How to Remove Kitchen Cabinets

Cabinets can be one of the sturdiest parts of a kitchen, with claims that they can last up to 50 years. Even so, their flat services can attract grime from the many years of cooking and can start to look dishevelled. If your cabinets are past the point where they need replacing or you are simply redesigning your kitchen, you’ll be looking into how to remove kitchen cabinets. Learning how to remove kitchen cabinets can allow you to tackle this job yourself instead of paying someone else to do the same job of dismantling a kitchen.

How to remove kitchen cabinets – What You’ll Need

Specifically, we will be discussing how to remove upper kitchen cabinets.

Step 1 – Tidy and Remove Cabinet Doors

Initially, you’ll want to make your life as easy as possible so remove everything that is inside the cabinets and move the contents aside.

Removing the doors from your cabinets will also make them lighter and easier to handle. Simply locate the hinges and screws that keep the hinges in place. Unscrew them, pull gently on the door to remove it and put it aside.

Step 2 – Loosen Screws

Some cabinets will be fastened together, typically by small screws. You will want to loosen and remove these screws so that you can take down each cabinet individually. Modern cabinets typically have a modular design so are more likely to be fastened to each other. Taking them down all at once would be difficult as you would need to hold the weight of every cabinet. Sometimes this can’t be avoided as older cabinets are designed as one large unit.

Step 3 – Unmount Cabinets From the Wall

In the next steps, we’ll be removing more screws as well as sealant to loosen your cabinet from the wall. As such, we recommend having another person support the cabinet by holding it to stop it from falling.

Cabinets will typically be fastened to the wall via 2 methods: screws or glue.

If your cabinets are suspended by screws you can unfasten them with a screwdriver or power drill.

There will often be a sealant around the cabinets which in addition to screws to keeps your cabinets in place.

This tends to be made up of glue and caulk which can be removed by running a utility knife down the sealant. You may require a small crowbar to fully release the cabinet from the wall. We recommend using some work gloves and safety glasses just in case you encounter any sharp debris.

If your cabinet is attached via glue you will have to employ the use of a wedge or crowbar. Try to force your wedge in-between the cabinet and the wall and apply force to prise the cupboard away.

Your cabinets may also be held in place by a trim, these can usually be detached by applying some force with a crowbar or wedge.

Step 4 – Pull Cabinets Away From the Wall

With your cabinet completely free from the wall, whoever was holding it in place should be able to completely pull it away and move it out of the way. From here you simply rinse and repeat with all the remaining cabinets that you need to remove.

How to get rid of kitchen cabinets

Now you know how to remove kitchen cabinets, you can attempt it yourself if you feel confident. You can always look into using a professional if you feel unsure about performing this job yourself. Finally, you can look into our range of rubbish removal options to clear the resulting waste. With a Clearabee collection, our helpful waste operatives will do all the heavy lifting as reasonable labour is included.