With regards to purchasing a newly constructed home, we have discussed whether they have mail boxes outside and home appliances or not. Another common question people ask when purchasing a home is, “do new construction homes come with mirrors?”
This question mostly arises because people often find themselves under contract to purchase a new construction house. However, when consulting the contract or the spec sheet, it doesn’t say anything about whether their house will include mirrors or not.
In most cases, new construction homes in the US DON’T come with mirrors, unless specifically mentioned in the contract or if you paid the contractor specifically for it. This also includes bathroom mirrors and those in dressing rooms. However, in the UK, it depends on whether you manage to convince the contractor or not while in Russia, Africa, and most of Asia, new construction homes come with mirrors.
Do New Construction Homes Come With Mirrors?
As mentioned above, in most instances new construction homes don’t come with mirrors in the US. Most US contractors usually suggest that bathroom mirrors are just like toilet paper holders or other bathroom accessories (not vanities). Therefore, homebuyers need to buy these on their own.
This might seem a bit odd to homeowners across the globe. Unfortunately, this is a common practice in the US.
Whether you’re buying a new luxury home or something a bit more modest, you shouldn’t walk in expecting a mirror installed by the builder. We are here to tell you from experience that you don’t want a stock mirror either, especially if you just bought a luxury home.
As mentioned above, across the globe construction homes come with mirrors – at least for their bathrooms. Unfortunately, these mirrors are in most cases stock. It is very rare to find a custom mirror installed in a dresser or even a bathroom. So, as you move in, many often have to remove the stock mirror, which isn’t high-quality enough to be molded, and get it replaced.
We asked a couple of realtors, builders, and contractors about why they don’t include mirrors in new construction homes and found that this is mostly because builders don’t know what type of mirror or vanity you would like.
Furthermore, if you look at the options available with their suppliers, it involves contractors having to buy glass or mirror in bulk – and that too, stock glass or mirror. It is up to the builder to add design. If they want a designed mirror or glass, contractors will need to hire someone to work on the glass further.
Yes, this might look like an excuse but that’s not the case. We got in touch with several suppliers to identify what would stop contractors from buying mirrors. If we try to order a custom mirror or vanity even in bulk, they end up costing slightly more than if we buy from home depot or other hardware stores.
Our experience suggests that you are better off having to pick your mirrors. Yes, the added cost might be a bit of an inconvenience. However, if you look at it from a broader perspective, not only do you get to buy a mirror that costs less, but you also get a custom-designed mirror or vanity for your bathroom and dresser unlike what contractors would offer.
There is no code requirement for providing mirrors with new construction houses in the US.
What to Do for Mirrors in Your New Construction Home?
You can take several steps now that you have (or are about to) move into your new construction home without mirrors.
The first and most basic one is to go shopping with your significant other (or whoever you are sharing your house with) and choose a mirror based on the size of your sink and budget. The benefit of this route is that you get to make a decision free of any bias. You will go to a store of your choice and buy a mirror of your choosing. There will be no third party involved, and you will there actually love what you buy.
Unfortunately, this can get a bit expensive, depending on where you choose to go with your mirror-buying needs.
Another option that you have at your disposal is that you can ask the contractor to give you the stock mirror and take the DIY route. You will need a sanding block or disk of tungsten carbide and a LOT of elbow grease. By a lot, we mean quite a lot. Sanding and designing the corners take quite a bit of doing. Glass tends to turn red hot when being sanded and therefore presents a safety hazard.
You can make your task a bit easier by investing in an angle grinder along with the sanding disks. We bought the 7-inch Makute Angle Grinder (1680 Watts, 180 mm disk size) as a joke, just to test it against it out. After all, it was just $60. However, it has been about 2 years now and we have used it quite extensively on almost every type of wood, glass, marble, tiles, and more and it hasn’t failed us. It’s a cheap angle grinder, though. So, make sure you buy it with a grain of salt. We might just have gotten lucky.
Combined with the sanding disk, we managed to sand down the sharp corners and make small divots across the sides, thus making it a bit more aesthetically pleasing. Of course, we could have done a better job but “mirror-smithing” isn’t something we’re good at.
The third option you have is ordering a mirror through your builder, and ask them to get in touch with someone who is ordering from a wholesaler. You might not have so many options to consider here but it will be an extremely cost and labor-efficient way of getting a good mirror for your washrooms or dressers.
Contractors usually don’t finish garages, either, because they aren’t considered living spaces. If you aren’t a DIY-er, you will most likely hire someone to finish it up. You can also ask them to bring mirrors from their suppliers if your original builder isn’t willing to comply.
In one of the houses we worked in, there was a very beautiful mantel in the bathroom with room for a mirror in it. Of course, we couldn’t put in any half measures here because it was a master bedroom. We decided to make a frame out of rustic wood here and asked our builder to get us a stock mirror.
We used our miter saw to cut pressure-treated pine wood at a 45-degree angle. We cut out two pieces of wood per side, joined the front-facing side with screws, and then waited for the mirror. Once it arrived, we sanded the pieces down a bit to make room for the mirror. We had to wait for the mirror before cutting the slots because we didn’t know how thick this mirror would be.
While waiting, we used our die grinder (DeWalt Corded 20v) – but you can also use a Dremel here – to engrave the front with a floral pattern. It took some doing but the results were nothing short of marvelous.
After that, all we had to do was attach the rear pieces, make a brace, and install a hook – and that’s it! We had ourselves a very cost-effective yet beautiful bathroom mirror!