Medicine cabinets were in the beginning conceived to work as efficient storage places for medicines, lotions, and perfumes.  Nobody can be absolutely sure when they were moved into the bathroom, but for some reason this room was chosen to store lots of various elements used in day to day living. Medicine cabinets had been simple in design and function and it is not until recent times that folks gave some real thought to how they appeared.  Medicine cabinets now are manufactured in a wide variety of styles, sizes and finishes, consequently matching the decor of your bathroom is easy. Medicine cabinets can be bought in square and rectangular sizes, flush or surface mounted and in both wood finishes and metal finishes. You could even adjust the position of your medicine cabinet. Gone are the days when they ended up being prominently displayed over the bathroom sink.

When looking for your new medicine cabinet you can go to just about any home products store, hardware store or big retail store and discover several types of medicine cabinets. But, if you want the best choices and prices you should think about doing a little investigation online before buying the cabinet. There are lots of honest online merchants offering every type of medicine cabinet imaginable as well as they frequently charge less, as overhead is usually lower with internet suppliers.

There are two methods to install virtually any cabinet: flush or recessed mounting and surface mounting.  Recessed mounting must be left to someone who has done it in the past as it requires cutting the wallboard open and possibly having to cut the studs if the cabinet is wider than 16 inches.  Surface mounted medicine cabinets are hung quite easily by either screwing them directly to the 2x4s or installing some brackets and hanging them like hanging a picture on the wall.  While mounting your medicine cabinet it is important to remember that it will possibly be somewhat heavy, therefore you will need to make sure it’s securely mounted to the wall studs. If this is the case, you will need to use heavy duty brackets, which frequently come with the cabinet.

The first step is to find the studs where you should be securing the cabinet.  If you possess a stud finder (obtainable in nearly all hardware store tool sections) locate the center of the two studs the cabinet should cover and mark the wall.  If you don’t have a stud finder, take a small finishing nail and use trial and error to find the 2x4s.  Tap mildly with your finger on the wall in a horizontal direction until the sound lowers, then gently hammer the nail in about 3/4 in. to see if you found air or wood.  If you discovered wood, drive the nail in two additional times, 1/2 in. to the left and right of the initial hole.  This way you will estimate where the center of the stud is.  It is not vital that you hit the middle exactly, however you do want the screws to have a lasting “bite.”  If for any reason you can not locate the studs you must employ hollow wall anchors; the screw-in styles are the easiest to work with and are very sturdy.  And do not be concerned about all those small holes you made; the cabinet will hide them.  

The next step is to line up the cabinet with the 2x4s.   Hold the cabinet with the top just beneath the center marks or the holes and make certain it is in the horizontal location you need.  Do not be concerned about leveling it yet.  Mark the top of the cabinet, then set it down and draw two perpendicular lines from the marks on the top of the cabinet to the bottom.  Drill the needed holes on these two lines.  Four holes should be sufficient, but if your cabinet is very heavy, drill six or even eight holes.  Author’s note: when it comes to hanging stuff on the wall, I am a firm believer in overkill.

Once the holes are drilled in your cabinet, place it on the wall exactly where you require it, level it,  examine the position again, double check the level, and then mark the holes on the wall.  Put the cabinet back on the counter, and using a drill bit that is about half the thickness of the screw, drill pilot holes in the wall where you marked them and then carefully screw in the hardware.  Make certain the holes are completely prepared ahead of installing the cabinet.  The reason you do it like this is to make holding the cabinet and screwing it in a lot simpler and easier, in addition to being more precise.

Keep the cabinet in position, screw it in, make sure all screws are firm, clean up the mess, and put the tools away.   Then fill up the cabinet and you’re done for the day.