the door seems a good spot. The door itself is about 25" x 50". Standard Ikea Tofta pressboard door with high gloss veneer.

So, we picked up an ikea mirror on sale. It seems the perfect size to put in the door, so I'm surprised there aren't any pages online about the combo.

Is this a safe combo? Will screw mounting in pressboard cause problems, Is there any way I can increase the hold in the pressboard? Or do I really need a bunch of mirror mastic?

And also can the hinges handle the extra weight? How can I tell? The unit is bolted to the wall, so it should be able to handle the extra weight without tipping.

I guess my worst case if this goes 100% south is replacing an Ikea door and a ten buck mirror, but I want to model this for future mounting questions.

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  • If by "pressboard" you mean MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard, which is what most inexpensive furniture is made out of these days), there are screws specifically designed to hold well in it. You generally do have to pre-drill for them. I'd seriously consider using those to install some mirror clips, so that if the mastic ever gives way there's some mechanical support as backup. Might not be necessary, since MDF doesn't move much with the seasons and the mastic will probably hold... but given the result of failure, I'd lean toward paranoia.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 4:41
  • Thanks @keshlam. I'll look for something shallow enough not to poke holes out the other side. It's pretty thin, which is why I relied on the mastic
    – Rich Homolka
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 22:59
  • @keshlam many years later, but it did fail. If i do this again, i'll use the screws you recommended.
    – Rich Homolka
    Commented Feb 2, 2021 at 22:08

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So, I went with the mastic.

Bad news - between not boing thick enough, and the fact it's pressboard, I didn't feel confident using any kind of screws to hold the door. I went with a pure mastic solutions.

Good news - this in fact a door, so you can take it off. This lets you keep it horizontal, and put weight on it to help the glue hold.

So, I took the door off the hinges and laid it flat. I marked off the perimeter of where I wanted the mirror with blue tape (Blue Painters tape is one of my favorite tools). I thought the surface was a bit plasticky still, so I scuffed it up some with some sandpaper. I put the mastic on the mirror, trying to keep the inch from the edge. By the time I was done with my pattern, I was almost done with the mastic tube, so I just emptied it. I put some 2x4s and other heavy things on top to help the glue hold (another advantage of having a mirror it on a door). I let it sit for the recommended 48 hr set period and put the mirror on.

The only downside I see so far, is the weight on the door. It seems stable, but the wardrobe didn't seem 100% level. What was OK before, what closed fine before, now stays open a bit with the extra weight. My next subproject is re-leveling the wardrobe.

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    Followup: years later, this fell. Took 6 years, but it did. No one was hurt, but yeah, you need some physical way to support the mirror. Father Time is still undefeated.
    – Rich Homolka
    Commented Feb 2, 2021 at 22:07
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Re follow up. The more recent Ikea 'Enhet' mirrored doors (height 750 mm with various widths) have an L shaped strip that screws into the door frame, top & bottom, that then forms a tiny frame to the horizontal edges of the mirror & which serves as extra to the glue to retain the mirror in place. Frustratingly they only seem to do these strips in grey, despite the inside of the door being available in white as well as grey (I'm painting mine white).

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