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I have a bathroom vanity with three mirror panels, each on pivot hinges and magnetically held closed. One of the hinges at the top split due to the metal being stressed repeatedly. If you look at the photo, the hinges are attached by some fastener - not a screw.

What are my options for replacing this hinge?

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I have the same problem. These doors are crap. The backings are 1/8" fiber board glued to the mirror glass. This 'fake' wood is warping from bathroom moisture, hence the mirrors are becoming unglued and starting to flop. I am considering replacing this cabinet instead (with a higher quality more pricey one, sigh!), since the 2nd (of 3) door hinges broke in exactly the same way as described in original post, and the third will fail soon, I'm sure.

Having said that, I have a stopgap repair that I do NOT recommend, since I'm petrified this (or the rest of the door) will come apart at any time. Caveat emptor!

bottom hinge repair from below top hinge repair from above

The fix I made was to salvage hinges from a previous glass doored cabinet. You might have to order your own (see below). The bracket on the hinge that attached to the door has a cross section shaped like a "U", or an "L" with a toe on the mirror side (right) and two set screws on the back (left) to pinch into the door board. Because the base of the "U" was 1/4" I had to glue another 1/8" strip of strong dense wood to the back of the fiber board. This was ok as it gives more for the set screws to bite into. I carefully wedged the toe between the glass and the fiberboard (bad, as this further separates the mirror from the fiber board, ugh! and the metal on glass might chip if bumped). Note that the new bracket "U" height has to be short enough to clear the old rivets. I had to file away some of the old hardware to make this all fit. This fix has lasted several years of "careful use"... but I wouldn't use around small children and I'm not gonna fix this again!

Glass Door Pivot Hinges: (woodworker.com)

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  • Thank you for the detailed write-up and photos. Hopefully guys like you and I will speak with our wallets by not buying junk like this again. What an absolute shame.
    – Yuck
    Jan 17, 2015 at 23:56
  • The new hinge used in Dave's repair with a piece of rubber in between the hinge and the glass should work fine. May still need a small piece of wood glued to the back side of the mirror for a better set-screw hold.
    – user31850
    Jan 19, 2015 at 1:01

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