How to Uninstall Kitchen Cabinets

Learn how to remove kitchen cabinets.

You can make your kitchen look brand new just by taking out your old cabinets and putting in new ones. It may be tempting to just smash your cabinets off the wall, but if you remove them properly you can reuse them in the future, reinstall them in another room or donate them. This project requires minimal tools and can be performed by a non-professional. Once you remove the old kitchen cabinets, you will be ready to install new ones in their place.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Hammer claw

Instructions

1. Turn off any water supplies or electricity lines that are in the cabinet area.

2. Open the kitchen cabinets and remove everything. Be sure that you didn't forget any kitchen utensils or plates.

3. Remove decorations and molding off the cabinets. You might need to pry off the molding using the backside of a regular hammer or a claw hammer.

4. Find the strip of nails or screws that holds the cabinet into place. Each cabinet should have a strip on its inside edges. To find the strip, simply open the door of each cabinet and look at the side of the cabinet attached to the wall.

5. Remove the nails or screws from the wall. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws or the claw of a hammer for the nails.

6. Pull the cabinets away from the wall. Once all of the screws and nails have been removed, lower the cabinet to the floor.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider removing the cabinet doors before you take the cabinets off the wall. This will make the cabinets lighter if you're working alone.

• You won't be able to keep the cabinets intact unless a couple of friends help you hold the cabinet while you remove its screws or nails so that the cabinet doesn't fall once it is no longer attached to the wall or ceiling.

References

• This Old House: Removing Kitchen Cabinets