Are you having services replaced/added (elect,water,venting)? Do the walls have a surface texture that would be hard to smooth out?

If not, then I'm not sure why he want to do that other than to make more money off you.

There is 1 and only 1 reason why they rip out walls ....it's EASIER for them to run new wire/plumbing etc and it's how lazy contractors operate. It's more work for the contractors to fish wire through existing walls etc. If you are talking about real honest to gosh plaster walls, don't let them rip the walls out. Find contractors who will work with the walls and get the job done.

There are other reasons as well. Your walls may be bumpy and/or out of plumb, and it will be easier to attach the cabinets and have them look right. Your walls may have been the victims of too many bad patch jobs in the past. You can add insulation to the exterior walls if you need to. If you have a backsplash already, taking down the backsplash may destroy what was underneath it. If you don't have a backsplash, the wall behind your stove/cooktop may be greasier than you realize. This also lets them take a look into the framing to make sure there are no hidden issues (rotting joists; support beams and joists that are too narrow, splitting, cracking, eliminating hidden mold and mildew problems, etc. etc. Oh, and in kitchens and bathrooms, you should be asking your contractor to use the new non-paper drywall products that are designed to reduce mold/mildew in wet areas. If you're doing more than a mini-makeover (and you're not sacrificing really wonderful old lathe and plaster walls), go for it.

I got bids from 5 contractors, and had several others come around that I didn't get bids from. As I had no prior remodel experience at all, I told them that it didn't matter to me whether they removed the drywall or not -- whichever way would cost less. All except one said they would remove and replace the drywall. They said that the cost would be the same because it would take longer to do the electrical etc if the drywall wasn't removed. Also they said that if we wanted smooth walls (not textured like the existing walls), it would be necessary to replace the drywall. At least one of them said opening up the walls would also enable them to put blocking (I think that's the word?) in the walls to attach the cabinets to. One of them even said he needed to remove the drywall from both sides of a wall with a pass-through we were having enlarged. One of them (that I didn't get a bid from) also said he would cut a hole in the floor for easier access to the crawlspace.

We ended up going with the contractor who wasn't going to replace the drywall. They cut and patched a small strip of drywall around the room to run wiring and plumbing. They cut and patched holes in the ceiling for wiring. They smoothed the existing walls. They hung the cabinets on the walls by attaching them where the studs were. The only place they removed the drywall was on the wall that needed reframing (and only on one side). He couldn't fathom why anyone would cut a hole in the floor. (They only accessed the crawlspace on one day). Basically it seemed to me that at least in my case, removing the drywall was not necessary and probably would just have been to make it easier for the contractors. This is just my experience. It may well be different in different situations -- I guess maybe also depending on how much electrical etc there is to do?

Joan23456--How old is your house?

My house is about 100 years old. However, the kitchen was remodeled in the 1980's. At that time, they cut a piece off the existing kitchen to add a second bathroom and a laundry alcove. I know that the drywall on at least two of the walls is from that time period.

On the other walls, I don't know. I suspect that one wall is original plaster. That's the wall where the beadboard was and it's a bit of a mess. I don't mind replacing that wall.

Actually, none of the walls are worth saving, aesthetically speaking. Except for the bathrooms and the kitchen, all the other rooms in the house have the original horsehair plaster, so I know whereof I speak.

I am having the sink moved, the refrigerator (with water line for the ice maker) relocated, the gas range relocated, all the electrical receptacles redone (only one is grounded) and a few new ones added. I have a basement that's unfinished, so everything is completely open and relatively easy to move.

I've had two electricians in to bid the job so far, and both have talked about cutting a swath of drywall out near the floor so they can run wires. I've had one plumber in, and he said the job would be quite easy, since everything is open. He didn't specifically mention having to open walls.

One of the walls is going to be bare of cabinets, so I have no problem doing new drywall there and getting it to look nice. Two other walls will be covered floor-to-ceiling with cabinets, backsplash and moldings, and the third wall will be covered up to the windows.

If it's just as cheap to do either way, that's fine. I appreciate all the input.

The reason why they have to tear out the walls to replace them even though the existing walls have cabinets on them is that there is no way to be sure that the existing blocking, if any actually exists, will support new cabinetry. They can't assume that they can just install new cabinetry over existing lath/plaster or framing without knowing that there are enough places to transfer the load of the cabinetry to the framing.

If they didn't do that, and the cabinets came off the wall, they will be liable for the damages and any injury that someone may suffer.

And, it certainly would be easier to install electrical or plumbing, and to be more certain that your walls will be plumb for tile backsplashes.

Another issue may be the opportunity to add insulation if any of the walls are exterior walls. In our recent renovation all the drywall was removed on the inside of a west-facing exterior wall (mostly because of the need to completely upgrade electrical and plumbing and also for other reasons mentioned above). We found that that wall was completely uninsulated (our house is about 65 years old). Since we're in central Texas and since that wall gets a lot of afternoon sun -- and since it was required by code -- we added insulation. The difference on summer afternoons is noticeable.

Our house is 150 years old.

We had several contractors out, and we were given the option of not gutting the kitchen - we would have had to put plywood on top of the old walls to support the cabinets - or completely gutting.

However, we decided to gut the space for a few reasons:

1) In order to make things plumb and square
2) Gutting allowed us to install new insulation
3) Gutting made electrical and plumbing work easier
4) Although we had newer drywall in the kitchen it was installed right on top of the lath & plaster. Gutting gained us a little space by removing several layers of wall covering.
5) Gutting allowed us to make sure that everything was cleaned out behind the walls. No layers of old electrical/plumbing. No sawdust insulation. No mouse crap. No layers of lead paint. Nada.
6) Gutting allowed us to take a look at the condition of the masonry and fix any cracks.

I have no idea what the extra cost of gutting was. However, I wouldn't imagine that it was more than a few thousand dollars. If you can afford it, I would strongly recommend gutting the space.

This information applies only to drywall, not plaster. Removing and reinstalling d'wall is relatively cheap. It looks alarming to homeowners but that's all. D'wall also doesn't have any structural integrity to speak of, but I still wouldn't want to put cabinets up on patched d'wall. You can also see whether there's any mold, missing anchor bolts, or other more important stuff. I felt better having new d'wall, and I made sure that my new window was water tested while the framing was exposed.

You and your contractor will be much happier with new walls (and ceiling and floors in our case). Everything will be square, you can see all the wiring and plumbing, and he'll know exactly where the studs and joists are. As for plaster/drywall, we had plaster walls replaced with drywall. Most of the walls are covered with cabs/apps., so not a big deal for me.

Another thing to weigh in your decision is for old house loving folks, original plater and lath are worth considerably more than drywall. Plaster and lath provide more sturdiness than drywall. Plaster is harder and thus a more durable surface. In additon, taking down old plaster makes a HUGE mess.

Yes it is harder to run wires and plumbing. They will probably not be square nor will the studs be standard spacing. Stud finders don't work very well either. And chances are there won't be any insulation. Our house is a 120+ year old post and beam construction, what we did was carefully take off the base board and use a hammer and nail to find where the substance was. Another method is to remove a small horizontal section along the base of your walls, the stud locations will be obvious and wiring can easily be done. Then replace with drywall, put the base board back on and your done. Also while that space is open insulation can be blown in. Most often gutting perfectly good plaster and lath is done to avoid walls out of square. It seems a shame to lose something of historic value because it's easier to install cabinets. Just my opinion though.