Hanging a Medicine Cabinet

How to Install A Flush Mount Cabinet Like a Pro

Jan 31, 2008

It's not difficult to install a flush-mounted medicine cabinet on a bathroom wall if you know what can go wrong and how to avoid it.

Along with new bathroom accessories, a new medicine cabinet can add a decorator touch to an otherwise bland bath space.

Flush-mount cabinets (the kind that hang directly on the wall instead of being recessed into the wall) come in a wide variety of styles to add visual appeal as well as additional storage. Once you’ve picked the style that suits your taste and budget, your next job is to fasten it securely to the wall – a job that may sound simpler than it is.

THEORY GONE WRONG

The theory is that you locate the framing studs behind the drywall, and screw the cabinet into the studs. The problem is the studs are not always where you want them to be. When that happens, if you don’t know how to deal with the problem you can end up with a cabinet that is installed off-center, or wants to lean to one side, or is wobbly and threatens to (or actually does) fall off your wall.

FINDING STUDS

Step one is to measure the ideal location for the cabinet—centered over the sink or conveniently spaced on a sidewall next to the sink.

Next you need to find the studs behind the drywall. To find a stud, everyone tells you to tap the wall listening for the sound of a stud or buy a stud finder. These methods work for many people some of the time. That leaves a lot of times you’ve just driven a nail into the wall expecting to find a stud and didn’t.

When that happens, the first thing to get over is your guilt about making little holes in the wall. If you plan the location of your test nailing in the first place, the little nail holes you make are going to be hidden behind the cabinet anyway.

With that in mind, you can find your reclusive stud by moving three-quarters of an inch to one side and driving the nail again. If you don’t hit it, alternate sides and continue driving the nail at three-quarter inch intervals until you hit the stud.

To be sure you haven’t pinpointed the edge of the stud instead of the center, drive one more hole three-quarters of an inch further over. If you don’t hit anything, the previous hole is probably centered on the stud. If you do hit the stud again on the second hole, mark the center of the stud between the two holes.

Ideally, you want to find two studs for hanging your cabinet. After finding the first one, the other will usually (but not always!) be 16 inches away. Be sure to mark lightly in pencil ahead of time where the edge of your cabinet will be so you don’t accidentally make nail holes the cabinet won’t cover.

HANGING THE CABINET

If you find two studs behind where your cabinet will hang, you’re home free. Drill the proper size holes for your screws through the fastening bar inside the top of the cabinet, and also through the backing at the bottom. Remove the cabinet door for ease of handling and set a small torpedo level on the bottom shelf. Have a (strong) helper hold the cabinet in place between the light pencil marks on the wall as you set minimum one and a half inch screws.

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

It is not uncommon to find only one stud behind the space where your cabinet wants to be – usually off center. One screw at the top and one at the bottom will keep your cabinet from wanting to tilt sideways, but you’ll forever worry about the weight in the cabinet and wonder when its finally going to sag to one side or come off the wall completely.

When this occurs, the solution is to use plastic wall anchors—either the type that you tap into a pre-drilled hole or the type that screw in to a pre-made hole.

To mark the location for the anchors, drill the holes through the cabinet where you’d like your screws to be, both through the top fastening bar and the bottom of the cabinet. Space the holes as necessary to the left and/or right of the one stud you found to provide adequate support. Have your helper hold the cabinet in place where it wants to be and drive a nail through your holes to mark the location for the anchors on the wall.

Now you can insert the plastic anchors and hang the cabinet as described before.