Install a Normann Copenhagen Wall Mirror on Brick in 5 Steps

Brick walls have two fixing zones. The face of the brick is dense and grips an expansion plug well. The mortar joint between courses is softer, crumbles under a hammer drill, and lets the plug spin loose within weeks. Before measuring the mirror position, check whether the fixing points fall on brick face or on a joint. A Normann Copenhagen mirror such as the round Norm or the rectangular versions usually hangs from one or two keyhole brackets on the back. With two brackets there are two fixing points, and both may miss solid brick if the only reference is visual centring.

Even the larger rectangular pieces sit under 6 kg. That load is within the capacity of a single 6 mm nylon plug set into brick face. Failed installations usually come from a drill wandering into a joint, or from older soft London-stock brick that shatters before it forms a clean hole.

Step 1: Find the brackets, then find the brick

Lay the mirror face-down on a towel and inspect the back. Most Normann Copenhagen wall mirrors use a single central keyhole slot or two evenly spaced slots. Measure the distance between the two slots with a tape, then measure the drop from the top of the frame to the centre of each slot. Write both numbers down. On the round Norm mirror the single fixing sits roughly a third down from the top edge, so most of the mirror’s mass hangs below the screw and the glass tilts forward slightly unless the wall is dead flat.

Tap the wall where the mirror is intended to sit. A solid brick face gives a dull, tight knock. A mortar joint or hollow render gives a higher, looser sound. Mark the bracket positions in pencil, then move them left or right by up to 30 mm if either mark falls on a joint. A shift of 25 mm from the imagined centre is usually less visible than a fixing that lacks grip.

Step 2: Use a drill and bit that cut cleanly

A cordless combi drill on hammer mode is the right tool for this job. A plain drill driver lacks the percussion action that chips the brick and will usually spin against the surface.

For a 6 mm nylon plug, use a 6 mm masonry bit with a tungsten carbide tip. Bosch and DeWalt sell this style in multi-construction ranges. Match the bit diameter to the plug diameter, not to the screw.

Set the drilling depth before the bit touches the wall. Wrap masking tape around the bit so the tape edge sits at the plug length plus 5 mm. Drill to the tape and stop.

Going deeper into old brick risks breaking through to a cavity or hitting a buried cable. On exterior single-skin brick that is rare. Interior walls in converted flats can hide routed channels behind a skim of plaster over the brick.

Keep the drill level as the bit starts. A hole angled upward lets the plug and screw pull straight out under load. Run the drill slowly at first to make a starter dimple, then raise the speed once the bit is seated.

The dust comes out red-brown and fine. It spreads quickly and settles on anything within about a metre of the hole.

Step 3: Clear the hole, seat the plug, set the screw

Hold a vacuum nozzle beside the hole as the bit comes out, or clear it with a puffer. A nylon plug pushed into a dust-packed hole sits proud and fails to seat flush. Tap the plug in with a light hammer until it is level with the wall face. If it stops halfway, the hole is too shallow; redrill a little deeper before trying again.

Use a screw that fits the bracket keyhole, usually a 4 mm or 5 mm pan-head or dome-head screw that the slot can slide over. Drive it in until roughly 4 mm of the head stands clear of the wall. That small gap is what the keyhole slot hooks behind. Test the screw by hand: it should feel fixed, with zero wobble. Any movement means the plug is spinning, so the hole is oversized and needs a larger plug or a different fixing point.

Step 4: Level before drilling the second hole

Drill and fix the first screw only, hang the mirror on that single point, then rest a spirit level along the top edge of the frame or place a phone level app flat against the glass. Rotate the mirror gently until the bubble centres, and mark the second bracket position through the slot with a sharp pencil. Take the mirror down, drill and plug the second hole at that mark, drive the second screw, and rehang; transferring the second mark from a levelled mirror prevents the 2 to 3 mm measurement error that shows as a visible tilt, especially on rectangular frames with a long top edge.

Step 5: Check the height and the lean

Mirrors hung high catch the ceiling and the top of the room, which looks wrong in an entryway where a face-height reflection is the aim. Set the centre of the glass around 1500 to 1600 mm from the floor for a standing adult. A round Norm mirror with a single fixing will lean forward a few degrees off the wall, and that tilt helps in a hallway because it throws the reflection downward toward someone walking in.

If the wall is uneven old brick, place a thin rubber bumper or felt pad on the bottom back edge of the frame. It stops the metal scraping the brick and steadies any sway. Press the mounted mirror firmly and watch for rocking. Rocking means one bracket has failed to seat fully on its screw head.

When the brick is too soft to trust

Some Victorian and Edwardian interior walls use lime-mortar brick so soft that a screwdriver scratches it. Standard expansion plugs spin in that material. A frame fixing or chemical resin anchor can hold where nylon fails, though for a sub-6 kg mirror the simpler fix is to find a harder engineering brick course lower in the wall and accept a slightly different hanging height.

The forward lean on a single-point round mirror comes from bracket geometry and screw projection, with no drilling error required. The unresolved choice is whether that designed lean belongs in the room or calls for a mounting approach outside the supplied hardware.