Is your Island Attached to the Floor?

18 years ago

We're at that pesky 95% done stage right now, where we're just waiting for a few cabinet pieces and tending to punchlist items.

One thing I had my contractor hold off on doing was attaching the island into the floor, because I wanted to be able to nudge it a bit one way or another once all my appliances were in place.

Well now that everything's in, the island is in the perfect spot. I called my GC and told him to go ahead and set the island in place and he said, much to my surprise, that we didn't need to. That it's so heavy, it won't go anywhere unless we really worked hard to move it.

Details--it's about 72"x 30", wired for electrical, and the top is caesarstone. The base cabinets are also quite heavy, since they're 1 1/2" plywood boxes, and plus they're filled with cast iron cookware, among other things.

Does it still need to be attached to the floor somehow? I have no experience with islands, as our last two kitchens had peninsulas.

How did you all do it? What is the norm?

Featured Answer

61tinkerbell

18 years ago

I know we had to move ours 4 times - so that they would get it in the right spot - and it's attached, and had to be unscrewed each time.

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Comments (13)

rhome410
18 years ago
Ours is attached...It has plumbing in it, so scootching wouldn't have been possible, although that would have been nice. Also, we have a floating floor, so we attached the toe kick before putting in the flooring, which pretty much sealed the fate of location.

I would think the 'norm' is to have it attached, but I suppose he's right that it would take am amazing amount of effort/power/strength to move it.
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remodelqueen
18 years ago
I don't plan to attach ours, but if we have to- we will. I'm sure with the counters it is quite heavy, probably won't move too easily!
igloochic
18 years ago
can you move it? if yes affix it! are you in an earthquake area? if yes affix it! especially with electric in it. if no to both...its fine :) i'm in an earthquake zone (worst in the us) so its code to adhear everything to the floor.
inkycrab
18 years ago
If you have an overhang on your island I would def. attach the island to the floor. if someone leans on it (I know they weigh a ton) but leverage is amazing - it could tip onto someone.
pharaoh
18 years ago
we are in socal so everything is attached, glued and attached again!
clax66
18 years ago
Our 70" by 40" island is not attached to the floor. Our kitchen is about 95% done. We were planning to have it attached but we don't see the point, really. It's far too heavy to accidentally tip or move.
edlakin
Original Author
18 years ago
i'm in the chicago area, so no earthquakes. there's no overhang for seating, and, no i can't move it (although i haven't really laid all my weight into it).
sue36
18 years ago
Ours is 36x100 (approx) and is attached to the floor with L brackets. The L brackets were installed before the beadboard back was put on, so they are not visible.
igloochic
18 years ago
i wouldn't worry about it then ed. i'd forgotten the overhang thing...in that case you'd want to. any shifting...bit of leaning...and bad stuff can happen, bit in your case they sound fine, and i love the idea that you could take the structure apart if you had to easily.
holligator
18 years ago
Our cabinet guy was sure that our island didn't need to be attached because it was so heavy and it has plumbing for the prep sink. He and I both pushed into it as hard as we could and didn't budge it. Then my dog came in and barely knocked it with his hip and it moved a good two inches. I don't know how much of it was hitting it at just the right spot and how much was because the dog is 220 pounds, but it definitely moved. After that, the cabinet guy put some clear silicone caulk around the bottom, and it hasn't moved again.
acountryfarm
18 years ago
Ours had a cabinet footing so to speak anchored to floor. They then set cabinet and it was bolted to that. Our island is 48 x 72 with a big 3cm slab of marble so I don't think it would go anywhere anyway. But, I am just like that and am glad to know its there or good.
cate1337
18 years ago
Ours is attached to a knee wall. It doesn't sound like it's relevant for you, Ed; but I'm mentioning the option for other readers. Of course, we have a raised bar and load-bearing columns on either end of the knee wall; so attaching the island cabinets to the floor was never an issue.

By the way, I've noticed earthquake building standards have been mentioned on a few threads lately. There actually is a fault running along the eastern U.S., and there was a quake in the Midwest about a month ago. Just an fyi. Statistically, movement in the earth will be a much bigger issue along the Pacific coast; but it can certainly happen in other areas, too. My grandparents' home in Virginia had a foundation crack that was believed to appear after a mild earthquake. Family legend, take it with a grain of salt... and an extra screw or two. :)