How to remove internal laundry shelves?

kyap

Looking to remove some built in shelving in our laundry room to make room for a dryer to go alongside our washing machine. Novice DIYer so welcome any tips on how to tackle this.

 

Attached a picture and total dimensions are roughly 80mm wide x 230mm high. Shelves appear only fixed (glued?) into the wood base by the three vertical panels. The left/right sides and back don't appear fixed to the wall. No electrical outlets or pipes that should be affected.

 

JacobZ

Hi @kyap,

Thank you for your question on removing some shelving in your laundry.

The first step would be to remove everything from the shelves so you can fully inspect the shelving. There may be some screws through the back of the shelf into the wall behind or through the right side into the wall. If there are obvious screws, remove them as they are likely to cause damage to the surrounding areas that you would need to repair. 

Do you intend to reuse the shelving or not? I ask because from the photos it appears that nothing else is connected to the shelving, so the simplest solution is to get everything out of the way and use a Craftright 1.35KG Club Hammer to knock the shelves out and then break the connection to the ground. Once everything is disconnected you simply remove and dispose of the individual panels.

If your intention is to reuse the shelves, some minor damage is likely if the shelves have been glued down. With this in mind, to limit damage, you could use a chisel or a prybar in conjunction with a hammer. Tap the chisel or prybar underneath the upright panel where you feel it has been glued and gently lever it to break the connection. Once this is free, simply remove the shelving as you would a freestanding piece of furniture.

Please remember to wear all necessary personal protective equipment including gloves, eye protection and enclosed shoes.

Let me know if you require further assistance.

Jacob