ripping out kitchen cabinets

[turnipmonster]

next weekend I'm ripping out my old kitchen cabinets and countertop, both base and wall. wall cabinets are pretty easy to get down, but I've never taken out base cabinets or a countertop before. advice? I'm thinking I'll need a sabre saw, hammer, some type of wedge, and a hand saw. anything else?

I was planning on having my dad help me w/this, but my grandmother fell and is in the hospital so I'm doing it myself. any advice/suggestions appreciated.

[MrMon]

You might need a reciprocating saw.

Tips from the Hometime site:

Countertops:
Countertops are usually attached to the cabinets by screws drilled from below through the cabinet framing or special blocking in the upper corners of the cabinets. So before pulling off the top, go into each base cabinet and remove all the screws going up into the countertop. If it doesn't budge after that, it's probably glued down so use a pry bar to pull it up.


Cabinets:
When you're removing cabinets, get the base units out first. That way you're not reaching up over them when you're removing the upper cabinets. If you're dealing with stock box cabinets, they're usually just screwed into the wall framing and into each other. So removing those screws is about all you have to do to remove the cabinets. But if the cabinets were framed on site and literally built in, you'll probably have to rip or cut them apart with a reciprocating saw.

[Gunny Highway]

No advice. Hope grandma is ok.

[gilper]

I just did this last weekend. I took out my tired old kitchen cabinets and reinstalled them in my workshop. I used: screw gun, hammer, pry bar, utility knife, helper.

Counter top is screwed to base cabinets and glued/sealed to wall. Remove screws from below and pry off of wall. Be careful not to damage the wall when prying, the pry bar could poke right through the drywall if you not careful. You might need to use a knife to cut the sealant. All the boxes will be screwed together and to the wall. Remove screws, cut sealant and they should come right out.

[b0n3saw]

Okay I've actually been looking around the forums and stuff getting used to things before I started to post. I never intended to make my first post in OOT, seems kind of tacky seeing as how this is a betting/poker forum. However I have some experience here and thought it might help so....

I would say that if you don't need to keep them the easiest thing is to just used a large hammer, screwdriver, a pry bar of some kind, and a reciprocating saw. Just remember to be careful when you get near the walls if you aren't refinishing the walls.

Hope this helps and your grandmother gets well soon,

[turnipmonster]

thanks for the advice everyone. I'll post a trip report if it is reportworthy.

[turnipmonster]

we emptied out the cabinets and took a look underneath them last night, everything seems straightforward except the sink.

the two water pipes and the drain are going through the back of the cabinet, the holes in the back of the cab are cut to fit exactly. it looks like taking the sink out is going to be tough, has anyone done this? what do I need aside from a good pair of channel locking pliers? the drain attachment looks pretty sizable, do I need a really large pair of pliers?

[gilper]

You never said anything about a sink. The easiest way is to cut large holes in the back of the cabinet and pull it out. Problem is the new cabinet will have equally large holes.

to do the job right you will need a pipe cutter
, new threaded copper fittings , flexible supply line, torch, flux, solder, heat sheild, pvc trap, and pvc glue. Home Depot or Lowes will probaly have a home plumbing kit that has most all of this.

Turn off your water and open your drains to empty the lines, you will probably get a little wet so be prepared.
Cut both copper supply lines and pvc drain line so they are perpendicular to the wall. Leave as much length as you can for the reconnection. You should be able to pull the cabinet straight out.

You will need to cut similar holes in the new cabinet and install the same way.

Now the fun part. Sweat the new fittings onto the old copper supply lines. Google "sweating copper" for good information. Install the new faucet and sink. Glue up the pvc trap. Screw on the new supply lines. Turn water back on.

[turnipmonster]

awesome, this is great info thanks. the good news is my dad will be able to make it up to help us install the new sink, I just have to take out the old one.