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What Happens During Kitchen Demolition

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Kitchen demolition removes everything that will not be part of the new room, in an order that protects the structure and keeps the mess contained. It begins with shutting off utilities, moves from the contents to the countertops to the cabinets, and ends with a swept and inspected shell. Most kitchens are stripped in a few working days, though the preparation before and the cleanup after take longer than the swinging of tools suggests.

Preparation before anything is removed

Demolition starts with decisions, not hammers. Everything that is staying has to be separated from everything that is going. Items to be reused, such as an existing cabinet that will move to a garage or a light fixture a household wants to keep, are labeled and set aside. Anything that will be sold or donated is removed in advance so crews are not working around it.

Utilities come next. The water supply to the sink and dishwasher is closed, and the lines are drained so that cutting a pipe does not flood the floor. The gas line to the range is capped by a qualified person, not by whoever happens to hold a wrench. The electrical circuits serving the room are turned off at the panel, and a tester confirms that outlets and switches are truly dead before anyone touches a wire. Skipping that last step is the source of many avoidable injuries.

Surfaces that are protected rather than removed

A demolition crew spends nearly as much time protecting what stays as removing what goes. Floors in the adjoining rooms are covered with paper or hardboard, doorways are sealed with plastic sheeting, and the path from the kitchen to the outside is lined so debris can be carried out without scraping paint. Heating and cooling vents in the kitchen are covered so dust does not travel through the ductwork to the rest of the house.

The same thinking applies to the structure. Walls that will remain are checked, and any that are load bearing are identified before a single stud is touched. If the plan includes opening a wall between the kitchen and a dining area, the engineer or the designer will have specified a beam and temporary supports, and those go in before the wall comes out.

The usual order of removal

Demolition tends to run top to bottom and finish to structure. Small items go first: hardware, appliances, light fixtures and the contents of cabinets. Appliances are unplugged or disconnected and carried out. The refrigerator, the range and the dishwasher are heavy, and moving them takes two people and a dolly.

Then come the upper cabinets. They are unscrewed from the wall, usually with someone supporting each box as the last fastener comes free. Base cabinets follow, and these may be heavier because they are tied to one another and sometimes glued or nailed to the floor or wall. The countertop, if it is a stone or laminate surface, is removed before the base cabinets so its weight is not dropped on the boxes underneath.

The backsplash is taken off with the wall surface behind it if the plan calls for new drywall or plaster. Flooring is removed last if it is being replaced, because crews walk on it throughout the work and it makes a handy protective layer until the end.

Dust and debris

Few jobs make as much fine dust as taking out old plaster, tile or sheet material. The fine particles pass through gaps around doors and drift across a house. Plastic sheeting taped at doorways, a window fan blowing outward and a negative air machine in larger jobs are the standard controls. Crews should wet down surfaces where practical, because damp material releases less dust.

Debris has to be carried out in a planned route. A dumpster in the driveway is common, and in Riverside neighborhoods with narrow streets, such as parts of the Wood Streets and the blocks near the Mission Inn, a permit or a short term arrangement may be necessary for placement. The route from kitchen to bin is kept clear and protected, and the pieces are sized so they can be carried without catching on door frames.

Materials that need special care

Older homes sometimes contain materials that must be handled with caution. Flooring, adhesives and some wall products made decades ago can contain components that are dangerous when disturbed. If a house was built before the middle of the twentieth century, as many in Casa Blanca and the oldest parts of Riverside were, it is reasonable to have suspicious materials tested before they are broken up. A lab test is a simple step compared with the consequences of spreading something harmful through a house.

Lead paint is a known concern in older housing. Regulations on contractors working in older homes exist for a reason, and a responsible crew follows safe work practices as a matter of habit. Homeowners can ask what their contractor does about it. A confident answer is a good sign.

What the crew checks while the room is open

Once the cabinets and surfaces are gone, the shell is examined. The crew looks at the framing for rot, termite damage or settlement, at the subfloor for stains or soft spots and at the walls for hidden moisture. They look at wiring and pipes, noting anything that is obviously outdated or damaged. This is the earliest and cheapest moment to find problems, because nothing new has been installed.

Photographs are valuable here. A set of pictures showing where pipes and wires run inside the wall becomes a record that helps with future repairs, long after the wall is closed again. Many homeowners keep them in a folder and are glad of it years later.

How long it takes and what finishes it

A typical kitchen can be taken apart in a short span of working days, with the real variable being how much of the wall and floor is coming out. A simple replacement of cabinets and counters moves quickly, while a project that opens walls, removes a soffit or changes the floor takes longer. At the end, the room is swept, magnets or a vacuum pick up stray nails and screws, and the debris is hauled away.

The final step of demolition is a walk through. The homeowner, the contractor and sometimes the designer stand in the empty room and confirm that what remains matches the plan. It is a good time to mark outlet locations, window sizes and the placement of the sink, since the empty space makes the true dimensions easier to see than a drawing does.

Where demolition fits in the larger plan

Demolition is the first physical step of a long sequence, and what it reveals sets the pace of what follows. Rough plumbing and electrical work come next, then wall closing, floors and cabinets, stone and finally appliances. A fuller set of Riverside kitchen guides sits on riverside custom countertops notes, and each one picks up where this one leaves off.

A well run demolition is quiet in the sense that it holds no surprises for the household. Utilities were off when they should have been, the dust stayed in the kitchen, the structure was respected and the discoveries were recorded. That kind of calm start tends to set the tone for the entire project.