Moving Your Medicine Cabinet

 

LIZ: I have an old house and the bathroom has those tiles all the way around; you know, those square tiles. I want to bring down my medicine cabinet because all you can see is the top of your head.

 

LESLIE: (chuckling) OK.

 

TOM: (chuckling) OK.

 

LIZ: (chuckles) So, I wondered do I have to take off the tiles? There might be like three or four before this medicine cabinet goes down. Do I have to remove it?

 

TOM: Now, is it the kind of medicine cabinet, Liz, that’s set into the wall?

 

LIZ: Yes.

 

TOM: Alright. Well, it’s a fairly big job, so let me tell you …

 

LESLIE: Mm-hmm, and there’s going to be a repair above where now you have the hole where it used to be.

 

TOM: Exactly. So let me tell you the steps. First of all, you’re going to have to remove the old medicine cabinet out of the wall so you can kind of have plenty of room to work.

 

LESLIE: Yeah.

 

TOM: Then, to lower it, I’ll give you one trick of the trade …

 

LIZ: I have to get another one. I have to get a new one because this is all corroded, right?

 

TOM: OK, well go ahead and get a new one.

 

LIZ: Yes.

 

TOM: But to lower it, get it down further, one of the ways that I might think about doing that is to use a tool called a RotoZip. A RotoZip kind of looks a bit like a router and a bit like a drill and what it does is it actually can carve right through that tile. It’s a great tool for plumbers or anybody that has to sort of cut a small hole out of tile. It kind of works like a router and it will just saw right through that stuff. And I would use a RotoZip and saw out the old tile to the new opening size to get the new medicine cabinet in.

 

You may also – above where the tile ends, you may have to pack that out a little bit because, remember, the tile is going to be about a quarter-inch thicker than the wall above it; so you may have to offset that. And then, on top of the medicine cabinet – assuming you don’t have one that’s taller than what you had – you’re going to have a hole, as Leslie said before, that you’re going to have to fill in and that can be accomplished simply by cutting a piece of drywall to fit and taping and spackling it.

 

LIZ: Oh, OK.

 

TOM: So you know, it’s a lot of work. You might just want to think about buying a stool. It’s probably a lot easier. (Tom and Leslie chuckle)

 

LIZ: Oh, no. (chuckles)

 

LESLIE: Wear more high heels.

 

TOM: That’s right.

 

LIZ: (laughing) You’re really supposed to look at half your body in a medicine cabinet, not the top of your head. Plus it’s got a high ceiling, so …

 

TOM: Well, that’s what you’re up against, Liz. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.