Alter island base cabinet

8 years ago

Our new home is nearly completed and I'm so disappointed because our beautiful 4' x 9' quartz island only has 9.5" of legroom on each side of the seating area (see picture below). We went through a custom cabinet maker who assured us this was enough leg room. I took their word for it and didn't even second guess it until I saw it in person. This will not be a comfortable seating area and I had originally hoped it would function as our main place to eat and hang out. My question is, what are our options at this point? Can the base cabinet under the island be altered without removing quartz?

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Comments (11)

Fori
8 years ago
I think you (well, not you but the counter guys) can and should remove the quartz before attempting any cabinet mods. You might need to add support for the quartz as well if you're shrinking the cabinets.

At least it LOOKS good though!
rebunky
8 years ago
Does the flooring run underneath the island?
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raindroplets281
Original Author
8 years ago
Rebunky, no the floor is a floating luxury vinyl plank, so it was install after the cabinets
millworkman
8 years ago
"You might need to add support for the quartz as well if you're shrinking the cabinets."

Hopefully the right side has support already..........
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Leave the cabinets and replace the top with a jumbo slab if your quartz manufacturer makes it and if you've got the space. Now your island will be 59" wide instead of 48" and 113 1/2" long instead of 108", giving you an additional 5 1/2" on each side, for a 15" cantilever on each, the maximum 3cm quartz can cantilever without additional support.
raindroplets281
Original Author
8 years ago
Joseph, I love your idea but we only have 40" walkways on both sides of the cabinet and you cannot see in the picture but there is desk/cabinetry area against the left wall
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
The island can't be pulled toward the sun room and the viewer?
User
8 years ago
I had to replace one of my cabinets in my island when we found the oven wouldn't fit in the cutout space (even though I did hand in all the specs). What we did was carefully support the soapstone counter on several sides with a jack and wood supports, used a putty knife to slice the caulk (or whatever it is) and slide the wrong sized cabinet out. We slid the new one in immediately without a problem. My floor is installed under all my cabinets though so that made it easier.

If your floor is installed around the cabinet and the cabinet is sitting lower on the subfloor, then you would have to remove the floor in the surrounding area to slide it out.

I don't know about the support requirements for your stone but obviously that is a priority so don't shrink the cabinet without making sure it is properly supported.
raindroplets281
Original Author
8 years ago
Cleo07, thanks so much for the suggestions! Sorry to hear about your island mishap but it sounds like everything was resolved!

Since it is a new construction, I am going to see if at the very least we can remove the cabinet doors on both sides, remove the shelves, and have some sort of 5 in deep recessed boxes finished off where each door was to allow for more knee room. I will have to talk with a cabinet maker to see if thats possible.
PRO
The Kitchen Place
8 years ago
What is on the back side of the island? Or did you use 'peninsula' cabinets where doors are on both sides to access that one cabinet?

I would remake the cabinet box shallower and reuse the doors to help on cost. Or if not peninsula...he might be able to cut down the depth of that cabinet box.

You will likely have to have that top uninstalled and reinstalled. It's possible to remove and install supports. But why risk the damage.

I think your idea of removing the doors for extra knee space will look unfinished and hodge-podgy.
cluelessincolorado
8 years ago
When I read that you want it to be your MAIN place to eat, I think your best bet is to make it a comfortable place to sit, ie, 15” for your legs. What a pain, but in the long run beneficial for the family.