Concern about weight on wall-mounted bathroom vanity

last month

last modified: last month

Hi everyone,
Today someone came to my place to fix the medicine cabinet in my bathroom. While working on the top part of the cabinet, he put one foot on a chair (using it as a ladder) and the other foot on my wall-mounted bathroom vanity. Now I’m worried about whether the vanity (about 48 inches long) can support that kind of weight. Could this cause any damage or loosen the mounting? Should I have it checked?

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PRO

Joseph Corlett, LLC

last month

If you can't stand on your floating vanity, it's not installed properly.

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Comments (9)

PRO
PPF.
last month
Depends on the vanity and how it's mounted.

Are there any signs that it has moved?
HU-994110658
Original Author
last month
Hi PPF. Thanks for your comment. What kinds of signs should I watch out for? And, if nothing seems off right now, is there still a chance it could loosen or shift gradually over time?
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Kendrah
last month
That was a really uncool way and unprofessional way for someone to do their work. It could have put stress and strain on the wall and / or fasterners. A lot of it depends too on how it was mounted, whether there was blocking it was mounted to. I don't know that there is any way to tell if it will compromise the support down the road. I'd just do my best to lift the bottom edge of the vanity upwards to see if there is wiggle room in it.

I have put off so many projects because I feel like every time I have a worker come to my house something else gets broken.
chispa
last month
last modified: last month
This is why I have my own step-ladders at home. If a worker doesn't have one I offer one of mine. There is no way I would have allowed a worker to put a foot on a chair or a floating vanity.
dani_m08
last month
last modified: last month
I had an 82" floating vanity installed - however, the way the contractor attached it to the wall with strong metal supports attached to studs that hold up all of the weight of the thick mitered countertop + metal supports for the actual vanity + added extra support underneath in the back (you can't see the extra support under the back of the vanity unless you put your head down on the floor and looked under the vanity), I think two men could stand on it without it doing anything to the vanity.

The contractor added more support than needed - but I didn't want to have an issue in case someone decided to step/sit on it or lean against it for some reason.

You need to know how the vanity was installed. However, if it's not moving at all when you try to make it move a little, it's probably fine.

It was very unprofessional for a contractor to not bring a step stool/small ladder with him.
chispa
last month
True, but that is the problem, most people don't know if theirs was installed properly, so why take the risk and let a worker stand on it. Better safe than sorry!
gardener123
last month
Joe, good to see you dancing up there!
Darren Cole
last month
That probably didn’t cause serious damage if the vanity was properly anchored to studs, but it’s not ideal to stand on it. You can check for signs of stress, gaps between the vanity and wall, loose caulking, or any movement when you press down. If it feels solid and level, you’re likely fine. If there’s any wobble or cracking, have a handyman or installer take a quick look to be safe.