Between-The-Studs Bathroom Cabinet.

11 years ago

I used to be a frequent participant on this forum, but as our house has gotten (close) to where we want it to be, I've kind of drifted away. But now I'm back!

I would like to redo our upstairs bath which has the original hex tile floor, the original cast iron apron-style tub, and the original marble-walled shower. The toilet has been replaced, and the old wall-hung (I think) sink was replaced with an awful cheap vanity with a cream formica top and a powder blue lavatory bowl. The medicine cabinet has been replaced with a mirror that swings open (I'm pretty sure the old one was framed in the style found throughout the house.) Last and worst, the white subway tile has been removed, I believe all the plaster was removed and replaced with marine drywall, and cobalt blue, square tiles were put on the wall.

I would LOVE to take down that tile and put my white subway tile up again, but that's not on the table right now. I'm going to replace the vanity with a pedestal sink (maybe; I don't know what the floor looks like under there). We are going to lose nearly all of our in-bathroom storage when the vanity goes. I would like to get a carpenter to cut through the drywall (maybe it's still plaster) between two studs and build in a shallow closet for shelves. I would hope it would be deep enough to store an extra roll of toilet paper, some cleaning supplies, that kind of thing. We have a built-in linen closet in the hall outside the bathroom, so I can show the carpenter exactly what I'd like; it would blend in very nicely.

My question is: Is this doable? What do you think?

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Comments (8)

greg_2015
11 years ago
I don't think you'd get a roll of toilet paper in there. A wall is only 3.5" thick.
emmarene9
11 years ago
Unless there is something special about your house I do not think it could work. I have a medicine cabinet that is recessed and when I take it out to paint I can see the area, it is shallow. Since your house is older maybe your walls are different. I am in a Mid century cottage.
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weedyacres
11 years ago
Can you have the cabinet protrude beyond the wall, so it's not just the 3.5" + 1/2" drywall + 3/4" face frame? If your TP is >4.75" in diameter, that would be an option. Or just live with the TP hanging out a bit (if you won't put a door on it).
vjrnts
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Weedy! Weren't you getting a small house ready for tenants, and trying to do things right, but reasonably inexpensively? How that that work out?

I DO want a door on the cabinet. I don't know how much space I've got; there is a vent in the wall, so I'm going to attempt to stick something in there, straight back, to get an idea of the depth. Even if I can't store TP, I might be able to fit a can of Scrubbing Bubbles.
rgress
11 years ago
I did something like this in a bathroom. For a 2 x 4 wall I used 1 x 6 boards to frame in the opening then around that I put trim like around a doorway. For the door I used mdf that I routered around the edges. To connect the door to 1 x 6 I used a piano hinge.

The biggest problem would be if there is plumbing or electrical in the cavity.
weedyacres
11 years ago
VJ: yeah, we've rehabbed a small house, but ended up staying in it, not selling/renting it. There are some photos in our blog of some bathroom storage we did. Tiny Old Bathroom
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StarCraft Custom Builders
11 years ago
We do it all the time. Putting an in-wall cabinet behind the bath door is a good use of otherwise unused space. The actual depth of the cabinet ends up about 5.0 to 5.5 inches, which is deep enough for toilet paper unless you buy the super fat rolls.
Vith
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I recessed a medicine cabinet that was 'supposed' to be wall mounted, just framed for it and shimmed plumb and screwed into predrilled and countersunk holes, similar to window installation. Then I used joint compound over the screws and painted it. Then I drywalled up to the edge of it and caulked around it then painted to finish it out. Inside of my cabinet was white so it was easy to just paint white where needed, would be harder with a wood finish, possibly just leave the fasteners visible.

Has to be installed during framing and take thickness of the drywall into account when recessing.