Bathroom - 30" MagicMirror

johnnyboy

WAF is important ;)

For sure ;-) She says its in the perfect place too, for a last pose before leaving the house :-)
Positioning was spot on too for during the day with bright dayling shining through the french doors, and I already have 9 LED spotlights in there, one directly above, and to the front of the mirror that shows up the mirror as a mirror better during darkness.

In either situation, seeing the MM is always crisp and clear, along with the actual mirror image of who is in front of it… When completed, I will upload the entire build from scratch, as I took a picture with every step… but finding the time just now is hard :-(

I have still to add the PIR, and position the USB Micro Mic somewhere less obvious than on top of the fridge hinge, and possibly get Disc speakers - The small flat ones more commonly seen in Car doors, and in ceilings? I have a BT one I purchased for MM, but unsure of getting that to work with alexapi ( when/if I get round to actually getting that set up right) so even though my MM is up and running, and in situ, I still have a few things to do before I sign off on this one.

Anyway… Keep us updated on what you decide to do with yours, as I am interested to see what solution you come up with, )and I do hope you find one as I can visualise the end result and know it will be really nice…) that may even give me better ideas for my next build?

broberg

If you are placing 2way mirrors on all 3 sections (I would suggest this since normal mirrors and most 2way mirrors have a different amount of reflection and different colors, it will cost more but look better)

Blacking out the back of the 2way mirrors on the side is easily done with vinyl (the kind used to make vehicle decals and wrapping cars with).

And I do believe @Goldjunge_Chriz had some good “tape” to make the mirror stay in place. Something similar to the sticky stuff they apply car windshields with I suppose?

johnnyboy

@broberg said in Bathroom - 30" MagicMirror:

If you are placing 2way mirrors on all 3 sections (I would suggest this since normal mirrors and most 2way mirrors have a different amount of reflection and different colors, it will cost more but look better)

I second this… because mines is noticeably different. Not so much when MM is on, but more so when off. The 2 way mirrors look tinted compared to the normal silver backed, clearer mirrors, so if you place 2 normal mirrors on either side, the centre MM one will look a lot darker… sorta like a smoked glass, door.

kclemen

Thanks for the replies.

Back in december I already asked a glass company the exact same questiong about the difference in color. They also recommended me to use 3 times a 2 way mirror due to the color difference.

Back then I got this invoice:

2 way mirror
mirror clear
mirror grey.

free image hosting

Could anybody give me some more info about the type of 2 way mirror I have to order? I see here different percentages on the website. If the mirror is 8 mm thick, what is the best type?

kclemen

A possible solution to “carry” the mirrors istead of glueing would be the use of an aluminium strip on the bottom and top? anybody already used them and could share a picture?

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broberg

@kclemen I do believe there is one user on here that made a bathroom mirror with those, I’ll try to find the thread.

Edit : Can’t find it, but I remember it looked quite sharp with the aluminium top and bottom!

kclemen

Today I’ve called the glas company if they can give me some more info about the type of spy mirror they can deliver me.
They send me following information:

gif upload 20mb

So, if I’m correct, this type of mirror has a transmission of 15%. Any good?

broberg

@kclemen 15% is close to the best “all-around” light transmission, will not work well next to a window during sunny days. 40% is recommended in really bright rooms.
Bathrooms however isn’t usually superbright, so will work nicely. (mine is only 3% and I can’t do thin texts and lines, I have to beef up everything in size and use bold fonts)

kclemen

I’ve asked 3 companies to do me an offer. So, if I understand correctly, the 15% is "perfect’?

broberg

@kclemen

I’ve read an article a while back, they tried a bunch of different mirrors with a few light transmissions variations (1%, 12% 20% and 40% If I remember correctly). Their conclusion was that 12% was okey and 20% was the best of them all.

And with the combined information I’ve read (not tested in real life however!) is that the general guide line is :

Anything below 3% will not be useful, I would say 5% would be absolutely minimum.
8-10% for darker rooms with no windows and limited lighting
15-20% for normal lighting and not placed next to windows and/or in sunlight
40% for bright rooms with lots of daylight

Do note, that higher light transmission also makes your screen edges more visible, this is due to the backlight of the monitor. so if you have a 40% mirror in a bright room and then turn the lights down the edges of the screen will be clearly visible.