For the keen DIY people out there this is our first post on how to fit a kitchen. Each week we will publish a new post on how to fit a kitchen taking you through the process step by step.  This post is where to start which is taking the old one out.

1. The first thing I always do when removing the old kitchen is take down the wall units. First remove all the doors, then remove any light pelmet and cornice there maybe, then unscrew the units from the wall and take them to the skip. I also always bash the units apart and lay them flat in the skip there might look like there is a lot of room in there now but you always fill it.
2. The next thing I then do is take the tiles off the wall a lot of other trades people I know always ask me why do I take the tiles off before I have taken the base units out. Well the answer is easy. This way the tiles fall onto the old worktops once all the tiles are on the worktops I can then open the drawers on the old units sweep them into them take them to the skip, job done. Or if there are no drawers just sweep them straight into the bin. Doing it this way just saves me bending down and keeps the mess off the floor.
3. The next thing to do once all the tiles are off is to remove all the old appliances.  When doing this shut down the electrics cut any wires then remove any appliances. Make sure any loose cables are made safe then turn the electrics back on. When removing a gas hob this should always be done by a gas safety plumber.
4. Now all the appliances are out remove the rest of the base units leaving the one with the sink in till last. Remember once the sink is gone you cant make a cup of tea. Sometimes these units can be a bit awkward to come out if this is the case then just break them up in place making it as easy as possible for you to get them out.
5. Now you should just be left with the sink unit so find the stop tap and turn the water off. You might have to drain the hot water tank so open up both taps and leave them running till it stops. Once the water has stopped cut the pipes under the sink including the waste hope fully then you should be able to remove the sink then the unit.  Now the sink and unit are out the way. Quickly work out where your new sink unit is going to be then extend or cut the all the pipes so they will fall behind the unit.  Once this is done put some stops or isolation valves on the pipes and turn the water back on. If you put isolation valves on the pipes you may not then need to shut the water down again.
6. Now you should be left with a empty room ready and waiting for the next stage which would normally be the electrics and setting the kitchen out we will talk about this in our next kitchen fitting guide blog.