How to Tell If a Medicine Cabinet Is Recessed or Surface Mounted?

Medicine cabinets occur in so many shapes, sizes, styles and dimensions that it can be difficult to determine how the cabinet was installed or how a cabinet is meant to be installed, particularly if the cabinet is already in place or if it is being sold without proper packaging. Close examination will help solve this mystery.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure
• Utility knife

1. Open the door of a wall-mounted medicine cabinet. Remove any objects and shelves. Wall mounted cabinets will have mounting screws on the back wall of the cabinet, and these screws should be visible. Some cabinet styles have covers or plugs which hide the mounting holes, so a close examination may be necessary. Use the utility knife to scrape away likely mounting areas that have been painted over.

2. Examine the side walls and the top and bottom of the cabinet if there are no holes in the back wall. A cabinet that mounts through the side walls is intended to recess between studs. Another clue to this type of cabinet may be the size. Smaller medicine cabinets often measure just inside 15 inches in width. Larger recessed cabinets may span close to 34 inches.

3. Measure the depth of the cabinet. Many recessed cabinets will also protrude beyond the sheet rock for additional cabinet depth. These are called semi-recessed cabinets. These may also have panels or trim pieces used to hide the mounting hardware. Any cabinet that is more than 3 inches deep is likely to be a recessed cabinet since it is unattractive for a cabinet to jut more than 3 inches off the wall surface.

References

• Medicine Cabinet Shop