Medicine Cabinet Install
Handis medicine cabinet install is the over-the-vanity mirror-and-storage swap in three variants from $250 surface-mount to $700 recessed with a quality cabinet — the upgrade that closes the storage gap above the bathroom sink without touching the vanity itself. The 1992 flush-mount mirror that everyone in the house has stopped using because the silvering is fogged. The 1996 surface-mount medicine cabinet that sticks 18 inches into the room and reads as bulky in a small bathroom. The clean recessed cabinet you saw in a Pacific Northwest home tour blog and decided your bathroom needed. Three install variants — surface-mount (the simple swap, no wall cutting), recessed into the stud cavity (the framed-in install that sits flush with the drywall for the built-in look), and recessed with a hardwired LED light bar (recessed install plus the licensed electrician for any new circuit). Total install time runs 1 hour for a surface-mount swap to a full day for a recessed install with drywall patch.
Service
How a Medicine Cabinet Install Works
Five sequential steps from cabinet dimension confirmation through final paint touch-up — covering the surface-mount and recessed paths on every Handis install.
Confirm Cabinet Dimensions and Stud Cavity on the Booking Call
We confirm the cabinet width, height, and depth, the install variant (surface-mount, recessed, or recessed with LED), and verify the wall has a clear stud cavity at the install location. Photo of the wall plus a measurement to the nearest plumbing fixture is usually enough. If the cavity may be obstructed (plumbing wet wall, vent stack), we plan for a surface-mount fallback before arrival.
Locate Studs, Mark the Install Position, Center on Vanity
Stud finder run across the wall to confirm the stud locations match the cabinet width on a recessed install. Horizontal reference line snapped on the wall (laser or chalk) for the cabinet bottom. Cabinet centered horizontally on the sink below. Mark the perimeter for a recessed cut.
Surface-Mount Install — Hang on Cleat or Stud-Anchored Lags
Surface-mount variant only. French cleat installed on the wall stud-anchored with lag screws, or direct stud-anchored mounting with the cabinet's built-in hang rail. Where studs do not line up with the rail, rated heavy-duty toggles (Toggler Snaptoggle 75-lb minimum) at the rail. Cabinet hung, leveled, and verified plumb. 1 to 2 hour install.
Recessed Install — Cut Drywall, Frame Box, Set Cabinet Plumb
Recessed variant. Clean drywall cut at the cabinet width plus 1/8 reveal on each side, between two confirmed-clear studs. Wood box built from 1x6 pine or poplar stock sized to the cabinet's depth, fitted between the studs, secured to the stud edges with finish screws. Cabinet set inside the box, plumb and level, anchored to the box with finish screws.
Patch Drywall, Feather-Sand, Paint Touch-Up
Recessed install only. Three-coat joint compound on the drywall transition around the cabinet — first coat to fill, second coat to feather, third coat to flatten. Feather-sand transition with 220-grit between coats. Final paint touch-up from your existing bathroom wall paint (if available) or a color-matched primer and topcoat we mix on site. Cabinet face sits flush with the drywall, the patch is invisible after paint.
Medicine Cabinet Install Pricing
Final pricing depends on the install variant, the cabinet brand and finish, whether the recessed install requires routing around in-wall obstructions, and whether a new electrical circuit is needed for a hardwired LED variant. Cabinet supplied by the homeowner. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send us a photo of the wall and the cabinet spec — we will confirm surface-mount or recessed and quote the install before booking.
Why Handis for Medicine Cabinet Installs
Most medicine cabinet installs we field are surface-mount swaps that the homeowner could technically do in an afternoon — and many do. The recessed install is a different job entirely. Cutting drywall between two studs, framing in a wood box that holds the cabinet plumb against an out-of-plumb wall, patching the drywall back in with a three-coat mud that feathers invisibly, color-matching the paint touch-up — those are the steps that separate a recessed cabinet that reads as built-in from one that reads as cut in. We have framed enough cabinet cavities to know exactly where the wet-wall plumbing usually sits, where the vent stack runs in a typical Pacific Northwest framed wall, and how to plan the cut so the patch is invisible. The surface-mount variant exists for the bathrooms that do not need or do not warrant the recessed look; the recessed variant exists for the bathrooms that do.
Estimate
Tell us the cabinet brand and dimensions (width, height, depth), the install variant you want (surface-mount, recessed, or recessed with LED light bar), and whether the wall already has an electrical circuit at the install location if you want a hardwired LED. Send a photo of the wall too — we use it to confirm the stud cavity is clear before booking. We send a clear estimate with the licensed-electrician portion called out separately if a new circuit is needed.
Customer Reviews
Medicine cabinet install reviews from real Handis customers.
Recessed medicine cabinet in our 1962 Bellevue split-level master. Old surface-mount stuck 18 inches into the room. The tech ran a stud finder, confirmed the cavity was clear, cut the drywall, framed the box from 1x6, set the cabinet plumb against a wall that was definitely not. Drywall patch on every side, paint touch-up the next morning. You cannot see the cut.
Simple surface-mount swap in our hall bath — old fogged mirror out, new mirrored cabinet from Pottery Barn in. The tech ran a French cleat into two studs, hung the cabinet, leveled it to the sink center below. 75 minutes total. Best $250 spent on this bathroom in years.
Recessed Robern cabinet with a hardwired LED light bar in our master. The existing wall already had an electrical junction box from the old vanity light, so the LED tied into that circuit — no electrician needed. Handis framed the cavity, set the cabinet, patched the drywall, color-matched our wall paint. Cabinet sits flush with the wall, LED lights up the mirror face like a magazine photo.
Double recessed install above our 66-inch double vanity — two recessed cabinets framed into two separate stud cavities, leveled to the same horizontal reference line so they read as a matched pair. The patches on every side are invisible after paint. Better-looking install than the contractor who did the rest of the bathroom.
We thought we wanted recessed in our 1929 Wallingford house but the wet-wall plumbing was right where the cavity would go. The tech caught it on the stud check before any drywall came out, recommended the surface-mount variant on a French cleat for the look we wanted, and the cabinet stands clean against the wall without sticking out as much as the old one. Honest call on the booking visit saved us money and a bad cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about bathroom medicine cabinet installation.