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I am finishing up a cabinet that will mount on the wall above a toilet. It is about 32" high by 20" wide by 7" deep. The studs in the wall are arranged such that only 1 will be available for mounting at about 8" from the left side of the cabinet. What would be the best way to mount this cabinet?

while remodeling our kitchen we ran into this situation, my solution was to counter sink 2 1x4x1/2 into the wall that span 2 studs and cover it with 1/4 inch dry wall .

depends on how deep you want to get into it ,how thick the dry wall is behind it,,, or the material the walls are made from.

I have seen others run 2 1x4 behind the cabinet . one on top and one on bottom that spans 2 studs

or you could use wall anchors , but there isn't any guarantee they will hold .

good luck

You could use the cleat system, it just would not be flat against the wall.

You didn't give us much detail to go on.

If the cabinet is just going to have normal things like TP, paper towels, tooth paste, hair spray, you know stuff like that it is not likely going to be all that much weight. If you are going to store heavy stuff then it might be another story.

You did not mention the construction of the cabinet, if the back is say 1/2" plywood that is a lot different then just frame and open back.

How well the back is attached can be another issue, assuming it has a back.

So despite the missing information you did give us the measurements so I did a very ruff sketch to get the feel for what you have.
It is pretty clear to me that if it has a back that is well attached and at least 1/4" thick plywood and if it will be a reasonable uniform load then just screw it to the 2x4 with cabinet head screws like maybe 4 or 5 places and you are good to go.

Ed

Another option: Remove drywall behind where cabinet will hang, from one existing stud to within an inch or so of edge of cabinet on right side, top and bottom. Sounds like the next stud is maybe 5" away from edge of drywall opening (or up to 13" away if studs are 24" oc.) Add horizontal 2x blocking between studs at top, bottom. Replace drywall, but finishing not required. Mount cabinet to existing stud near left edge, and to blocking between the studs.

If you are concerned about left side not being supported near left edge, remove more drywall to within an inch of left side of cabinet, notch the existing stud to allow blocking to cantilever over that last 8 inches.

I do this for a living. Like reible (Ed) said if your planning on storing towels, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, ect. You should be fine just installing a 2 1/2" screw on the top and bottom of the cabinet on the stud.

You could mount on the wall a suitable piece of plywood just smaller than the cabinet for a beveled cleat at the top, to which you would mount the opposing cleat on the cabinet.

Use as many construction screws (or even recessed bolts) as needed to secure the plywood to the single wall stud, and add additional anchors in the sheetrock to hold the plywood if desired.

Your cleat can hold the weight, and the plywood base will allow you to mount the cabinet with whatever additional screws you might desire to keep it flush to the wall.

It should be strong enough to hold the cabinet and the sorts of things you might place in it inside a bathroom - cleansers, shampoo, conditioners, paper goods etc.

Everett

Thanks for all of the replies. I strongly prefer not to open up the wall to add additional supporting members unless absolutely necessary. Reible's drawing is cortect - thanks for that. The cabinet does have a 1/2" plywood back that is firmly integrated with dadoes. It weighs about 23 pounds empty. I was not sure if 2 or 3 screws along a single stud would be acceptable but it sounds like it will be given it will only be used for typical lightweight bathroom items. I also considered the various cleat ideas offered here but my preference is to mount it flush to the wall.

mountainbreeze wrote:Thanks for all of the replies. I strongly prefer not to open up the wall to add additional supporting members unless absolutely necessary. Reible's drawing is cortect - thanks for that. The cabinet does have a 1/2" plywood back that is firmly integrated with dadoes. It weighs about 23 pounds empty. I was not sure if 2 or 3 screws along a single stud would be acceptable but it sounds like it will be given it will only be used for typical lightweight bathroom items. I also considered the various cleat ideas offered here but my preference is to mount it flush to the wall.

Is it not uncommon for many of us (especially me) to use more screws than are necessary. It is hard to accept (trust) than a couple small screws can hold so much weight. The shelf that I have all of my small miscellaneous hardware stored on is held to the wall with three screws through a 1/2" back. I did make absolutely certain that they hit studs (in comes a good stud finder).

https://www.grainger.com/product/24A378 ... 18125417:s

As Woodchuck has said two 2 1/2" screws is more than sufficient. Those two screws will hold over 100 lbs of shear weight. Dusty is correct that most people over do the screws when hanging upper cabinets. If you have any doubts go out to the garage and screw a 2X4 to the wall with two screws with 1" to 1 1/2" of penetration into the stud and then hang on it. It will support your weight and more !
Paul