Our demo didn't take place until after all our cabinets & appliances were actually delivered and waiting in our garage! Measurements were done while our old kitchen was still intact.

If the cabinets are ordered after demo and you have more than a 4-week wait, then yes, you will probably have to wait around for them.

Our demo is due to begin the week before the cabinets come in. We're hoping to have most of the drywall, electrical and plumbing done before the cabinets are delivered.

Good luck!

Our demo was 2 days before cabinets arrived. The cabinet installer measured withthe old kitch intact. He created a layout design and a 3d representation. Using the measurements.

I waited until week before delivery to call the demo crew. You need to get another opinion or cabinet maker

If there is to be structural changes to the kitchen, then I can understand waiting until that is done for teh final measure to confirm a design before ordering, but if you are merely replacing old cabinets with new and there is no changing your layout or other issues, then find another cabinet guy. Now, if thera are stuructural issues, there is no telling what is behind walls that can impact your design. I'd definately wait on ordering in that situation until you had the final configuration of the kitchen actually take shape including drywall accounted for. An architects plans isn't enough reality to work in a remodel situaiton to base an expensive cabinet order off of. Even in new construction, I won't order cabinets until the drywall has gone up because too often there's a "little" change here and there, and all of a sudden, thngs just don't fit that NEED to fit.

We did some preliminary demo-- we had a chimney to remove and a few other minor things to move around, so we did that first to make sure everything was what we expected-- it was not!, so it was good that we had done this before we ordered the cabinets. My kitchen is still fully functional, so we do not have to live w/o a kitchen for 12 weeks.

We plan to do the rest of the demo 2 weeks before the cabinets arrive so that we can install them (barring any problems with the order) as soon as they get here. We have a small house and cannot afford to live with cabinets in our only living space while our kitchen is prepped for them. Last time we started the demo once the cabinets arrived.

Since you mentioned talking to a cabinetmaker, I'm assuming that you're doing custom cabinets. When you're not using fillers to provide you with wiggle room, then the measurements need to be a lot more precise. Also, cabinet style comes into play, esp if you're doing frameless/ full overlay. That, and it's just easier for the cabinet bldr knowing precisely what he's dealing with & eliminating any hidden little surprises that can muck up the best laid plans.

Thank you all, this is so helpful! We are planning to move one wall so I think this is why the cabinetmaker (yes, custom) said we would have to demo first. It makes sense now! (But our "schedule" has been lengthened once again...)

We moved a wall and they still measured beforehand. We started demo one week what was supposed to be the delviery date for cabinets except the cabinets were then delayed 3 weeks. I couldnt imagine how long it would have taken if we had ordered them after demo.

Here's a vote for "it depends".

I have a very small, very old house that is full of surprises. My cabinets are truly custom, as in made by a local cabinet maker. Otherwise, the number of 1-inch fillers would outnumber the inches of cabinets!

I could not imagine having the cabinet maker in to measure until the demo was done, the surprises were rectified and everything was in place. And there were a few small surprises and changes. So for me it was really worth it to wait.

I would hate to have a cabinet order sitting there and have some of them not fit, then have to figure out what to do. But then I'm not sitting here with six dusty, crying kids and a husband threatening divorce if I feed him pizza again.

And my contractor has several other things he can do around my house, so I won't lose him while he waits.

And some cabinet lines will get your cabinets there in 2-4 weeks.

So weight up how desperate you are to get this finished, how long the lag time is, how many surprises you anticipate, your family's tolerance, your contractor's patience to stay focused on your project etc. and then decide.

There's a cabinetmaker in my area that requires a demo before ordering/making cabinets. This is also for kitchens WITHOUT structural changes. I think that's a long time for people to be without a kitchen.

I ordered cabinets AFTER demo, and I'm glad I did (despite the increased wait for a functioning kitchen). We had a plan for the remodel, which included removal of a loadbearing wall, but once demo started, we were able to ascertain that certain other walls were not loadbearing, so we demo'd them too. And we ended up removing a ceiling to give us extra height, and that wasn't expected either. As a result, I have a much better kitchen layout, and I wasn't boxed in by a cabinet order that no longer fit my needs.

HOWEVER - I can't tell if your demo is going to change the shape and layout of your kitchen. If it is, I'd say wait until demo's done and then do your cabinet plans. They probably won't do final measurements until the drywall is back in place, though. But the wait would be worth it. Opportunities crop up in the demo process, you might want to take advantage of unexpected changes.