Specialty Mirrors

What this category covers

Specialty mirrors are the models specified for a requirement rather than for a look: accessible mirrors for public restrooms, safety-backed mirrors for walls where a breakage has to stay on the wall, wide-angle convex mirrors for traffic and loss prevention, and copper-free mirrors for wet and coastal positions. They are quoted from the same catalogue as our decorative range but they are usually chosen by a specifier working from a drawing, not by a buyer working from a mood board.

Family	Typical position	Models
ADA accessible	Public and accessible restrooms	ADA-01 fixed 10° tilt, ADA-02 adjustable 0–15° tilt with pull bar, ADA-03 vandal-resistant low-mount, ADA-04 500 × 1500 mm low-mount full-length
Safety-backed	Commercial and high-traffic walls	SBK-01 CAT I vertical, SBK-02 CAT II reinforced horizontal
Convex safety and security	Car parks, warehouse aisles, blind corners, retail	CX-01 800 mm car park, CX-02 600 mm warehouse aisle, CX-03 600 mm ceiling-corner quarter dome
Copper-free	Wet rooms, spas, changing areas, coastal projects	CF-01 rounded-rectangle low-iron project mirror, CF-02 round high-humidity mirror

Flat models in this category are 5 mm glass with ground edges and are held in three standard sizes each, with custom sizes cut to drawing. Minimum order is one piece. Lead time is 25–30 days on the safety-backed, convex and copper-free models and 30–35 days on the ADA range.

ADA 603.3 is a mounting dimension, not a product certification

Section 603.3 of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design sets where the reflecting surface has to start: no higher than 1015 mm above the finished floor for a mirror above a lavatory or countertop, and no higher than 890 mm for one that is not. That is a requirement on the installation, not on the product, which means no mirror can be certified compliant on its own — an ordinary mirror hung at the correct height satisfies the dimension. What the product decides is whether the view works once it is hung that low.

Tilt geometry versus a low-mount full-length mirror

There are two ways to give a seated user a usable view, and they lead to different products. A tilt frame angles the glass down so the mirror can sit at a conventional height: ADA-01 is fixed at 10 degrees with no moving parts, which is the usual specification for unattended public restrooms, while ADA-02 runs on dual side rails with a full-width pull bar so a user can set anywhere between 0 and 15 degrees. The alternative is to drop the glass instead of tilting it — ADA-04 is a 500 × 1500 mm low-mount full-length mirror that serves seated and standing users from one unit and removes the second mirror from the drawing. ADA-03 is the specification for positions where the frame itself is at risk: welded stainless steel, eight-point tamper-resistant fixings and no accessible fastener heads.

CAT I and CAT II describe the backing, not the glass

Safety backing is a polymer film laminated to the rear of the mirror that holds the fragments in place if the glass is broken, and the CAT I and CAT II classifications describe how much impact energy that backing is built to retain. CAT I is the normal commercial specification and is what SBK-01 carries. CAT II is reinforced for higher-impact and public positions and is what SBK-02 carries, together with a continuous anodised aluminium channel top and bottom. Both are supplied with a concealed rear cleat, so there are no visible clips, blocks or screw heads on the face. The backing class is specified per order, so tell us the position and we will quote the class rather than defaulting to the cheaper film.

Convex mirrors are polycarbonate rather than glass

Every convex model in this range has a UV-stabilised polycarbonate face, which means an impact deforms the face instead of producing falling glass — the reason convex mirrors are accepted in car parks and forklift aisles where a glass product would not be. The differences between the three models are the mount and the sight line, not the optics: CX-01 has a galvanised dual-axis bracket that lets the mirror be aimed precisely after installation and a high-visibility orange rim with a weather seal for outdoor use, CX-02 uses a single-axis straight arm sized for an indoor aisle intersection, and CX-03 is a quarter dome on a five-hole ceiling flange that covers two aisles from one ceiling corner. Send us the mounting height and the distance to the point you need to see and we will recommend the diameter.

Copper-free silvering for wet and coastal positions

Copper-free, low-lead silvering is specified where humidity, salt air or aggressive cleaning would attack a conventional mirror from the edge inward. CF-01 and CF-02 are built on a low-iron substrate with a sealed perimeter edge and concealed rear mounting, and the low-iron glass also removes the faint green cast that standard float glass carries — visible on a large mirror and on anything white reflected in it. CF-02 is the round model specified for wet rooms, steam rooms and changing areas; CF-01 is the rounded rectangle for general project work.

Specifying and ordering

Quotes come back fastest when the request carries the model code, the finished size, the quantity, and the position the mirror is going into — the position is what tells us the backing class, the fixing type and whether copper-free is worth paying for. Custom sizes, non-standard frames and drawing-to-sample work are quoted on the drawing. Everything in this category can be mixed with our decorative and bathroom ranges on one pallet or container.