Thanks for sticking around for Day 2 of our Kitchen Demolition. If you are just joining us, you can go to the beginning here.
Day One of demo we spent removing the flooring. Day two is all about the cabinets.
Removing the kitchen cabinets during our kitchen demolition really opened up the room and got us excited for our new space. There are multiple ways of removing cabinets, but the key point is, it’s not as hard as it looks.
Timeline
Here is where we left off from Day 1.
Fortunately for us, our neighbor was looking for cabinets for his cabin and most of our cabinets were salvageable. He even offered to help take them down.
- First, we removed the upper cabinets. They were custom built so they came down in chunks as you can see in the picture.
- We left the cabinet doors on.
- The hardest part was not scratching the fridge when taking the upper cabinets down. (Remember, we cannot move the fridge too far because of the water component that would be disconnected later by the plumber.)
- We used an electric drill to unscrew all the visible screws and a screwdriver for the harder-to-reach ones.
- Then, we disconnected the garbage disposal and sink components from the wall and unscrewed the sink from the countertops.
- And then with a tap of the sledgehammer we separated the sink.
- We removed the kitchen faucet from the sink and put in in our re-use pile in the garage.
Sink definitely went to the dumpster.
- By easily unscrewing a few screws underneath, we separated the laminate counter top from the lower cabinets. We were able to take the old laminate out in sections to our dumpster.
- And finally, we removed the lower cabinets, which took a little wiggling to break free from the floor. (We did take the drawers out first).
We let my neighbor decide where to make the saw cut to divide up the lower cabinets into movable sections. He would need to get creative in putting it back together, but that’s another story.
- Lastly, we unscrewed and pry-ed up the plywood that had been under the cabinets and we removed a hundred more staples.
End of Day 2
With the cabinets hauled away and the kitchen space more open, we ended the night envisioning a much more wonderful and efficient space.
Cabinet and Counter Top Demolition Tips
Here is what I learned:
- Cabinet Demolition technique will be dependent on what you do with the cabinets. Easiest way to take them down is to unscrew them, but a sledgehammer may do the trick as well.
- Cabinets, especially if wooden, are heavy and require a bit of muscle. But you really only need 2 people for the job, one to hold the cabinet and the other to use the drill.
- By donating the cabinets to our neighbor, we had ample space in our dumpster, which we did fill up almost completely!
- Our counter top broke at the sink; there was no need to have to cut it.
- Our faucet was only a few years old and was easily cleaned up and put back in our new kitchen.
Tools Used during Demolition
Overall, We used the following tools to demolish (or save) the cabinets and counter top:
- crow bar large
- hammer
- screw driver
- electric drill
- hand saw
- broom and dustpan for clean up
Conclusion
Day 2 went very well with the fortunate luck of having a neighbor willing to help take down the cabinets and hall them away himself.
Do you have a plan for your cabinets?
Helping you plan for tomorrow,
~H.
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