I always have my guys prime and paint the walls and ceilings first. You get a much better job that way. Then after the cabinet install is done go back and touch up. You get a more professional job that way most of the time.

We gutted ours as well and put up new drywall. DH primed all walls and ceiling, maybe twice? I'm not sure, but I know new drywall soaks up a lot of paint. Then we painted before the cabs went in. I just thought it would be easier than worrying about getting paint on the cabs. I'll do touchup after things are done.

We painted before.

We painted before and will do touch ups after everything is completed.

Either way is fine, sometimes it just comes down to scheduling.

If you know what color you want, it might be easier to paint first so you save all the cutting around the cabinets. We primed the new drywall before the cabinets went in but I still haven't painted! Just did yet another set of sample boards today.

Our painter wanted to be very last. He said installers and others would come and ding up his work, and he knew he and his crew would be careful and would clean up their mess. We know him well and trusted him on it. If you know your painter, I'd go with what he says. (If your painter is you, probably painting first is easier.)

Thanks for all the responses. I probably should have mentioned that I'm planning to hire a painter and was trying to figure out when each contractor should be scheduled. I was leaning toward having the painter come in last because I was afraid the cabinet installation would ruin the paint job. Does it matter if the cabinets are hung on bare drywall without any primer?

My painter recommended priming first so you're not installing cabinets over your dusty sheetrock. I asked my GC and he said in his experience people do this 50% of the time. The other 50% they do it right over the sheetrock. We decided to prime first.

Prime, paint then cabinetry. Prime the entire wall even if cabinetry covers. Two gallons of paint: $60; cabinetry for the room: thousands - sure would hate to have to mask brand new cabinetry for splatter, drips and overspray to avoid ruining it. Besides, the paint will go on alot faster, alot smoother and then there's the whole mess thing - painting = mess. I didn't want that mess anywhere near our new cabinetry.

Again, can be either way. I always opt for priming everything, even behind cabinets. But ask your painter how he prefers to work. He'll probably want to be last in, but maybe he'll come in to prime, and then as soon as cabinets are up, he (or she) can paint.

All the comments are excellent. If you prime and paint the walls first, how do you know where the studs are to hang the cabinets? I guess we could use a stud finder, but I (home owner) thought it would be easier to hang the cabinets before priming and painting. We plan to use a professional painter and will also seek his advice. I want to keep the project moving so I thought we could hang the upper cabinets while the drywall is being mudded and finished in other rooms. Any views?

If you prime and paint the walls first, how do you know where the studs are to hang the cabinets?

You can mark the locations in pencil on the floor.

But you HAVE to have the all of the drywall sealed because the paper picks up odors, even behind cabinets.

Thanks, my husband said something similar. I was just trying to speed-up the process but... Oh how I am looking forward to finishing.

Another question. In the bathroom we are using the coded drywall. Should we also prime this before installing the wall tile?

"coded" wall tile? You mean the green stuff or blue stuff? Outside the wet areas, just seal the seams with tape and the correct water resistant stuff (not drywall mud), apply the adhesive tna tile and grout.

Inside the shower area it's a whole different story - you need waterproof barrier stuff under everything.