How to remove a bathroom vanity?

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Answer
Here are the key steps to remove a bathroom vanity:
  1. Turn off the water supply to the vanity by shutting off the angle stop valves under the sink. If there are no shut-off valves, you may need to turn off the main water supply to the house
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  2. Disconnect the drain pipe and remove the p-trap. This will likely be filled with water and debris, so be prepared for a mess3.
  3. Unscrew the water supply lines from the faucet at the top of the vanity. You may need to reach all the way into the cabinet to access these3.
  4. Remove the vanity top by unscrewing it from the cabinet base. This will make the remaining steps easier
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  5. If your pipes are tight to the vanity and you plan to move the plumbing, you can use a reciprocating saw to cut into the vanity around the pipes to remove the cabinet. Otherwise, you can unscrew the angle stop valves and remove the entire vanity
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  6. Locate and remove the screws holding the vanity base to the wall and floor. The vanity is usually just attached with a few screws in the corners3.
  7. Wiggle and pull out the vanity once the screws are removed. It may be stuck to the wall with caulk or adhesive3.
  8. If you turned off the main water supply, make sure to install caps on the exposed pipes before turning the water back on to avoid flooding3.
The key is to take your time, work carefully, and have the right tools on hand. Removing a vanity is a straightforward process but does require some plumbing work. Take proper precautions when dealing with water lines.




Author: The Nifty Nester



Key insights

  • ️ Upgrading the bathroom vanity and countertop can be a cost-effective way to refresh the entire room.
  • Disconnecting the water supply from the faucet is essential before removing the bathroom vanity and vanity top with sink.
  • Before disconnecting the water lines, double check the faucet to ensure that no water comes out.
  • It's important to have a plan for dealing with any water that may drip out when removing the inlet tube from the shutoff valve.
  • The first step in removing the vanity is to disconnect all the plumbing from the sink.
  • Breaking up the adhesive with a putty knife and hammer is an effective way to remove the backsplash from the drywall.
  • ️ Removing the screws from the back of the vanity allows for easy detachment from the wall, simplifying the removal process.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Learn how to disconnect the sink and remove the vanity and countertop in a bathroom makeover on a budget.
  • 00:42 Disconnect the water supply from the faucet underneath the sink by turning the shut off valves all the way to the right.
  • 01:03 Disconnect water lines, remove sink trap, and inlet tubes to remove bathroom vanity and vanity top with sink.
  • 02:08 Remove compression nut, pull inlet tube out of shutoff valve, place bucket underneath to catch water.
  • 02:28 Remove plumbing, separate countertop from wall and vanity by scoring silicone caulking with a utility knife.
  • 02:50 Use a putty knife and hammer to break apart the adhesive holding the backsplash and countertop in place, then pull them away from the drywall.
  • 03:38 Remove doors and drawers from the vanity, lift the countertop with help, and remove screws to detach the vanity from the wall.
  • 04:20 Found a hole in the floor under the bathroom vanity during renovation, stay tuned for more updates.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 In episode 5 of my bathroom makeover on a budget series. I'm going to show you guys how I disconnected the sink and removed the vanity and the countertop. I will link all of the supplies used down in the description box as well as links to the other episodes. In this series. This bathroom vanity and countertop are original to our 1980s home. I hated the way that it looked so a couple of years ago. I painted the countertop as well as the vanity to just help get us by for a couple of years but now that I'm doing the full bathroom renovation. It's time to go ahead and rip everything out the first thing.
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  • 00:42 I need to do is disconnect. The water supply from the faucet underneath your sink. You will see the drain as well as two water lines that feed the hot and the cold water to your faucet. You want to turn both of these shut off valves all the way to the right turning them clockwise until you've shut off the water.
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  • 01:03 Then before disconnecting the water lines go ahead and double check your faucet turning the hot and the cold water to make sure that nothing comes out. You'll want to place a trash can or a bucket underneath the sink trap. There's a slip nut and a washer on both sides of the sink trap turn. The slip nut on both ends of the sink trap counter-clockwise once you have both of the slip nuts loosened. The sink trap should easily pull off of the bottom of the sink make sure that you do this over your trash can or your bucket because there will be water in the sink trap and if you have a house full of girls with long hair. There will probably also be wads of hair in that sink trap which is really gross and what we had inside of ours. The next thing to do is to remove the inlet tubes which is where the hot and cold water are supplied to the faucet from the shut off valves take an adjustable wrench or a pair of pliers and turn the compression nut counter clockwise.
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  • 02:08 Once you have the compression nut completely loosened up you should be able to just bend or pull that inlet tube out of the shutoff valve. You'll want to make sure that you move your trash can or your bucket underneath the shutoff valve because there will probably be a little bit of water that drips out once you remove that tube and with that done.
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  • 02:28 I now have all of the plumbing disconnected from the wall to the sink with the plumbing all disconnected. Now. I just need to get the countertop separated from the wall and the vanity to do that. I'm gonna start off by taking my utility knife and score along the silicone caulking that's along the edges of the countertop and the backsplash.
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  • 02:50 Once. I had scored all of the caulking around the backsplash. I took a putty knife and a hammer and I used that hammer to push the putty knife down in between the backsplash and the drywall to break apart the adhesive that's holding it in place. Once. I had broken up enough of the adhesive the backsplash piece just pulled away from the drywall. Now this back portion of the backsplash is actually connected to the countertop so that one doesn't need to be removed by itself but as a whole with the countertop. I'm going to do this the same way by using my utility knife to score along the edges of the caulking and then using my hammer and my putty knife to help break up the adhesive that's keeping it attached to the drywall.
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  • 03:38 So at this point the countertop is completely separated from the drywall and from the vanity. But it's really heavy so to make it easier to reach underneath and get this thing lifted out. I went ahead and started removing all of the doors and the drawers from the vanity. Then because this countertop was pretty heavy. I had somebody come in and help me to lift the countertop up out of the vanity and move it out of the bathroom. Then the last thing you need to do is remove the screws that should be running along the back of the vanity where it's attached to the studs on the other side of the drywall. Once you have those screws removed the vanity should just pull right away from the wall.
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  • 04:20 I finally have all the demo work done and I can move along with this bathroom renovation and as always when you're renovating an older house you run into surprises. I found a hole in the floor underneath the bathroom vanity. I don't know what it's from but I know we'll have to figure out what to do about that. As we work on this renovation thank you guys so much for watching if you enjoyed. This video make sure to hit that like button subscribe to my channel and ring the bell for notifications so you don't miss any future content on this channel like the rest of the renovation that'll be coming in the very near future and until then you can check out. One of these videos linked right here you.
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