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I'd like to hang a mirror on the wall. It's 4ft high and weighs about 50lb.

There are two hinges on either side of a metal frame.

The width of the mirror is exactly 32". I found that studs in the wall in question are indeed 16" apart.

I have two questions:

  • What kind of bolt should I use? I'm guessing it must have a pretty large flange. Is it possible for the two hinges to be stowed away behind the mirror? Is it a good idea to look for a kind of bolt/contraption that keeps the hinges perpendicular to the mirror and slant the mirror slightly down? What kind of bolt would work for that?
  • The studs in this area go down only from the ceiling to the middle of the wall, not to the floor. Should I worry that these are not suitable for a heavy object? I have no clue why my stud finder doesn't read anything from the middle of the wall down. The wall in question backs to the garage.

Update:

Here is the result. I used clamps and a 1/8" wire. A thinner wire would have provided sufficient tensile strength, but I was uncomfortable with producing crimping that will last. I opted for clamps instead. In any case, remember that during cleaning the mirror will take a bit of shaking, and so some extra strength in the wire and clamps will provide peace of mind.

wire and clamp

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  • Is the garage floor at a different level than the floor of the area where you want to hang this mirror? If so this may explain the nature of the studs. In particular the room being lower than the garage may mean that the lower part of the wall is concrete or concrete blocks.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Feb 28, 2016 at 3:15
  • @MichaelKaras Good point. It's at a different level indeed, but the other way around. The garage is six steps lower than the room. In the garage, I can see mostly drywall, with concrete at a just one lower corner. I can't tell whether the drywall could have been added to cover the concrete, but I'm not sure why someone would go to the trouble of hiding concrete on the garage side.
    – Calaf
    Feb 28, 2016 at 21:57

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50lbs is definitely something drywall or plaster can handle, but absolutely go with using the studs. Just regular wood screws or decks screws are fine, 2" to 2 1/2" long maximum to avoid any unknown electrical or plumbing. You can also double the screws on top of each other for more security.

Using the hinges or rings as they are will keep the mirror more vertical & tighter to the wall, but you have to very carefully level the screws based on the hinges or rings being under some amount load or weight. They may be out of level with each other or one may also be bent higher than the other.

Using the hinges or rings as anchors for a hanging wire, which is their intended & normal use, will bring the top of the mirror out from the wall & pitch the viewing angle down a little. But you only need 1-pair of screws side by side in one stud & leveling is done by centering the wire on the screws.

The short wall studs could indicate concrete, brick or cinder block construction halfway up the wall. The whole garage wall should read this way & was typically done to withstand slight car impacts. If it's just a 2 to 4' area then it could be the remnants of a fireplace or chimney.

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  • Nice advice. Given how painful it was to level a TV bracket recently (and despite trying very hard, still not getting it perfectly level), I'm leaning to using a wire. One more detail before I do: I see the appropriate wire on sale at my local store, but after twisting on both ends, how would I make sure that the twisted wire will not eventually unravel?
    – Calaf
    Feb 28, 2016 at 21:59
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    Thank you. The wire's pretty easy actually. You loop it around the hinged ring twice & then just twist it around itself (up to 6-times) on the wire that goes to the other hinged ring & repeat there (2 to 3" slack). You can also get double the length & have a double wire across. 32" should be no less than 36-inches of wire & 64" should be no less than 72-inches assuming it's sold by the foot & just rounding up. Go to 4:00 of this vid for a good demonstration youtube.com/watch?v=mdU0B8ov2Z0
    – Iggy
    Feb 29, 2016 at 0:27

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