picture/mirror frame wood...

[Patrick Melchior]

Hello,

I am in the process of framing a 3'x5' mirror for my dining room. I went to a local frame shop in my hometown and I was a bit shocked at the price for the frame if they were to order and assemble the frame ..... in excess of $480. The frame is approx 4" wide... My question is do any of you know a good supplier of picture/mirror frame? or should I try and use molding?

[Chris Padilla]

Patrick,

I made something like that out of cheap MDF molding from the borg: *click here* (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=42603)

Maybe this gives you some ideas?

[Patrick Melchior]

i just found you r post.... thanks

[John Gornall]

480.00 for a custom made frame is actually a pretty good price. A 4 inch frame 36" x 60" requires 20 feet of moulding - well maybe 19 feet but the shop is going to have to buy 2 - 10 foot lengths. A quality finished wood 4 inch moulding costs at least 10 dollars per foot and many are 20 dollars and above. The frameshop has to pay their employee for the half hour they spend with you deciding which moulding, pricing, and answering questions. They have 1000 samples on display and so can't stock all the mouldings - they will have to order the moulding for you and have it shipped. They have to cut and join the frame. Then the fitting of the mirror including painting the rabbet black so it won't show through the edge of the mirror, backing, and hangers which for a mirror this size is a special hanging system. Then they have to add a profit so they can pay their taxes, heat, light, insurance and feed their family.

You could buy 10 board feet or so of good wood, buy 3 router bits, spend 6 hours routing and sanding, a week or 2 finishing, plus a few more hours cutting miters and joining, a final hour fitting, and then try to figure out a practical way to hang this 80 pounder on the wall. This may cost less and be a lot of fun.

It's just 2 different points of view.

And are you sure your wife will like the moulding you make especially since she won't get to see it first.

Check out the mouldings at The Best Things and see the nice water guilded mouldings at 160 bucks a foot.

[Lee Schierer]

A mirror that size will weigh a lot! Make sure you reinforce the frame with a 1/4" plywood backing behind the mirror with screws running intothe frame through the plywood. If you are clever with your frame you can use a french cleat to hang the mirror. Make sure the wall mounted half of the cleat is screwed intot he studs. We recently made a large mirror frame for a bath room.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~us71na/chris%20vanity.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

Nice matching, Lee! Did you build the vanity as well?

[Lee Schierer]

Nice matching, Lee! Did you build the vanity as well?

Yep, made both pieces. It was a custom job, but they saw the style they wanted at a building supply. All the exposed part (frames, faces and panels) are soft maple. The vanity is 48" long. The finish is Varathane Diamond floor finish which left the wood light colored. So far it has held up well to the humidity of the bathroom.