hi all. my Wife and i have been looking at a house where the kitchen has shorter cabinets and a layout we don't favor. the cabinets are short and the ceiling height of the kitchen is 8 feet. also, the "G" shape isn't our favorite layout; we'd rather have an L shape with an island in the middle, so we'd probably cut the lower part of the "G" out.

questions:

- do you think the drywall above the cabinets is hollow or do you think ductwork and other electrical/plumbing would run through those? if so, have any of your had experience with relocating "simpler" runs like that? we're guessing (this is a 1990-built house) that the drywall portions are just based on the style back in the day and they're likely to be hollow with some simple wiring, etc. that could be relocated.

- there is a 6x8 pantry behind the stove/microwave and we think it would be feasible to bump the kitchen back so we'd have more room if we decided to make it an L-shaped kitchen. the basement is unfinished so it would be "easier" to move the utility lines back - also consider there's no plumbing involved with the stove.

- the dishwasher is in the part of the "G" shape that we would blow out; we'd have to relocate that - perhaps to the left of the sink... feasible?

we'd be gutting the kitchen and attempting to go with taller top cabinets.

pictures...