Renovation guides

How to remove kitchen cabinets and countertop yourself: step by step

Countertop first, uppers second, bases last. Every upper cabinet is a two-person lift and every one of them is heavier than it looks.

Difficulty 2 of 5 · about half a day · careful

Stop here

This is where people get hurt. Never take down an upper cabinet alone — a 30-inch upper with a screw left in it will hold, let go, and land on you. Shut off water and power to the kitchen and pull the appliances first. Stop and call a pro if: the counter is stone (a slab is 200-400 lb and needs a crew and a plan); a cabinet is hiding a gas line to a range, a wall furnace, or a water heater; the cabinets look built in place in a pre-1980 building and you may be disturbing old flooring, mastic, or joint compound; or the wall behind them is wet, soft, or moldy.
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Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

What you need

  • Heavy-duty contractor bags, 3 mil
  • Caps for the sink supply stubs
  • 2x4 lumber for a temporary ledger board
  • 3 in construction screws (for the ledger)
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Lead test swabs

Tools

  • Drill/driver with a full bit set
  • Pry bar and a flat bar
  • Oscillating multi-tool (cutting caulk, screws, and scribe strips)
  • Reciprocating saw (for cabinets going straight to the dumpster) — $35-50/day in LA
  • Stud finder
  • Work gloves, safety glasses, N95
  • Furniture dolly — $15-25/day

Step by step

  1. Step 1 of 12

    Confirm water, power, and gas are handled

    Kitchen circuits off and tested dead, angle stops closed and capped, and any gas appliance disconnected by a pro. Do not start until all three are true.

  2. Step 2 of 12

    Pull the appliances out and away

    Fridge, dishwasher, and range out of the kitchen. Walk the dishwasher out after its supply and drain are disconnected — the fixtures task covers that.

  3. Step 3 of 12

    Empty every cabinet and take the doors and drawers off

    Doors and drawers off at the hinge makes every cabinet 30-40% lighter and gives you somewhere to grab. Stack them flat and out of the path.

  4. Step 4 of 12

    Identify the counter material before you touch it

    Laminate on particleboard comes out in one or two pieces and you can do it. Stone, quartz, or tile-on-mudbed does not — get help.

  5. Step 5 of 12

    Free the counter: sink out, clips out, caulk cut

    Sink and cooktop removed, the screws up through the cabinet corner blocks backed out, and the caulk line at the backsplash cut with a knife. Then lift from the ends.

  6. Step 6 of 12

    Find the screws and the studs

    Look inside the cabinet at the top and bottom back rails. Mark the studs on the wall above the cabinet so you know where the weight is held.

  7. Step 7 of 12

    Cut the caulk, paint, and scribe lines

    Utility knife or multi-tool along every line where the cabinet meets the wall, the ceiling, or the neighboring cabinet.

  8. Step 8 of 12

    Screw a 2x4 ledger to the studs under the cabinet run

    The ledger takes the weight so the cabinet cannot drop when the last screw comes out. Then one person holds while the other unscrews.

  9. Step 9 of 12

    Separate the cabinets from each other, then from the wall

    Back out the screws between stiles first so each box comes off alone. Take the back rail screws out last, bottom before top.

  10. Step 10 of 12

    Unscrew the bases and walk them out whole

    Back rail screws into studs, plus screws between boxes and sometimes through the toe kick into the floor. Cut the caulk at the floor and wall lines.

  11. Step 11 of 12

    Break cabinets apart on the floor, not on the wall

    Out of the room, away from any wall, and only once you can see all four sides. Flat panels stack and haul far better than boxes.

  12. Step 12 of 12

    Look at what the cabinets were hiding

    This is the first honest look at the wall, the floor, and the plumbing.

    Quality check

    • All cabinets and counter are out and broken down
    • No live wire, open supply, or unsupported pipe left dangling
    • Wall behind the sink is dry — no soft drywall, staining, or mold
    • Floor under the cabinets is intact and dry
    • Studs marked and photographed for the new layout
    • Debris bagged and out of the walk path

Common mistakes

  • Taking down an upper cabinet alone. A loaded or wet-particleboard upper can run 60-80 lb and it lets go all at once when the last screw backs out. Two people, always, with a ledger under it. Mistake #1 in this task.
  • Pulling base cabinets with the counter still on. The counter is what ties them together and it will tip. The counter always comes off first.
  • Cutting into a cabinet back with a recip saw. There are supply lines, drain lines, and cables behind cabinet backs. Break cabinets down after they are off the wall and on the floor.
  • Trying to lift a stone counter. A 8 ft granite run is 300 lb and it snaps at the sink cutout. Slab counters come out in pieces with a crew, or with the fabricator.
  • Prying the cabinet off without cutting the caulk and paint. Torn drywall paper behind every cabinet turns into an extra day of patching. Score every caulk and paint line first.
  • Missing a screw and forcing it. Cabinets are screwed to the wall, to each other through the stiles, and sometimes toe-screwed through the bottom. Find every screw before you pull.

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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