# Vanity pulling away from wall



## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

I was cleaning my master bath double vanity and noticed a gap only on the left side. Both the vanity and the counter have pulled away from the wall. It looks like the glue that holds the vanity pieces together to form a box came loose by the wall. Is this caused by the expansion of the joists from hot/cold weather? How can I fix this? 

I want to make sure it's nothing serious.

Left side only is pulling away. Jacuzzi to left of vanity.









Right side is fine. 









Close up.


















The house had a lot of moisture last summer from not running the AC, combined w running the heat all winter.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Looks like people are sitting on it, which is causing it to pull away. If I had to make a wild guess, the screws holding the cabinet are only attached to drywall and air.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

Nobody has sat on it since I bought it a year ago it but it has been leaned against. It looks like there's 3 screws holding this one vanity on the left side in. 

You can see the screw that holds the side in here along w how the vanity is coming apart.









2nd screw is behind the sink.









The 3rd one is just in the side and goes into the jacuzzi frame.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

Eventually I'm going to replace this vanity but I was interested to see if there's any fixes aside from pulling the entire counter and vanity?


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

I agree with gregzoll's "wild guess". Find the studs and put a screw in them. I'll bet if you put a screwdriver on the screws in the area where it's pulled away, they'd just spin.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

That's what I thought too, but when I checked the screws.. All 3 were in so tight I couldn't even turn them anymore. 

The back of the vanity looks to be flush w the wall, it's almost like the movement of the wall is bringing the back of the vanity w it and the side glue finally gave.

This is the best pic I could get showing the back of the vanity flush w the wall










It also looks like they screwed into the stud, since I have a nail pop on the wall directly above.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Looks like they just filled the gap between vanity and wall with some caulking. After a few times of leaning on it, the caulk has given way. It's definitely likely that the sink is not properly attached to the vanity allowing that movement. Once you get everything properly attached I would simply put a piece of matching trim in that gap between vanity and wall and re-caulk the gap between sink and wall.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

It does seem like they mounted to the studs. I think the problem may be that 3rd side screw. There's two screws that hold the vanity to the wall from what looks like studs.

But they also used a 3rd screw on the left side to brace the vanity to the jacuzzi frame. I think this 3rd screw isn't allowing movement (back/forth) when the wood expands/contracts.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

Gymschu said:


> Looks like they just filled the gap between vanity and wall with some caulking. After a few times of leaning on it, the caulk has given way.


You can see the 'notch' of caulk in this pic, and how far it's moved from the tile. The back of the vanity is flush w the wall but the side has separated due to the glue coming apart.

Not sure if this is from house settling or moisture. The only fix I can see would be to pull the entire vanity to glue it back together since nothing will easily move right now.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

You can get a whole new cabinet, keep the existing top & faucets. A decent cabinet can be had for around $80. If you want a durable cabinet that is going to last, they can be anywhere from $150 to $500.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

From the looks of the first picture the back is attached to the wall but the vanity has pulled loose from the back because the floor at the front of the vanity is lower.
Throw a level on your floor and check it.And throw a framing square against the floor and wall at the side of the vanity.
Edit: first pic in second post.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Mako1 is on the right track....
Actually the cabinet was installed wrong, they put the screws in the wrong place. Then add in the floor as mako1 said and you have have what you have. 
You can't rely on a kick plate shims must be used. You can't put screws through the flimsy back, they must go through the wood framing.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Looking at it again (post 3 pic 1) it looks like the vanity itself is falling apart rather than the whole unit pulling away from the wall.


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## cjaustin81 (Sep 4, 2014)

You guys are all right on the money. Vanity looks like it's falling apart. It has slight water damage inside of it, bet that was just enough to weaken the cheap particle board. 

Thanks for all the help!


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

cjaustin81 said:


> It does seem like they mounted to the studs. I think the problem may be that 3rd side screw. There's two screws that hold the vanity to the wall from what looks like studs.
> 
> But they also used a 3rd screw on the left side to brace the vanity to the jacuzzi frame. I think this 3rd screw isn't allowing movement (back/forth) when the wood expands/contracts.


It may also be that movement of the jacuzzi frame is pulling the vanity off the wall? Remove that screw and see what happens.


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