How To Install A Medicine Cabinet Mirror

The toothbrush is on the toilet tank, the Speed Stick's in the soap dish, and every canteen cluttering the puddles around the sink has a little mildewed band mark its spot. Your morning ritual would feel then much less chaotic if all those balms and baubles were lined up neatly in rows on the shelves of a medicine cabinet. Amend all the same, make it a recessed model, which tucks securely and discreetly into the wall cavity, and you lot won't fifty-fifty striking your head when you lean over to splash your face on a sleepy morning.

As This Old House technical editor Mark Powers shows on the following pages, you can install your own chiffonier in an afternoon. Most come pre-assembled; y'all just cut a hole in the wall and create a woods frame into which the cabinet slides. Thus you'll upgrade with a beautiful new mirror and storage space—while keeping a salubrious separation between toothbrush and toilet.

Step ane

How to Install a Medicine Chiffonier

A recessed medicine cabinet needs to be anchored inside the wall to a rectangle of framing, the center of which must exist clear of obstructions. Then the first order of concern in installing one, before you even buy the cabinet, is looking inside the wall (meet Stride 2) to be sure there are no obstacles that can't be moved. Electrical wires, studs in a non-load-bearing wall, and sometimes plumbing supply lines tin can be rerouted, but a big vent pipage or any load-begetting framing would be more than difficult to go out of the style. If you encounter either of the latter while inspecting the wall, you should skip this project and instead buy a surface-mounted cabinet. When you know what cabinet you want, you have to settle on its exact placement.

A general rule of thumb is that the top of the cabinet box (not the door trim) should be 72 inches off the flooring. But This Old Firm general contractor Tom Silva is more flexible. "Near people make the fault of hanging information technology too high," he says. "And so yous end up looking more at the ceiling than at yourself." He suggests starting with the 72-inch rule, simply adjusting it to make sure yous can see your face and some of your body in the mirror while still giving you lot room to place items on the sink or toothbrush holder below. You will likely have to cutting abroad part of a stud to make room, as nearly wall framing is set on sixteen-inch centers only many medicine cabinets are more than than 18 inches wide. This requires not just cutting through the stud but disconnecting information technology from the wall backside it by slicing through the fasteners. With the stud out of the fashion, you can install horizontal and vertical 2x4 blocking to create a frame in which to slide the cabinet. The blocking ties into the existing wall framing, creating a sturdy structure to concur the cabinet. The cabinet itself has a lip to overlap the edges of the cut wall, so one time information technology'southward screwed to the framing, all that's left to do is attach the door, slide in the shelves, and stock it upward.

Step 2

Inspect the wall crenel

Photo by Kolin Smith

Lightly mark the wall to show the approximate outline of where you lot'd similar the chiffonier to hang. Use a stud finder to locate any studs that lie within this outline.

Using a keyhole saw, cutting 4-inch-square holes on either side of those studs, staying within the cabinet outline. Go along the angle of the saw shallow so you don't cut any deeper than the drywall and risk hitting wires or pipes.

Remove the drywall cutout. Shine a flashlight into the openings and look around for possible obstructions. Contact an electrician and/or plumber to motion wires or pipes if necessary.

Tip: Earlier you cut the inspection holes, bulldoze a long screw ½ inch into the drywall in the middle of the cutout area. Apply the screw as a handleto remove the drywall intact.

Step 3

Mark and cutting the wall opening

Photo by Kolin Smith

Have a helper hold the cabinet confronting the wall, positioned at a comfortable superlative (see Overview for guidelines). Check it for level and plumb. When y'all're satisfied with its position, trace the cabinet'due south outline onto the wall in pencil.

Use a keyhole saw to cutting along the pencil line. Remove the drywall within your cut line, being careful not to mar the remaining wall. Y'all may have to suspension off pieces of drywall still fastened to the studs.

Step iv

Cutting through the drywall screws

Photo by Kolin Smith

Clear the opening of any loose debris and insulation. Slide a hacksaw blade, wrapped in tape for a handle, behind the exposed stud and cut through whatsoever drywall screws belongings the wallboard to its dorsum edge.

Step five

Cut out the wall stud

Photo past Kolin Smith

Utilise a handsaw to cut the stud off flush with the opening at the tiptop and bottom. Be careful not to cut through the drywall attached to its back edge. Remove the cabinet's door to make it easier to handle. Dry out-fit it in the opening. Employ a rasp and utility knife to prepare tight spots.

Step 6

Install the blocking

Photo past Kolin Smith

Slide a horizontal 2x4 into the opening. Concur it level, with its end butted confronting the next intact wall stud. Marking where it meets the cut stud, then saw it to length. Create three more pieces of blocking to fit at the height and bottom. To adhere the blocking, put construction adhesive on both ends, and place it between the studs, flush with the drywall opening. Concur it in place by driving screws through the drywall and into blocking.

Step 7

Install the blocking

Photo by Kolin Smith

Slide a horizontal 2x4 into the opening. Concord it level, with its terminate butted against the side by side intact wall stud. Mark where information technology meets the cutting stud, then saw it to length. Create three more pieces of blocking to fit at the top and lesser. To adhere the blocking, put structure adhesive on both ends, and place it between the studs, affluent with the drywall opening. Hold it in place past driving screws through the drywall and into blocking.

Footstep eight

Mount the cabinet

Photograph by Kolin Smith

Fit the chiffonier inside the blocking, and press all the edges of its face frame affluent against the wall. Bulldoze drywall screws through the holes in the side of the cabinet and into the blocking. If necessary, caulk effectually the edges of the cabinet to hibernate irregularities in the wall.

Step ix

Assemble the balance of the cabinet

Photo past Kolin Smith

Reattach the chiffonier door making certain not to bend the hinges. Adhere whatsoever hardware. Install the shelves, and stock the cabinet.

Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/bathrooms/21016749/how-to-install-a-medicine-cabinet

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