Medicine cabinets were originally produced to be well-organized storage places for lotions, medicines, and perfumes.  Nobody can be exactly sure what time they were moved to the bathroom, however for some reason this room was selected to store the many sundry substances utilized in day to day living. Medicine cabinets had been straightforward in design and purpose and it is not until modern times that folks gave some real thought to how they looked.  Medicine cabinets now are sold in a extensive assortment of styles, dimensions and finishes, so matching the look of the bathroom is easy. You can purchase medicine cabinets in square and rectangular sizes, flush or surface mounted and in either wood finishes or metal finishes. You could even alter the location of your medicine cabinet. Gone are the days when they had to be prominently displayed above the bathroom sink.

When looking for your new medicine cabinet you could go to just about any home products store, hardware store or large retail store and find some types of medicine cabinets. However, if you are looking for the top selection and prices you must think about doing some investigation via the internet before buying the cabinet. There are lots of honest online suppliers offering every style of medicine cabinet conceivable and they typically offer lower prices, as overhead is commonly lower with online suppliers.

There are two methods to install almost any cabinet: flush or recessed mounting and surface mounting.  Recessed mounting must be left to a qualified individual who has done it before for the reason that it requires cutting the wall open and possibly having to cut out one or two 2×4s if the cabinet is wider than 16 inches.  Surface mounted medicine cabinets are installed quite simply by either screwing them directly to the 2×4s or installing some brackets and hanging them like hanging a picture on the wall.  When installing the medicine cabinet it’s important to remember that it could be very heavy, therefore you will want to make sure it’s securely mounted to the wall studs. If this is the case, you will need to employ heavy duty brackets, which ordinarily come with the cabinet.

The first step is to find the studs where you should be attaching the cabinet.  If you have a stud finder (obtainable in nearly all hardware store tool sections) find the middle of the two studs the cabinet should cover and mark the wall.  If you do not own a stud finder, take a small finishing nail and use trial and error to locate the studs.  Tap mildly on the wall with your finger in a horizontal direction until you hear the sound go lower, then gently hammer the nail in at least 3/4 in. to tell if you discovered air or wood.  If you found wood, drive the nail in two more times, 1/2 in. to the left and right of the original hole.  This way you will approximate where the center of the 2×4 is.  It is not important that you find the center precisely, however you do want the screws to have a lasting “bite.”  If for any reason you can’t locate the studs you will require to employ hollow wall anchors; the screw-in styles are the best to work with and are especially sturdy.  And do not be bothered about any of those little holes you made; the cabinet should hide them.  

The next step is to line up the cabinet with the studs.   Position your cabinet with the top immediately underneath your center marks or the holes and ensure it is in the horizontal location you desire.  Do not worry about leveling it yet.  Mark the top of the cabinet, then put it on the counter and pencil in two perpendicular lines from the marks on the top of the cabinet to the base.  Drill the necessary holes on these two lines.  Four holes can be adequate, but if the cabinet is very heavy, make six or even eight holes.  Author’s note: when it comes to hanging things on the wall, I am a firm believer in “too much is barely enough”.

Once the holes are drilled in the cabinet, line it up on the wall exactly where you need it, level it,  examine the position again, double check the level, and then mark the holes on the wall.  Put the cabinet down, and using a drill bit that is roughly half the thickness of the screw, drill pilot holes in the wall where you marked them and then carefully screw in the hardware.  Make sure the holes are completely prepared prior to putting in the cabinet.  The explanation for doing it like this is to make holding the cabinet and screwing it in a lot easier, in addition to being more accurate.

Hold the cabinet in place, screw it in, ensure all screws are firm, wipe up the mess, and put your tools back in their place.   After that, fill the cabinet and you are finished.

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