Top 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Bathroom Vanities

UPDATE: We invite you to view our YouTube Channel featuring videos such as How To Open, Inspect & Store a Bathroom Vanity Cabinet to see what a cabinet delivery on a pallet really looks like and How to Open a James Martin Quartz Countertop Box

When you purchase a vanity or item through BathVanityExperts.com, you are not only getting a great item at a great price, your order is also backed by our team of knowledgable customer service experts. We can assist you if there are any problems with your shipment or product, before, during and after installation.

As you shop for a vanity you are more than welcome to contact us here via e-mail, via live chat in the lower right corner of the site or at 888-409-2284 and one of our salespeople can take a look at your current building plans or a photo of the space you are installing the vanity. We can help you decide which vanity will be the best for your space and help you avoid wasting time and money ordering something that might not be a good fit or will require thousands of dollars of unexpected labor and materials to make it fit correctly.

1. The photos you see of vanities online are usually not plumbed - Suppose you have fallen in love with a great pedestal vanity or floating vanity and it looks really clean and modern and you order it. You get word from your plumber that the vanity is done and you rush home after work to see your completed bathroom. You walk in and see hoses and valves and pipes going in all directions under what was supposed to be your gorgeous, clean, modern vanity. Always be sure to think about where your drain line is and the hot/cold valves for the faucet. A good contractor or plumber can minimize the visual impact of these, but don’t forget to factor this in when looking at photos of vanities online.

2. The height and positioning of your existing plumbing might not work with a vanity you like without having to be moved - Similar to item #1 here, we have seen so many cases where a customer fell in love with a vanity where the cabinet was designed to be floating off the floor, or has an open shelf at the bottom for baskets/towels but their drain line and water supply valves are only about 12 inches off the finished floor. To make the vanity look and function how it is supposed to, the existing pipes need to be moved up. If it’s new construction and the walls are open, this is not too expensive. If the walls are closed up and even worse, if they are already tiled, this can be an unexpected big cost to you and more billing for a contractor. Always think about the height and left-right positioning of your pipes and valves relative to the vanity.

3. Make sure your vanity/top will fit through your bathroom door and at the correct angle - We have had many a panicked phone call from a customer who ordered up a vanity only to have a problem when the time came to put the vanity into the bathroom. Some doors have door jams that are more narrow than average, or perhaps the door is wide enough but the room is laid out in such a way that the cabinet might not fit in the space. Good contractors can make magic happen (removing doors/trim, tilt cabinets sideways etc) but always consider the full path the cabinet or tub needs to take when being brought into the bathroom (including all doorways, halls, turns, stairs etc) so you are confident something you order is going to fit in the room.

4. Not all espressos are created equal (Nor are all whites, greys or grey oaks for that matter.) - We have been selling vanities for almost a decade we can tell you which manufacturers have espresso that is a chocolate brown stain, a chocolate brown paint or a solid paint that almost looks black. Photos of espresso cabinets can vary quite a bit from photos vs real life. The same holds true for other colors such as white (is it bright white, flat white, off-white, french white etc) grey, grey oak and more. Don’t just mix and match espressos from different models without talking to the experts first. We can help you understand the different between each manufacturer and even the differences inside one particular brands different models and lines.

5. Your floors will get thicker and walls will get smaller as construction moves along - We have had customers with really tight width or height tolerances forget to factor in things like cement board/thin-set and tile thickness as well as drywall and wall tile thickness when measuring for a vanity. Baseboards further compress the area you have to work with and don't forget that corners or alcoves are not always square. Sometimes a side-wall can flare in or our leaving unexpected gaps. Be sure you know what your true finished dimensions are when making your product selections.

6. Your drains don’t have to line up exactly with the sink centers - Take a look under most kitchen and bathroom sinks and you will often find that the hoses and drain pipes/p-traps don’t go right into the back wall (or floor if it’s an exterior wall and you live in an area that gets cold). As long as your drain/water lines fall within the cabinet area of your vanity and don’t impede on the dividing walls between drawers and doors, a good plumber or contractor should have little to no problem hooking up your pluming.

7. Some countertops require more maintenance than others - As a general rule, most natural stone countertops (marble, travertine, granite, limestone) are porous and need to be sealed. Most vanity factories claim their countertops are sealed but we recommend that you seal the stone before use and then monitor the performance of the sealer and re-seal every 6-months to a year. Quartz and man-made stone countertops usually do not need to be sealed and neither do ceramic, glass or acrylic tops. Regardless of which top you have for your vanity and sinks, a mild non-abrasive soap and soft cloth should be used for cleaning. Avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive pads that can damage the surface.

8. Vessel sinks can look stylish but most of them do not have overflow holes - If you are the type who is forgetful or you are renovating a bathroom for a rental property and are considering a vessel sink, we highly recommend you either put a drain such as a grid drain that is not closable, or switch to sinks with overflow holes. This way if you, your family or a potential tenant forgot the water running with the drain closed, the sink will not fill up and spill on the floor and flood your bathroom, home and potentially any downstairs neighbors.

9. Know what a laminated/mitered/bullnosed edge is - Many people who shop for vanities online may not be aware that a large percentage of the thick looking stone countertops they are seeing on top of cabinets are not actually that thick. What the manufacturer does is uses a thin sheet of stone for the countertop and glues on edges to the permitter of the stone to make it appear thicker. It’s a common industry practice and does not necessarily look bad however it is something you should be aware of. If you want to avoid having a laminated/mitered/bullnosed edge on your countertop, call us and we can let you know which models have and don't have this type of top and which ones you can order with no top in case you want to have your own countertop made locally.

10. Are you putting a vanity with legs or a floating vanity in place of a built in that was not installed on top of the tile? - If you have your eyes set on a vanity that is on legs or is floating on the wall and are pulling out an old built in vanity and want to keep the existing tile in your bathroom, you may want to reconsider. Unless you have some spare tiles that are an exact match to the existing tile on the floor, you are going to have to pull out all of your floor tile and replace it if you do not put a new vanity in that has the same size footprint. We have had many phone calls from customers looking for a flat vanity with a unique sized footprint. This is because they tore out their old one and want to find a direct replacement so they don’t have to re-tile the floor. Unless they are extremely lucky, the odds of them finding an exact fit to the old space, are slim to none.

We hope this list of 10 things you need to know in advance when shopping has helped you. There are many more little details to consider and we are here 24/7/365 via live chat below or at 888-409-2284 to answer any questions you might have.