Hi,

I'm replacing an "in the wall" medicine cabinet in my bathroom. It is the normal style that has a mirror that opens on a hinge.

My problem is, the original medicine cabinet is smaller than the standard sizes carried at Home Depot. I would modify the wall, but there is framing in the wall that exactly fits the original size.

Are there vendors that sell non-standard sized medicine cabinets?

Could I cut through the framing without causing structural instability?....then put in a standard size?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Kurt

P.S. I threw the original out when doing demolition so I can restore it.

 

The standard space between wall studs is 14.5" and most medicine cabinets fit right in.
I wouldn't cut into any wall studs much just to install one.
What is the width of your space?

 

Well, to make a long story short, I solved the problem with money.

We live in an old house in San Francisco and the original cabinet is over 70 years old. It is much smaller than today's sizes and although the width is the same, the height was 21" (shorter than most).

Like most of the projects on this old house, a simple fix turned into a big hassle. The box in the wall for the old cabinet was completely surrounded by wooden studs. Instead of searching the world for a medicine cabinet that would fit (I did some of this), I went to Pottery Barn and coughed up the dough for a nice looking cabinet that matched our mirror. This cabinet fits nicely over the old hole in the wall. Although it sits out from the wall about 6", it fits the bill perfectly.

Thanks for your response.

Kurt