There’s always that fear of the unknown – what’s in my walls? What if I find a stud where I want to place my cabinet? How do I determine the right height? These are all very good questions, and just the thought of cutting a hole in an otherwise perfect wall can cause stress for some people. But actually, installing a recessed product is quite simple. You’ll need a few tools to do it. Gather up a stud finder, a wallboard saw and tape measure. First, you need to determine the area where you want the product to go. If you are unsure and wish that you could visualize it, try this tip: Take some newspaper and cut a piece the size of the product that you are installing. Use painter’s tape (so it will easily remove without destroying your wall) to tape it to the wall where you think you want the cabinet to go. Now take a step back and look at your work. Does it look like the right height to you? Can you still reach everything? Are there any obstacles such as light switches nearby? Also be sure of what is on the wall in the room on the OPPOSITE side of that wall. Walls are two sided and they share the same stud bays. So while there may not be a plug or switch or plumbing in the room you’re in, there may be on the other side.
Once you determine where you want it, now you need to see what will be required to put it there. Use your stud finder to determine where the studs are in the wall. Mark them with painter’s tape. Now for the really stressful part – cut a hole in the wall at least 6 inches square. This should give you ample room to see inside with a flashlight and put your hand in to feel where the studs are. Then you’ll know if you can place the product there and just how easy or difficult it will be. Even if you find a stud in your way, that’s not a major obstacle. Check with a contractor or someone with knowledge and be sure that you are not cutting into a load-bearing wall. Typically walls around a bathroom are not. You can cut through a stud using a recriprocating saw. Rent one if you don’t have one, there’s no need to buy one you will never use again! The blades of these saws along with how they work allows you to cut through the stud and not harm the wallboard on the other side of the wall. If there’s no stud in the way, measure and draw the rough opening size you need on the wall. Then you can just use the wallboard saw to cut the opening you need. Most of our products are designed to be installed in the wall by only using construction adhesive on the back side of the frame which goes around the product. That way, it doesn’t matter if there is a stud near it to screw it to, plus you don’t have to look at the ugly screws!