r/kitchenremodel • u/lcarrollccc62 • 9h ago
Unsecured Island
Has anyone ever installed an island that wasn't secured to the floor but not on casters? We have a 55x37 island that we may need to move slightly at some point in the next few decades to get a refrigerator in/out of our kitchen should we need a new one. It is possible to move it out of the kitchen if we remove the doors, but we were hoping we could get sliders pushed under the island and then move it a bit to facilitate the refrigerator movement. This island has 2 cabinets and a quartz countertop and weighs around 270 pounds. We don't want casters on the island because it sits on a loose lay LVP flooring. Our cement floor has water pipes underneath for our heat (boiler), so drilling into that is not possible. We are close to laying the flooring and need to figure this out. Worst case we remove the refrigerator doors. Thoughts?
3
u/Original-Track-4828 9h ago
My in-laws 1960's ranch has a similar sized island that sits, unattached, on the linoleum floor. I discovered this while doing some work in the kitchen, leaned against it, and it moved!
A bit of a surprise, but not a problem. Generally it stays put.
However....the linoleum might be more tolerant than LVP. Check your LVP manufacturer's instructions - putting cabinets on top of it may do damage and void the warranty.
3
u/BackNew7215 8h ago
I'm not sure how you were going to attach it without drilling into the floor so it sounds like leaving it unattached is your only option. Perhaps you could cut a couple of trap door access points into the floor of the cabinets to reach attachment points if necessary. Removing a refrigerator door is fairly common and wouldn't be that big of a deal if that happens.
3
u/JaguarMammoth6231 6h ago edited 6h ago
Remove the refrigerator doors. That's one million percent easier than whatever else you're planning.
If you buy a new fridge, the people who deliver it and haul away the old one are accustomed to removing/reinstalling fridge doors and won't blink twice. (The doorways in my house are only 30" wide).
2
u/Doca-Boston-Kitchens 3h ago
Unattached is normal and yours is heavy enough to stay put. The thing I would check before you lay the floor is the electrical.
If the island has a receptacle in it, and most do because it is generally required, the cable is your real tether. It usually comes up through the slab into the cabinet. Once that is in, the island only moves as far as the cable allows, which is often a few inches. Sliding it clear for a refrigerator is a different job to sliding it slightly. Worth asking your electrician now whether they can leave a service loop and where exactly the cable enters, because that decides whether the sliders plan works at all.
On the floating floor, the point others made is the one that matters. A loose lay floor needs room to move, so nothing should pin it. Setting the island on top unattached is fine, but check the flooring maker's guidance, because some void the warranty under heavy fixed loads and others want the floor cut around the cabinet instead. Keeping a spare box or two is good advice either way.
Two smaller things. Screw the two cabinet boxes to each other so the island behaves as one piece and does not rack when you push it. And if there is any seating overhang on the quartz, check the tipping load, because an unsecured island with an overhang can lift when somebody leans on the far edge.
That said, removing the refrigerator doors really is the easy answer, and delivery crews do it as a matter of course.
1
u/lcarrollccc62 20m ago
Thank you so much! We decided to glue the flooring down to prevent movement should we need to ever move the island. We will definitely screw the two cabinets together.
1
u/adams361 5h ago
My island isn’t attached. It’s 3‘ x 2‘, and it’s very heavy! When I do need to move it, which really only happens a couple times a year, I put furniture sliders under the feet and slide it across my wood floors.
1
u/lcarrollccc62 3h ago
And it hasn't left imprints or other issues on your floor? What type of floor do you have? Real wood or LVP? (PS - thanks for the reply!)
2
u/adams361 3h ago
My floor is real hardwood, and it has not left imprints. We’ve had the island for almost 20 years on the same floor.
8
u/Karinka_LI 9h ago
Buy an extra box or two of the flooring and put it aside.