Dismantling the Old Kitchen: How to Uninstall and Remove Stuff

To prepare your kitchen space for its new look, you may need to take out the old cabinets, flooring, and wall surfaces. The illustrated instructions in this section will show you how to strip your kitchen down to its shell.

If you’re simply replacing appliances, dismantling your kitchen is not very extensive. But if you’re practically starting from scratch, dismantling is a project in itself. Whatever you do, removal generally occurs in the following order: appliances, countertops, cabinets, flooring, lighting and other fixtures, wiring, plumbing, and structural elements; then prepare the space for installations, Read the sections in this section to get an idea of the amount of time the various procedures will entail.

Create a temporary kitchen. Unless your remodeling job will be quick and easy, you should think about set ting up a temporary kitchen. Choose a work space that will limit the amount of inconvenience you’ll have to endure. You’ll need to keep foods cold, heat water, warm up dinners, or make sandwiches and salads. Try to find a work space that can include your old refrigerator. You’ll also find it much easier to operate if you can set up your temporary kitchen near a laundry sink, bathroom, washbasin, or wet-bar sink. Easy access to water will simplify everything. If there is power, set up crock pots, skillets, and toasters. A microwave oven might handle most of the cooking chores, so if you’re planning to buy one for your new kitchen, consider making the purchase early. You might also think about borrowing a recreational vehicle from a friend or neighbor.

Box up everything you’re not planning to use in your temporary kitchen, mark the contents of each carton, and store the boxes in a convenient place. Think ahead and anticipate the discomforts before they surprise you. With a little planning, some minor inconvenience, and a lot of good humor, you’ll get through.

Prepare for the refuse. Make arrangements to get rid of any refuse. You may have to rent a dumpster or arrange to use a friend’s truck to cart some of the rubbish to the dump, but you do want to make some sort of plan to collect and remove the debris. If you’re planning to donate some items to charity, arrange for pickup. Find a place away from the kitchen to gather items for disposal so they won’t clutter up your working area or get damaged.

Turn off utility lines. Before you work on any appliances, turn off your utility lines. If you don’t have shutoff valves, you may have to turn off the main valve, disconnect plumbing fixtures, cap the pipes, and turn the water back on. Caps are measured by the pipe’s inside diameter, and must be made of the same material as the pipe. They can be threaded, unthreaded, or plastic. Be sure to get the right type. Disconnect fuses or turn off circuits to the areas in which you’re working. If you’re uncertain, turn off all the power or get professional assistance. Your main gas valve is usually located near the gas meter. If you don’t know how to turn it off, get help.

Because appliances, cabinets, and all surface coverings vary from house to house and in the method of installation, you may find variations between instructions here and your particular situation. Use these instructions as a guide and follow your own common sense. Whenever something is not clear to you or you feel uncertain about a procedure, seek advice. What you’re trying to accomplish during the dismantling phase is a smooth, clean space which can accept all the new elements you want to install.

ill.65 When you’re remodeling an older kitchen, you don’t have to remove everything. Here, old cabinets are given a fresh coat of white paint, setting them off against the warm, dark wall color used to visually reduce the size of the room. The huge space above the cabinets, which could be seen as a big problem, is used to display a unique collection of basketry. White trim and contemporary blinds incorporate the old window into the design, and new tiles in a rustic style blend with the home’s older character.

How to Remove...

Appliances

For a major project all of the appliances may have to be removed. If this is the case, or if anything more than the refrigerator is being relocated or coming out, determine what power or fuel systems will have to be disconnected, and turn off all power and gas. Shut off the main power switch or the kitchen circuit breakers before you start to work. And, if you will be working for quite some time, tape over the circuit breakers so they won’t be turned on inadvertently. If you’re not sure which circuit breakers control which areas of the house, turn them all off. Don’t take chances. Turn off the main gas valve or propane connection if you are unsure how to turn off individual gas appliances. But be forewarned that once you turn off the gas to the whole house, all pilot lights will have to be relit before other appliances, like the hot water heater, will work again. As it is wise to have the utility company check over the line before you turn it back on, you may not want to do this more than once.

Ill.66a: Freestanding electric range. Ease the appliance out from the back wall far enough to reach the thick pigtail plug behind it, and pull the plug from the wall. Then, pull the unit out into the kitchen area, put it on a dolly, and move it to the spot you have chosen. For a freestanding range with an upper oven and fan, disengage the duct connections first (see Removing a Hood Vent). Then, follow the simple steps for removing a freestanding range. Get help to move it out and away, since it will be heavier and more unwieldy than other types of ranges.

Ill.66b: Drop-in range. Detach the unit from the base cabinets or the sides of flanking cabinets. You will see the fasteners when you open the oven door. It may also be attached to the side cabinets. Get someone to help you lift it out far enough to unplug or turn it off and disengage the gas valve. Then lilt it onto a dolly.

Ill.66c: Gas range. Move the unit just far enough forward to reach its gas shutoff valve. The flexible tubing should give you a couple of feet. Turn the valve toward “off” until it’s tight. Be sure you understand exactly how to go about this or have someone with you who does. Disconnect the flexible tubing from the gas valve with a small wrench. Then slide the range out of its position and move it out of the kitchen area. If you do not plan to reuse the gas line, disconnect the supply line. With the main gas valve off, remove the supply line valve and put a plug fitting over the gas pipe inside the stud wall. Alter that you can ask the utility company to check the system and relight the pilot lights for all your gas appliances. Black pipe from wall; Plug on black pipe; Gas on; Gas off; Wall

Ill.67a: Wall ovens. The electrical or gas connections are probably in the cabinet below the unit. Unplug the cord from the wall socket or turn off the gas valve. Detach the gas connection. Open oven doors to see the screws that hold the unit to framework or cabinetry. Unscrew the fasteners and ease the unit for ward in its cabinet until you can lift it down onto a dolly.

Cooktops. The power cord or gas valve for cooktops will probably be in the cabinet below or to one side. Unplug the cord or turn off the valve and disconnect the flexible tubing from the valve. Then unscrew the fasteners that hold the unit to the counter top. Lift up the unit and remove it. If you don’t plan to use the gas valve again, disconnect the supply line (as described for a gas range).

Ill.67b: Barbecue cooktop. A barbecue cooktop with a downvent will have a vent system inside the base cabinet that goes through the floor or through the wall. Disconnect the unit from the duct the same way you do for a hood vent. Detach the mountings and lift the unit out.

Ill.67c: Removing a Hood/Vent:

1. Alter making sure the electricity is off, disconnect the wiring. You will probably find the electrical connection beneath the easily removable light diffuser or filter panel. Disconnect the wires, and cap those coming from the wall. Keep any pairs of wires together, and cap each single wire separately. The bare copper wire is the ground and needs no cap.

2. Open the cabinet doors above the hood to see how the vent connects to the duct. If you find a round metal collar, unsnap it. If you find a band of silver tape around flexible ducting, disconnect the unit by stripping off the tape. Or you may find flanges that hold down a sheet metal box custom made to fit your hood-to-duct configuration. Pull up the nails or remove the screws holding the flanges.

3. Look up inside the hood to see where it is attached to the upper cabinets. Remove these screws from mounting brackets or holes and lift the hood out and down.

Refrigerator:

1. Remove food, empty the freezer compartment, and then pull the unit away from the wall as far as you can while it is still connected.

2. Pull the plug or turn off the gas connection where the flexible tube connects with the black gas pipe. If you have had little experience working with gas, have the utility company do this job for you.

3. Un-plumb the icemaker by following the small copper tube out the back to its shutoff valve next to the floor or near the sink. Turn off the faucet or small tap on the cold water line. Then, using pliers or a wrench, turn the brass nuts on the compression rings that attach the tube to the faucet or valve until the tube comes free. Some water may spill out of it, but not enough to harm anything. Tape the extending tube to the side of the refrigerator.

4. Put the refrigerator on rollers, and move it to your temporary kitchen or storage area. If you’re storing it, be sure to cover its surface and tie it shut.

Dishwasher:

1. Look under the sink to see if the dishwasher connections have been threaded through holes in the sides of the cabinet. You should see a small copper pipe to the water line, a black rubber pipe to either the air gap or the disposal, and a cord to an electric plug. It you do not find them, look for any mounting brackets at floor level on either side of the dishwasher and disconnect them. Then grasp the dishwasher by the top lip or the bottom frame, and move it forward slowly, pulling hard, until you can get behind it to work.

2. Disconnect the plug from the outlet. In most places it’s illegal to wire the dishwasher directly; if yours was wired, turn off the power and disconnect the wires from their junction box at the wall, capping the wires that remain in the wall.

Sink cabinet

1-fitting and separate shutoff valve for dishwasher

Sink drain, Air gap, To drain

3. Shut off the water at the shutoff valve. Detach the black rubber hose at the air gap, the waste fit ting, or the collar of the garbage disposal. Disconnect this waste-line connection from the plumbing system by loosening the screw clamps on the hose fittings or unthreading the pipe fitting. You need not detach the hose from the dishwasher; simply feed it back through the cabinet sides to the back of the dishwasher. Then, pull the unit for ward, put it on a dolly, and transport it to your temporary ware house for storage or removal. If you plan to reuse it, tape a cover over the door for protection.

Shutoff valve; Copper tube; To dishwasher; Electrical plug; Drain line from dishwasher

Garbage Disposal and Sink

1. Turn off the electric circuit to which your garbage disposal unit is connected. Shut off the water supply lines at the shutoff valves below the sink. If you don’t have these, turn off the main valve near the front of the house. Then disconnect the fittings at the sink and cap them. You can get caps at any plumbing supply or hardware store. Be sure to get caps of the right size and proper threading that are made of the same metal as your pipes. With pipes capped, turn on the main valve again to re store water to the rest of the house.

To close shutoff valve, turn clockwise.

2. Disconnect the trap. Have a bucket handy to catch the water that stands in the trap. With a pipe wrench that will handle 1- to 1½- inch pipe, or with a large set of channel locks, disconnect the chrome fittings between the garbage disposal or the sink and the P-trap. Remove the trap.

3. Disconnect the garbage disposal. Pull the plug from the socket. (In most places, it is illegal to wire the garbage disposal unit directly, but if yours is presently wired, turn of I the power, disconnect the wires from the box in the wall, and cap them.) If you have a dishwasher or an air gap, you should have al ready disconnected its black drain hose, Unscrew the three tension screws that hold the garbage disposal against the bottom of the sink or unclasp the snap ring and rubber sleeve. Drop the whole unit down and remove it. Store it with the P-trap.

4. Disconnect the water supply lines. Open the sink faucets to let water drain down into the supply lines. Crawl into the cabinet under the sink and locate the nut that connects the faucet lines to the hot and cold supply lines. Loosen and disconnect the nuts that hold the faucet to the sink. Pull out the faucet from above, Store with nut and copper or chrome connections.

5. Disconnect the sink. The sequence for removing your sink will vary, depending on the type of counter top and sink installation you have. If your sink is recessed under tiles you will have to remove some of these tiles first. Then you can take out the entire counter-top unit (not just the finish material) as one piece. If you have a stainless self-rimming sink (one with a top flange) or a surface-mounted sink (one with a separate steel rim around it), you will find small clips underneath the counter top. Loosen these with a screwdriver until you can jiggle them free. Lift out the sink. If you have a self- rimming porcelain sink, you will only have to pry it loose from the adhesive and lift it out. A cast-iron sink is always much heavier than other types, so you will need some one standing by to give you a hand when you remove it.

Cove tile; Mortar; Recessed Sink; Self-Rimming Porcelain Sink; Surface-Mounted Steel Rim Sink

REMOVING COUNTER TOPS

Most counter tops are merely pieces of plywood nailed or screwed to the base cabinets with a finish surface glued or laid on top. The only part worth saving is the finish surface—not even that if it is plastic laminate.

Obviously, you will need to remove the sink and fittings before you can take out the counter top, and you may have to remove all the doors and drawers to get to the fasteners.

Tiles. Tiles are mostly glass, and broken bits can fly everywhere. Always wear gloves and goggles, and, ii dust bothers you, wear a respirator or gauze mask. Whether you can get tiles out in one piece will depend on how gentle you are and how firmly they are attached. Unless the tile is special, don’t bother.

1. Remove any wood trim with a hammer and prybar.

2. Score or break the grout using a hammer and cold (brick) chisel. Then, working from the edges to ward the center, tap the chisel or flat-nosed prybar to get under the bottom of the tile, which may be glued down or embedded in mortar. Free as many edges as you can before gently prying the tile out. Clean out all surrounding grout. If the tile breaks, clean out all the pieces, knock out surrounding grout, and try the next one.

Pry gently

Plastic laminate counters and wood slabs. These two types of counter tops are usually screwed or nailed to the base cabinets. Locate the fastenings by looking up inside the cabinet, and then re move them. If the tops are also glued to the cabinets, break the seal as illustrated in the section on synthetic marble slabs. Because wood is not as brittle as synthetic marble, you can probably use a prybar,

Synthetic marble slabs. These are normally glued to the plywood base and may snap it you just pry them off. Ease a putty knife between the slab and the base to create as large and long a crack as possible. Use any appropriate tool to break the seal as much and as far in as you can reach. If you know what type of glue was used, try squirting an appropriate sol vent into the crack you have made. Try to rock the slab and break the remaining seal or gently pry it off.

Unscrew and remove top; Solvent will help if you know what glue was used; Wood top

REMOVING CABINETS

Cabinets can be attached in several different combinations: nailed or screwed to the wall, to the soffit above, to each other, hung on metal or wood cabinet hangers, or built into the wall structure. The age and type of your cabinets will determine some of the specific steps for their removal. Older cabinets are sometimes built into the wall itself, as part of the structure, and you may have to demolish them and part of the wall. You can take them apart with your hammer, prybar, and a saw, and save the lumber. Metal cabinets are attached to the wall on hangers. Simply lift them out and away from the wall at the bottoms, then lift them off the hangers. Remove the hangers from the wall.

Except in these cases, you and your helper(s) will take out the wall units first, resting them on the base units as you take them down. Alter the wall units have been taken away, you’ll take out the base cabinets. Take off all the doors and remove all drawers. If you plan to save the hardware for any reason, store all the pulls and knobs and their screws in plastic bags.

Wall cabinets. Look inside the cabinets to see whether they are attached to the soffit with screws. If so, remove them. Then check to see whether screws or nails were used to secure the cabinets to the wall. If screws were used, remove them. If nails were used, slip a flat prybar between the back of the unit and the wall—at both the top and the bottom—and pry it loose, having someone brace the cabinet from below. Put a wood block between your prybar and the wall surface so you don’t gouge the wallboard or plaster. If nails won’t loosen, use a hammer to pound the cabinet toward the wall. This will force the nail heads to protrude so you can draw them out. If cabinets are also attached to each other, you can lower the whole line onto the base cabinets with a helper or you can detach the individual cabinets and lift them down separately.

Base cabinets. The lower units will be attached to the wall at the top— with nails if they are older or cheaper types, with screws if they are newer, more substantial types. Pry them loose or unscrew them. Cut the cove molding at the floor with a knife, or remove the base board, rubber base, or molding by prying it away with your prybar, hammer end, or chisel. Remove any nails. Lift the cabinets out of place and remove them from the area.

Soffit, Wall Cabinet, Brace to help take the weight, Base cabinet, Remove all doors and drawers

REMOVING WALL COVERINGS

Depending on how extensive your remodeling project is, you may want to remove all your present wall and ceiling surfaces. This is not a particularly complicated job, but it can be time consuming and messy. Wear appropriate protective clothing, and try to avoid totally demolishing sub-surfaces unless that is your intent. If you’re removing surface materials around light fixtures, you may need to remove the fixtures now.

Trims and moldings. Before you can begin to take of f any wall coverings, you must remove all trim and molding. If you plan to reuse them—older style moldings can be expensive—pry them loose very gently. Tap them back to loosen and withdraw nails or drive nails through. Mark or number them and draw a little map so you know where they go before storing them. If they have layers of paint and stains on them, you may want to strip them while they are loose.

Wallpaper. If you have two or more layers of wallpaper under your present surface, you’re better off renting a steamer or having someone come in with one. For a single layer or so, purchase a bottle of wallpaper remover. Spray sections of the paper, let the solution set, re-spray, and simply peel off with a wide putty knife. Then sluice down the wall with a sponge and a weak solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate), rinse, and let dry. Sand any uneven areas.

Paneling. Pry loose and pull off wood or hardboard paneling. Panels that are glued on may pull away hunks of plaster or wall board; or patch these sections of wall. If you plan to save the wood or hardboard paneling, pry it very gently until you can get it to come away in an unbroken piece. You may have to drive the nails clear through in order to free the panels. Use a countersink punch for this, Then mark and clean them be fore you store them.

Ceramic tiles. If you want to save some of the tiles, carefully chisel away all grout and gently pry up the tiles. Otherwise, bang, break, and pry, then scrape the broken mess away. Don’t forget your protective eyewear and gloves. Older tiled walls may have chicken wire and mud on lath underneath. Insert your prybar under the chicken wire to get up large chunks. Newer installations may have only mastic behind the tiles, which is less difficult to scrape away than mortar. Alter removing all the tiles, patch and repair the surface.

Acoustical tile ceiling. Acoustical tiles may be glued or nailed to the ceiling or hung on a metal grid work. Pry off glued or nailed tiles with your handy prybar. Lift suspended tiles out of the grid-work, then unscrew the metal frame and detach it.

REMOVING FLOOR SURFACES

If you plan to install a new floor surface and you have only one layer of existing flooring material, you may be able to lay the new surface right over the old one. Wood and vinyl can be placed over an old vinyl floor, for example, but vinyl cannot be placed over ceramic tile—the uneven surface of the tiles will show through. Your old vinyl floor must be smooth and even enough to allow a secure bond between it and the new flooring. It should not be damaged and should be tree of old wax, polish, dirt, and glue. It is also possible to lay a new sub- floor of ¾” particleboard directly on top of your existing flooring. However, if your present flooring material is badly cracked or damaged or consists of several layers and you do not want to put down an entirely new subfloor, you should remove what is there now. To do so, follow the steps below.

Sheet vinyl. Remove baseboard or rubber molding. Pry off tacked-on caps of cove molding strips or cut coving. Grab a corner of the vinyl and pull it out and up. If necessary, pull hard, but pull smoothly. It may tear or leave backing stuck to the floor, but just keep working it away from the floor. In some cases it may be easiest to cut the vinyl into strips and pull up one strip at a time. Or you can move across the room or work from all four corners toward the center to get the vinyl up in one sheet. Remove the glue with a putty knife or floor scraper, a little hoe-like tool. Rent one if you have a large floor area to do.

Vinyl tiles. Remove edge moldings or baseboards. Pry up tiles with a 6” putty knife. Scrape off the glue as described above for sheet vinyl.

If you can’t remove old glue with a scraper, you may need to use a solvent.

Vinyl-asbestos tiles. These old black tiles have to be warmed with a propane torch before they are soft enough to lift up with a putty knife. You can rent the equipment to do it yourself or have someone else do this time-consuming and messy job. Cleanup is done with acetone on a rag. Because ace tone is a highly volatile solvent, open windows, make sure there is plenty of cross ventilation, and don’t smoke.

When pulling up vinyl, some of the backing may stick to the floor—just keep pulling smoothly.

When all the big strips are removed, use a floor scraper to get up all the pieces still remaining.

Propane torch, Softened tile, Clean with acetone

REMOVING LIGHT FIXTURES

If you are planning to put your new light fixtures in the same locations as the old ones, you can remove the old fixtures now or wait until the new kitchen elements are installed, using the old fixtures as sources of light for working. You’ll need only to disconnect the lights long enough to paint or paper and install the new fixtures. If you plan structural changes or rewiring, remove them now. Turn off the fixtures and fuses or circuit breakers leading to the kitchen area, remove bulbs and fluorescent tubes, and then remove the fixtures as shown in Steps 1 and 2 below. If you are going to keep switches and outlets in their present locations, simply unscrew and remove the plates and save them. If you’re removing or relocating them, follow Step 3.

1. Wall lights. Unscrew the mounting nut or nuts on the wall plates, and lift the fixture plates away from the wall. Detach any fixture mountings behind the plate. Disconnect the fixture wires from those in the wall, and cap those remaining in the wall.

2. Ceiling lights. Unscrew the nuts holding up the ceiling plates. If there is a center post, unscrew it or unscrew the bracket holding the fixtures. Lift the unit away and have someone hold it while you work.

Ill_74 Disconnect and cap; loose wires.

Disconnect the wires and cap those remaining in the ceiling, tucking them back up into the hole. Keep all the parts of the wall or ceiling light fixtures together if you plan to reuse them.

3. Switches and receptacles. With the power off, remove the face plate. Then remove the screws that hold the switch or outlet to the box. Pull the unit out, and disconnect the wires. Pry loose or unscrew the mounting box from the stud. Unscrew the cable connection at the back of the box, pull the wires out through the hole in the box, and remove the box. Trace the cable back to the nearest junction box, and remove the cover. If the new switch or outlet will not be in this area, disconnect the wires in the junction box, cap those remaining in the box, and pull the cable out of the wall. If you plan to move the new outlet or switch closer to the junction box, cut the cable to the appropriate length, leaving it attached at the junction box, and reattach the mounting box, wires, and switch or outlet in the new location. If you plan to move the switch or outlet farther from the junction box, run a longer length of cable from the box to the new location, drilling holes through the studs between and attaching the wires at the junction box. Run the wires into the new box and attach them to the outlet or switch, and then mount the unit securely to the box. Install the plates when the wall surfaces are finished.

Disconnect wires and pry box loose; Disconnect cable; Be sure to cap the cable remaining in box; Use reeled wire to pull cable through studs—patch wall later. Fixture plate; Stud

PREPARING FOR INSTALLATION

After removing basic elements from the kitchen space, you may have some additional work to do to prepare for new installations. Clean up appliances that can be reused, and send them out for refinishing or repair if necessary. Professionals can spray on a new coat of enamel to match new appliances or just to change the color. If you plan to reuse cabinets, strip them and pre pare them for their new finishes or trims. Sort and clean old tiles. You may be able to get the last tidbits of mortar off of the tiles by boiling them in a large pot. Do all your plumbing, wiring, or ducting work at this time. Then clean and repair all surfaces as described below.

1. Smoothing walls. Fill small holes with wallboard compound or spackle. Larger holes have to be stuffed first or the patching material will just fall through the hole; fine wire mesh is good for this. If you have gaping holes or the wall is covered with gouges, replace the entire surface with wallboard. If you want to tackle this yourself, refer to our guide, Basic Home Repairs.

img_75a For larger, gaping holes in wallboard, use fine wire mesh with fast-setting glue on the inside of the hole. Fill in old embossed flooring.

2. Smoothing floors. If you are planning to lay new flooring material directly on your existing floor surface, nail down any bumps or bulges, and smooth out buckled areas to create as smooth a surface as possible. Scrape off all glue and/or paint, and make sure there are no nail or screw heads sticking up. Using a putty knife, fill in dips or hollows or an embossed floor pat tern with cement filler.

3. Repairing damaged floors. If any areas of your floor look dam aged, particularly from water, you must repair them. Remove the surface material to expose the sub- floor. If this is damaged, find a joist on either side of the damaged area in the same way you find studs. Then, using a circular saw set to the depth of your subfloor, cut a section to expose ¾” of each joist—this will give you something to nail your patch to. From a piece of plywood the same thickness as your existing subfloor, cut a patch to fit the hole exactly and nail it to the joists.

4. Installing a new subfloor. If all of the existing subfloor is in bad shape, lay a new one, either on top of your existing floor or directly to the joists. Lay sheets of plywood in a staggered pattern so that the joints do not form straight lines. Nail down the sheets. (For more details on installing a subfloor, see our guide, Basic Carpentry Techniques.)

img_75b Joist; Replacement patch cut to size; inch of joist; showing; Nail patch into exposed joist; Subfloor