How to Remove Cabinets

Tools Needed:

You should make some prop-sticks that are adjustable to set in place underneath the upper cabinets when you are ready to unscrew them from the wall. Take two three foot (3') long pieces of wood, three quarters of an inch (3/4") thick and two and a half inches (2-1/2") wide and screw them together. You will need two of these adjustable props.

Start by removing the sink, range, hood, dishwasher or space-saver microwave.

Cut all of the caulk lines with a razor knife where the countertop and cabinets meet the walls, ceilings and floors.

Tear off all of the decorative molding pieces if you have any.

Take all of the drawers out and unscrew the screws that are holding the countertops in place. If you have solid surface counters, such as Corian or granite, there may not be any screws to remove. If that is the case, there's probably a bead of caulking holding the tops to the cabinets. Use your putty knife and hammer to break the bead. If you have a large Formica top you will not be salvaging, you can cut it into smaller pieces using the saber saw. Large granite counters will need to be removed using several pry-bars and several people. Tile counters are not salvageable and should be destroyed.

Take your reciprocating saw and cut a square in the cabinet back around the plumbing pipes coming out of the wall. This should be a very shallow cut. Do your best to only cut the cabinet back and make darn sure you DO NOT cut through the dry wall. There may be electrical wires inside the wall. So, be careful!

Remove all of the screws from the backs, sides and bottoms of the base cabinets that are securing them in place. Remove the cupboards gently if you are planning on keeping the existing floor.

Adjust the prop sticks to fit snug underneath the wall cabinet that you are going to remove. With the help of a second person, begin to take the screws out of the back, ceiling area and side of the wall cupboard. Set your drill to the side. Once you have a good handle on the upper cabinet, pull it off of the wall.

Even if you plan on destroying your cupboards, you should still heed this expert advice for safety reasons. Slinging around a ten pound sledge hammer is not the correct way to demo a set of kitchen or bathroom cabinets. If you try to remove them in this manner, you may just "literally" create a headache for yourself. The method I have described is the safest and the best way that I know how to remove kitchen, or bathroom vanity cabinets.