Kitchen Conundrum: It's Coming Down

We had a limited amount of time for actual demolition work today (we had to focus on kitchen-related things, like shifting furniture, clearing out spaces, and finding a way to throw out all the heavy, heavy tile we've been chipping off our walls and floor). So, we decided to tackle something that would make a big impact: cabinet removal!

Here's where we started:


Removing the microwave was pretty easy. It was bolted to the upper cabinet in two places, and bracketed to the wall in the back. No biggie.


The cabinets themselves were another story. The electrical outlet powering the microwave is in a sorry state and had been attached to the upper cabinet itself rather than the wall. So, we had to cut out part of the cabinet backing around it with a utility knife.


We also discovered that the cabinets were bolted together, then veneered together (!), then glued as well as screwed to the wall. Our pry bars came in handy here, as did our puzzle-solving skills as we shifted ladders, appliances, tools, and human bodies around to accommodate our work. Here's one cabinet down and ready to go outside:


And at the end of 2.5 hours, we were left with this:


Hurrah!