Goat Goat Etc.
Well-known member
So I have been wanting a trifold mirror so badly to help me with styling and dying my hair. I can't stand trying to hope I've gotten the back of my head right and then hold up two mirrors and see I failed. So after combing Pinterest, I saw a few wall ideas and a video and decided to try making one. Success! ****JUST A WARNING ABOUT HINGES: DIY 3 way mirror vid by MsJCheng10 and the DIY THREE WAY ANGLED MIRROR vid by Belinda Selene are super wrong. Plus Belinda goes out of her way for wood she didn't need. I've seen these mirrors propped on a low to the floor drawer or on a vanity to give them height. Both videos show how to attach the hinges incorrectly. If you drill the panels of the hinges directly to the back of the mirror the side mirrors will NOT come in all the way and give you multiple views. If you still don't understand, look at a door in your house and examine the hinge, google door hinges, go out in the world and look at hinged things, etc.**** You'll need:
Spine should be facing out towards you.
- 3 door mirrors- It's back to school and virtually every store has them. I got mine at Walmart.
- 6-8 hinges. Design, width, and length are up to you. Just make sure your hinges are sturdy. I bought over sized ones ( 5/8 in x 2 in) at first but later learned they weren't necessary when I looked into hinge application. The width of the side of one of these mirrors is about 2/8 in. to 3/8 in. I applied my hinges SUPER WRONG at first, I drilled them directly to the back of the mirrors. You gotta drill on the sides and that will allow the open swing motion. So make sure the spine of the hinges is facing out with the mirrors.
- 3/8 to 1/2 inch screws if they aren't provided with your hinges. When you measure the frame of the plastic it's important to know where your mirror starts and the plastic frame stops. Would be a shame to drill into your mirror and break it. peel back the paper backing on your mirror and see where the mirror and frame meet.
- A Ruler or yardstick- Got to know the measurements of stuff and be able to make marks and lines.
- A Pencil - Gotta make your measurements.
- Drill or Screwdriver.
- (Optional) Liquid Nails- Because I drilled a little extra and drilled around old holes, the plastic did crack some, so I used this adhesive as filler. I'm sure caulk could work too.
- Measure where you want your hinges and make marked lines with your ruler/stick and pencil. I laid my three mirrors side by side and made sure the bottoms and tops were in line with each other and made long lines over all three. I used three hinges per connection. For me my mirrors measured top of the mirror to first hinge 7.5 in, first hinge to middle hinge 17.5 in., middle to third hinge 17.5 in, and third hinge to bottom of the mirror was 7.5 in.
- Take up two mirrors so that they're sandwiched mirror to mirror. You can start marking where you want to drill and use the holes of your hinges as stencils. I did the same for the third mirror and the middle mirror; I brought their faces together and stenciled where I wanted the holes.
- Sandwich 2 mirrors face to face and begin drilling. I was sitting on the couch btw. First I drilled hinges to one and then leaned the second mirror up to drill them together. Then I drilled the hinges of the third mirror on. I stood the connected mirrors up, posed them in an arrow shape and leaned up the third up against them to form a triangle. I drilled the third mirror onto the middle and then I was done!
