Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Medicine Cabinet

For Christmas this year, I got Dan an unusual gift. It came in a big box and he probably thought it was more stuff to brew his own beer. *Poor guy.*

Now I don't usually buy Christmas gifts that result in work for the recipient, but this was different.

I bought Dan a medicine cabinet.

There's a good reason why: Dan keeps all his toiletries in a travel bag and it looks for all the world like he is ready to dash out the door at any minute. His job used to require him to travel more but his new position allows him to stay closer to home.

In fact, when he held his last position, I hated to see that travel bag because it meant a few days without Dan. It made me sad.

Sooooo... When I was meandering around Lowe's this past winter, I found a medicine cabinet and I immediately thought of how much happiness it would bring me him if he could put his stuff in it.

And then I could burn the travel bag. :)

Now before I tell you about the installation, let me show you this cabinet. Looks like a regular cabinet, right? (Here's the part where you humor me and say, "Yes, by jove, it DOES look like a regular old cabinet.")

Well, this cabinet has a secret... it is DOUBLE the depth of most cabinets. You know how some cabinets have that tiny shelf and you're supposed to perch a little tube of toothpaste on it in some precarious position and quickly shut the door before it falls out?

That ain't gonna happen with this one.

This cabinet LOOKS like a wall hanging one, but it has an additional FOUR INCHES behind it which fits nicely behind the drywall and between two studs.


Here's how the installation went: First, I took a pic of Dan. He's smiling but he's saying, "Honey, will you please stop taking so many pictures of me?" And I said no.

And then I took a pic of myself in the mirror while he was busy working.


Here's the before...


Here's the hubs cutting the drywall.


And once that drywall got the message about who was boss, Dan pushed the cabinet into the slot, secured it with some screws into the side studs and put the door on the cabinet.


And then we had this:


But when you opened it up, it was this:


Project: Medicine Cabinet Summary

The project took less than 2 hours to complete. It was relatively easy to complete on a Saturday morning.

The tools required for this job were relatively simple: A power drill and a saw. Dan will say that the cutting took longer than he thought-- took a bit of elbow grease.

The cost was relatively inexpensive (as home projects go).
There was the cost of the cabinet itself plus the screws to hold it into the studs. About $100.

This project was particularly dusty. I wouldn't want little hands getting into it. However, it was perfectly safe for the squirts to visit Daddy once in a while while he worked on the project.