Vanity Replacement
Handis vanity replacement is the same-footprint single-sink bathroom-vanity swap that resets a dated bathroom in one to two days from $900 plus the licensed plumber's separate invoice on the supply and drain reconnect. The 30-inch builder vanity with the molded-in sink that has been chipped at the front edge for nine years. The cabinet that has soft-bottomed under the trap from a slow drip nobody caught. The 1992 oak vanity sitting in a 2026 brushed-nickel-and-quartz bathroom. New vanity in, old vanity out, sink reconnected to the wall, mirror hung straight on a square strike — total project two working days including the plumber's half-day on the supply and drain. Cabinet widths from 24 to 48 inches on the same footprint as the old. The in-wall plumbing routes to a licensed Washington L&I plumber on a coordinated subcontract; we name the sub line by line on the quote.
Service
What Does a Bathroom Vanity Replacement Include?
Vanity replacement is the single-sink bathroom-vanity swap on the same footprint — demo the old cabinet and top, set the new cabinet, scribe to the actual wall, shim and plumb to level, install the new countertop and sink, hang the new mirror or medicine cabinet, and re-caulk the wet-zone joints — from $900 plus the licensed plumber's separate invoice on the supply and drain reconnect. One to two working days end-to-end on a standard cabinet width (24 to 48 inches) with the plumber's half-day fitting in the middle of the schedule. The work breaks into the Handis carpentry scope, the licensed-plumber scope, and the joint coordination Handis runs as project lead.
Handis Carpentry Scope — What We Do
Demo of the old vanity (cabinet and top removed and taken out of the house, debris on a drop cloth in the hallway, no drywall dust on the bedroom carpet five rooms away). Scribe of the new cabinet end panel to the actual wall using a compass-scribe transfer and a belt sander — almost no bathroom walls are plumb and almost no corners are 90 degrees, and the scribe is what closes the gap without a tapered caulk-fill that reads as off in six months. Shim the toe-kick to level on the actual floor, plumb the cabinet face, secure to the wall with the appropriate stud-anchor or rated toggle. Install the new countertop and sink, set the new faucet on the deck, hang the mirror or medicine cabinet centered over the sink with a level reference. Final re-caulk of every wet-zone joint in 100 percent silicone.
Licensed Plumber Scope — Why a Sub on Every Replacement
Washington state requires licensed plumbing work on every change to in-wall supply or drain lines. The licensed Washington L&I plumber handles the supply line reconnect on the new sink, the trap and drain assembly install, and the off-set drain reroute if the new sink does not line up with the existing rough-in (which it usually does not on any width change — a 30-inch cabinet swapped for a 36 puts the sink center three inches from where the old drain comes out of the wall). The plumber pulls the permit for any work that requires one, carries their own L&I trade warranty on the supply and drain scope, and invoices separately. We name the plumber on the quote, schedule their half-day visit between the demo and the cabinet set, and run the project from end to end.
Same Footprint, Same Rough-In Position — When the Plumbing Fits
A true same-footprint vanity swap that keeps the new sink centered exactly where the old one was (same cabinet width, same sink position, same shut-off valve location) sometimes finishes with a simple supply line and trap reconnect that fits in pure handyman scope. That is the cheapest install path on this service. Most vanity replacements move the sink at least a little — a width change, a sink offset on the new cabinet, a center-vs-offset sink position — and trigger the licensed-plumber rerough. We figure out the rough-in scope from the existing vanity dimensions and the new cabinet spec on the booking call, and we tell you straight whether your specific swap needs the plumber or finishes in pure handyman scope.
Countertops — Stock or Templated
Three countertop paths. Stock cabinet-included tops on a builder-grade combo vanity (cultured marble, integrated sink, no template needed) install with the cabinet on the same day. Stock standalone tops sized to common widths (24, 30, 36, 48 inches in carrara marble, calacatta quartz, granite, or wood) install on day two after a quick scribe at the back. Templated custom quartz or stone tops require a 1 to 2 week fab lead time after the cabinet is set — we set the cabinet on day one, the fabricator templates on day two, and we return for top install and final plumbing on day ten to fourteen. The path we recommend depends on cabinet width, sink type, and finish.
How a Vanity Replacement Works
Six sequential steps from the booking-call spec confirmation through the final leak check — the actual sequence we follow on every same-footprint single-sink vanity swap.
Confirm Vanity Spec and Plumber Sub on the Booking Call
We confirm the existing vanity width, the new cabinet width, the new sink position relative to the old rough-in, and whether the supply and drain need a true rerough or finish in a simple reconnect. Plumber sub scheduled on the calendar in the same booking call so the rough-in day lands cleanly between demo and set.
Demo the Old Vanity and Top, Cap the Supply
Water shut off at the bathroom isolation valve or at the building main. Supply lines and drain trap disconnected at the wall, supply capped to prevent drip during the carpentry work. Old vanity, top, and sink lifted out as one assembly where the build allows, otherwise broken down on-site. Debris on a drop cloth, out to the hallway, out of the house.
Licensed Plumber Half-Day — Supply, Drain, and Any Rerough
The licensed Washington L&I plumber handles the in-wall supply line work (any flex, extension, or shut-off swap), the drain rough-in or off-set rerough if the new sink does not align with the old, and the trap assembly install. Plumber leaves the rough capped and pressure-tested, ready for the cabinet set.
Scribe the New Cabinet to the Wall, Shim, Plumb, Secure
Dry-set the new vanity. Scribe the end panel to the wall with a compass transfer, sand to the line with a belt sander, dry-fit again. Shim the toe-kick to level on the actual floor, plumb the cabinet face with a 4-foot level, secure to the wall with the appropriate stud anchor or rated toggle.
Install Countertop, Sink, Faucet, and Mirror
Countertop set on the cabinet (stock top installs same day; templated quartz returns from the fabricator after 1 to 2 weeks). Sink set in the top — undermount epoxied and clamped from below for a templated stone top, drop-in laid in on a bead of silicone for a stock top. Faucet set on the deck. Mirror or medicine cabinet hung centered over the sink with a level reference, anchored into stud or rated toggle.
Leak-Check, Re-Caulk, Walkthrough
Plumber returns for final supply hookup and trap connection if templated top sequence required two visits, or final connection same-day on a stock top. Water back on, every connection leak-checked under the cabinet and at the supply stop. Final perimeter caulk in 100 percent silicone at every wet-zone joint. Walkthrough with the homeowner, punch-list review, before the 30-day workmanship guarantee starts.
Vanity Replacement Pricing
Final pricing is Handis labor plus countertop material plus the licensed plumber's separate invoice on the supply and drain scope. Stock cabinet-included combos finish cheaper and faster than templated stone tops. Off-set drain reroute adds plumber time. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send us the existing vanity width and the new cabinet spec — we will quote Handis carpentry and the plumber sub before booking.
Why Handis for Vanity Replacement
Every vanity we have ever pulled out had a soft spot somewhere on the cabinet bottom from a slow drip the homeowner never noticed. Every wall behind a vanity was at least a quarter-inch out of plumb on the run. Every drain stub came out of the wall just enough off-center from the new sink to need the plumber to flex the trap. Vanity replacement looks like a swap and reads like a swap on the website — the real work is the scribe to the wall, the level on the toe-kick, the honest plumber call when the new sink center moves three inches, and the silicone bead at the splash that does not pull away from the wall in six months. After enough vanities, every common failure mode has a fix in the truck and a named line on the quote.
Scribed end panels — no tapered caulk-fill at the wall
We scribe every cabinet end panel to the actual wall with a compass-scribe transfer and a belt sander before any cabinet goes to the wall for good. Bathroom walls are almost never plumb — a quarter-inch out across a 36-inch run is typical, half-inch is not unusual on older homes. The scribe closes the gap without a visible shim line and without a caulk-fill that reads as off in six months. The cabinet sits flush against the wall the entire run.
Honest plumber call on every rerough
Washington state requires licensed plumbing work on every change to in-wall supply or drain. Most vanity swaps move the sink at least a little — width change, sink offset on the new cabinet, center-vs-off-center sink position — and that triggers the licensed plumber's rerough scope. We are honest on the booking call about whether your specific swap finishes as a simple reconnect or needs the plumber's half-day on the rerough, and we name the plumber on the quote. No surprise bill mid-project.
Toe-kick shimmed to level on the actual floor
Bathroom floors slope. Tile sub-floors flex. Plywood under a 50-year-old linoleum is uneven. We shim the toe-kick on the new cabinet to level on the floor that actually exists, not the floor that the cabinet manufacturer assumed. The cabinet face plumbs up off a level toe-kick — the top sits flat, the doors hang square, and the drawer fronts close to the same reveal at the top and the bottom.
Templated tops measured after the cabinet is set
Templated quartz and stone tops measure to the cabinet as it actually sits, not to the cabinet drawing — the few sixteenths of an inch that the scribe and the shim added on either end show up correctly in the template and the top fits flush at every edge. We schedule the templater the day after the cabinet set so the top fabrication time is accurate and the install lands without a return trip for re-template.
Silicone perimeter — 100 percent silicone, not latex caulk
Every wet-zone perimeter joint — backsplash to wall, top to wall on the ends, sink to top on a drop-in install — gets 100 percent silicone (no latex caulk, ever, in a bathroom wet zone). Silicone bonds to glass, ceramic, quartz, and stone, stays flexible through humidity cycles, and does not bloom black mold the way latex does. Latex caulk in a wet zone is a six-to-twelve-month patch job; silicone is a seven-to-ten year seal.
Insured, background-checked, one-year project warranty
Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician is background-screened before the first job. The one-year project warranty covers our scope — cabinet set, scribe and plumb work, countertop install, sink and faucet install, mirror and medicine cabinet hang, and re-caulk. If a cabinet door sags out of square, an end panel pulls away from the wall, a re-caulked joint fails, or a mirror anchor loosens within the year, we come back and fix it at no extra charge. The licensed-plumber portion carries the plumber's own Washington L&I trade warranty on the supply and drain scope, named on the quote.
Estimate
Tell us the existing vanity width, the new cabinet width and brand (if you have picked one), the sink type (drop-in, undermount, or vessel), the countertop choice (stock, standalone, or templated quartz/stone), and any known constraints — an out-of-square corner, a tile floor you want to preserve, a previously leaking valve. We send a clear estimate with the licensed-plumber portion called out separately.
Customer Reviews
Vanity replacement reviews from real Handis customers.
1998 builder-grade 30-inch vanity in our hall bath, swapped for a 36-inch shaker-front with a quartz top. The new sink center landed three inches off the old drain so the plumber sub came in for half a day to off-set the trap. Handis ran the carpentry — scribed the end panel to the wall (which was 3/8 inch out of plumb across the run), set the cabinet level, installed the templated quartz top after the fab lead time. Total project ten days end-to-end, fixed price.
Master bath single-sink vanity replacement with a stock 48-inch standalone vanity from Wyndham. Same footprint as the old, sink centered the same place, so the plumber call was a simple reconnect — under the cabinet on the day of the install, no rerough. One and a half days, came in at the low end of the quote. The end panels are scribed perfectly to the walls on both ends.
Powder room vanity in our 1962 Bellevue split-level. 24-inch oak vanity from 1992 swapped for a custom 30-inch shaker. The bathroom corner is out-of-square by about 5 degrees, and the tech scribed the end panel and you cannot see a single shim line. The plumber came in for the off-set drain. Powder room looks new.
We found water damage when they pulled the old vanity — soft subfloor under a slow-dripping shut-off valve. They stopped, photographed, called us with the revised carpentry number and the plumber's revised number on the shut-off swap. We approved both, work resumed the next morning, no surprise on the final bill. That stop-and-call practice is why we will book Handis on the next project.
60-inch single-sink custom vanity in our 1929 Wallingford house — designed to sit in the original tile-floor footprint with the original 1929 plumbing rough that I refused to relocate. The carpentry guy scribed the end panel to a wall that is a half-inch out of plumb across the run; the plumber sub fitted the supply and drain to the existing rough-in. Looks like it was built into the house in 1929.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about same-footprint single-sink bathroom vanity replacement.