DaddyMonkey wrote:

I've run into a problem on my bathroom remodelling project and I'd like
your input.
Here's the situation...

The house is a1982 tri-level with 2 1/2 baths. The old medicine cabinet
was about 14' tall by 26" wide, with sliding doors. The new cabinet
rough-in is
24" tall by 14" wide (hinged door).
And the wall that the cabinet will fit in has 2X6 wall studs.

My problem is that ONE of the wall studs will have to be cut to frame in
the new cabinet, but behind this wall is the second full bath (master).
This master bath has a shower that is tiled with wire-mesh and mortar
and the wire-mesh is stapled onto the stud that I need to cut.

I am afraid that if I cut this 2x6 wall stud to frame-in the new
medicine cabinet that I will disturb or break the tile for the master
bathroom shower... and this is the only full bathroom left in the house.

I am thinking of taking a jig-saw and notching-out the 2x6 wall stud so
that I can frame-in the new medicine cabinet with 2x4's. This will
leave some of the wall stud undisturbed in the master bath shower. Is
this a good idea or bad?

I really, really appreciate everyones input!


Thank you,
Dave


OK, I am not understanding this very well, or you have made an input
error. It seems to me that if the old opening is 14" tall x 26" wide
(and I am assuming that you meant 14" and not 14'), then the new cabinet
will fit width wise due to it being only 14" wide. Why would you have
to cut a stud?

If you do have to cut the stud for some reason that I cannot comprehend,
then I would use a hand saw to cut to the depth of a 2x4, then use a
chisel to split out the pieces (do this with a downward blow on the
chisel and use no more force than is absolutely necessary). The closer
you make your hand saw cuts, the easier this will be. If you absolutely
cannot get any hand saw or rat tail saw in to make these cuts, then you
may try a variable speed jig saw at a slow speed.

Don't apply a lot of pressure to the saw (forcing it into the wood).
Take your time and let the saw teeth do their job.

You should be fine.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX