Harvesting Glass from Around the House

I'm in the process of making some renovations at home (there's something satisfying about destroying things) and I'm taking the opportunity to salvage an old, broken mirror from the walk in closet. I can reuse the mirror in stained glass projects. The only problem? This mirror was pretty solidly attached to the wall and I couldn't tell how.

You can see the glass is already broken so I need to be extra careful removing it from the wall.  So, I gathered my tools and began...

The first step is to cover the entire surface with contact paper. If the mirror breaks any more this will keep it somewhat contained. Don't forget to wear work gloves!

I found this handy tool in the paint department of a hardware store (it's made by Red Devil) and it's one of the best multi-purpose tools I own.  It's stronger than a putty knife and has those great edges.

I started at the top and used this tool to pry the regular picture hook hangers out of the wall. Then the mirror was only attached by a nail through the bottom frame. It was a snap to pry that nail out of the wall.

The mirror was off the wall without any more damage to the glass... or to me. It was a little bit of a let down to remove it so easily - I was expecting more of a challenge!