In a bathroom I'm remodeling there is a wall -to-wall vanity, with a
recessed medicine cabinet and electrical
on the partition at one end. The electrical (switches and a receptical) are
below the medicine
cabinet. I want to put a medicine cabinet and an outlet on the opposite
wall, thus
I need to pick up power at the existing light switches and receptical, run
them up to the attic,
and drop down to the new outlet below the new medicine cabinet at the right
end.

I had assumed that the existing wiring would drop down between the same
studs that
the medicine cabinet is mounted between. Instead, I find that there is a
crossbrace above and below
the medicine cabinet, and the wiring comes down from the attic between the
left adjacent stud space, and through
a hole drilled in the stud to reach the electricals.

Why was it done that way? Is there something wrong with just running the
wires in the same stud space as
the medicine cabinet? If I could do it that way it would make my task a lot
easier. There's about 1 1/4"
between the steel back of the medicine cabinet and the gyp-board lath of the
opposite wall, so i don't see
the problem. OTOH, if I can't do that I will have to break out a lot of
plaster in order to drill through
studs etc.

TIS

Ed