We got one of those bathroom drug boxes. Its the kind that goes on the top of the wall. When I screwed it on the wall there were no 2x4s behind the wall so its just screwed to the thin paneling. There are 4 screws. Is this strong enough? The box is 15wide x 24high and sticks out 4 1/2 inches.
At 15" wide, you will have hard time finding a stud. There is usually 14
1/2" between them and mot sinks/medicine cabinets are centered over the opening so a recessed cabinet can be installed, as well as running the sink plumbing.To answer your question, it all depends. It may or may not hold up depending on what is in it, how hard you open or close the door, etc. I'd try to put one or two anchors into the drywall for extra security. There are many types that will work from the toggle bold to the tap in types that expand when you screw into them.
Get "Molly" bolts, a.k.a. drywall anchors
I don't think mollys will work for thin paneling. Another solution is to span some 1x3's across from stud to stud, and then fasten the cabinet to the wood.
How much does it weigh. How much do the drugs weigh?
You've done it already, so I'd use it and see if it ever becomes loose. If it does, then use one of the better methods suggested here. (It may come loose in a week or not for years or anywhere in between.)
I guess I wouldn't wait until it fell off the wall, but that's another technique used by some.
Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.
Actually the short grip range mollies are about the best anchor there is for paneling.
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 16:09:40 -0500, mm wrote:
That reminds me of something I ran across many years back when I lived in a city. I worked for a rental company doing plumbing and occasionally other repairs for them. I went to one of their apartments, intending to fix a few minor plumbing problems. I knock on the door and the lady lets me in. I walk into the kitchen and see a baby in a high chair sitting directly beneath a hanging open, large kitchen cabinet door, barely hanging by only the lower hinge. I was so shocked, I just said "move your kid". She just gave me a stupid look and said "is she in your way?" I said, "no, that door is going to fall on her and kill her". The woman gave me a real unconcerned look and said "thats been like that for weeks".
About that moment, I grabbed the high chair and moved the baby. I opened my toolbox and removed the door. The lady starts getting an attitude, like "I hope you are going to put that back on". I just called the owner and asked him if he wanted me to get new hinges and repair it, or he wanted to get his carpenter guy over there. He said he had more plumbing for me to do and would get the carpenter to take care of it. I told him to talk to the lady and handed the phone to her.
Just to explain the danger, this was an old house with those large, heavy kitchen cabinet doors made out of hardwood with a large pane of thick glass. The door was about 2 feet wide and 42 inches high. I estimate the door was over 40 lbs. It had a broken top hinge and ready to break bottom hinge. The door was hanging open with the baby's head directly below the lowest corner of this hanging door.
Just how stupid can some people be?
The owner of those buildings used to tell me to write down problems when I found them in his buildings, whether they were building issues, or bad tenant related. As soon as I got home, I typed out a complaint about this one and mailed it to him, even though I had talked to him about it. I wanted to tell him that I put the door in the basement anyhow, because I figured it would get broke in the house. His tenants were all "ghetto types" and were really careless. He actually liked it when I sent him complaints becase that gave him a better idea which tenants were the problem ones. He had about 140 units, and they were all rented as government paid low income (ghetto) houses. He could not keep up on all of them, so his workers (like myself) had to watch things for him. This was the most dangerous job I ever worked too. I had guns pointed at me, walked into drug houses, and never quite knew what I was going to run across. Heck, one time he told me the water bill was outrageous in one of his houses. I went into the house and heard rushing water in the basement. I go down there and find the water heater is tipped over with a broken pipe and 6 inches of water in the whole basement with the floor drain mostly clogged. It turned out some kids were living in the basement, and using it for gang fights. Thats how the water heater got knocked over, along with a nearby wall. So I go to another room in the basement to shut off the water main, and find a young couple having sex on an old bed in the middle of all this water. That had to be about the most bizarre case yet...
This job is what finally made me leave the city and become a farmer, and I know that was the right thing I did.
Mark
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.