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I want to begin a kitchen remodel project. Step 1 will be to fix all the walls. I want to DIY demolish the existing 12" soffit above the cabinets, then hire a plumber/electrician to adjust the wiring/pipes, then hire a contractor to reframe/drywall a new 6" soffit. This will allow me to install 36" cabinets versus the dated 30" cabinets I currently have. Hopefully keeping a soffit (a smaller one) will make moving the pipes/electric easier than removing the soffit altogether.

Question: can I demo the existing soffit without removing the current wall cabinets? They are not fastened to the soffit at all, and if I'm careful I think I can work around them. We are throwing away the old cabinets eventually, so scratching them up is not a concern.

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  • You probably can, but it is hard to imagine why you would. If you are removing the cabinets eventually, you are not going to save any trim molding so why not just take them down and get them out of the way? You can screw them back to the wall for temporary use until you get new ones. If you are working by yourself, (not recommended) you can use a few 2x4s to make a dead man support while taking them down and putting them up.. – WoodAirGrille Jun 27 '20 at 12:55
  • This begs the age old question: "Yes (maybe), but why would you want to?" The only reason I could think of is continued use during your project. I believe it would be far easier to empty the cabinets, take them down, do your demo. You never know what you'll run into. It could be very frustrating to try and demo the soffit with the cabs in place, only to find after carefully trying, you have to take down the cabinets anyway, wasting your previous effort of being careful. Cabinets generally aren't had to uninstall/re-install, probably your path of least resistance (a little electrical humor)! – George Anderson Jun 27 '20 at 14:14
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    Demo considerations aside, it will be much easier to frame up and finish the new soffit without having to work around/above the old cabinets, reaching back to nail and screw etc. – Jimmy Fix-it Jun 27 '20 at 14:48

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