Kitchen demolition is appliance disconnects, cabinet sequencing, and countertop removal done in an order that does not trap you. This is the pure-demo guide that beats the thin competition: what comes out first, what gets saved, and how the salvage gets pulled before the debris.
A kitchen concentrates the whole house's systems into one room: gas and electric appliances, water and drain, dedicated circuits, and cabinetry hiding all of it. Demo goes smoothly when the disconnects happen first, the uppers come down before the lowers, and the salvage is pulled as it is exposed.
This guide assumes a full kitchen gut. Work in the order below, keep the debris path clear from the start, and pull the copper, brass, and wire as you expose them — not from the pile later.
Gas appliance disconnection and gas line work is licensed-pro work — have a licensed pro disconnect and cap gas lines. In homes built before 1978, test for lead paint and asbestos before disturbing materials. This guide covers non-structural demo only.
Kitchen demo must comply with local demolition permit rules. Electrical work disturbed during demo must remain code-compliant (NEC 300.15 — splices only in accessible boxes). Gas appliance disconnection is licensed-pro work. Pre-1978 homes need lead/asbestos testing before disturbance per federal EPA RRP rules. Check local amendments.
Shut the water at the kitchen branch valves or the main, switch off every kitchen circuit at the panel — range, microwave, disposal, dishwasher, lighting, receptacles — and verify dead with a tester at each device. Kitchens have more dedicated circuits than any other room, and mislabeled panels are the rule. Have the licensed pro disconnect and cap the gas line to the range before you touch anything near it.
Disconnect the water line to the refrigerator (shut the saddle valve first, keep a towel handy), unplug or unwire the dishwasher after verifying dead, and slide the range out after the gas is capped by the pro. Move working appliances intact on a dolly — they have donation or resale value that disappears the moment they are damaged. Cap the water stubs and tuck abandoned wiring into boxes with wire nuts the same day.
Empty every cabinet, then remove the doors and shelves to cut the weight. Support each wall cabinet from below or have a helper hold it, remove the screws into the studs, and lower it down — never pry a loaded upper cabinet off the wall and let it fall. Uppers come down before lowers, always: the lowers are your work surface and your catch zone for nothing.
Cut the caulk lines, disconnect the sink plumbing and the cooktop if present, and unfasten the countertop from the base cabinets. Laminate tops usually lift off once unfastened; stone tops are heavy and may need to be cut into sections for removal — plan the carry path first. A countertop removed in usable sections can be donated; one smashed is just heavy debris.
Disconnect the sink drain and supply lines — bucket under the trap, always — then unfasten the base cabinets from the wall and each other and carry them out. Remove the sink and faucet as a unit where possible; the faucet bodies are brass, and the supply lines are copper or braided stainless. Cap the drain and the supply stubs immediately.
With the room empty, open the walls to expose the plumbing and electrical: copper supply lines, brass shutoff valves, and dedicated-circuit Romex are all accessible now. Cut the copper into straight lengths, coil the wire, and get both into the salvage bins before the wall debris buries them. This is the highest-value phase of the demo — the kitchen's systems are dense and they come out fast.
Pull the backsplash tile with a flat bar, working from an edge — tile and mortar are heavy, so bag as you go. Flooring comes up per type: floating floors lift in sections, tile needs a floor scraper or rotary hammer, sheet goods cut into strips. Watch for the second layer of flooring that old kitchens always hide, and check what is under it before committing to the removal method.
Bag the last debris, sweep the subfloor, and verify the shell: pipes capped, wires safely terminated in boxes, drains plugged, gas line capped by the pro. The plumber, electrician, and cabinet installer walk into this room next — a clean, documented, safe shell is the professional handoff, and it is what gets your crew called back for the next one.
Most kitchen demos happen in homes people are living in, which makes dust control a customer-satisfaction issue, not just a comfort one. Seal the kitchen from the rest of the house with taped plastic sheeting and a zipper door, run a fan exhausting out a window for negative pressure, and cover HVAC registers in the work zone so the system does not distribute tile dust through the whole house. Clean the path to the door daily. Homeowners forgive noise and disruption; they do not forgive a layer of dust on everything they own.
Every one of these has cost someone a callback. Learn them here instead of on the job.
Gas line disconnection is licensed-pro work. Have the pro cap the line; you handle everything around it.
Removing lower cabinets first, then dropping wall cabinets onto the cleared space. Uppers come down first, always.
A working dishwasher or range has donation or resale value. Disconnect carefully and move intact.
Kitchens have dedicated circuits everywhere — range, microwave, disposal, dishwasher. Verify dead at each device, not just at the panel.
Supply lines cut and left open flood the cabinet below at the next valve turn. Cap every stub the day it is exposed.
Kitchen crews pull copper water lines and brass valves all day — and most of it never reaches a scrap yard. Every kitchen gives up supply lines, stub-outs, brass shutoffs, the faucet bodies, appliance whips, and the dedicated-circuit Romex in the walls. It comes out in the natural course of the demo.
Pull the metal as you expose it and keep the bins sorted. Most crews split the salvage at the end of the job — and no minimums, every bucket counts. When the bins are full, call Sonny at 312-880-8174.
No minimums — every bucket counts. On bigger lots, we handle the freight so you don't lift a finger.
Work to code. Hire a licensed pro where required. This guide explains how the work is done — it does not replace training, apprenticeship, or a license.