Help!!! How to move a kitchen Island

Tobrien11

Hi all,

I have a problem I hope you can help me with. I have just bought a house the kitchen is great but I would like to change the position of the kitchen island. There is no plumbing or electric attached to the island. It has a granite top. The floor tiles seem to run fully under the island. I presume it's drilled and secured to the floor at some points. I have asked a few kitchen places if they would move it. They said they wouldn't move an island that isn't their own and the previous owner can't remember where the kitchen is from. I just don't know how to go about this ?

Many thanks
A very lost and novice diyer

Sleeper12

The kitchen island will have a few presses & worktop. It didn't arrive at the house as an island. It was assembled there. Whoever installed it could have put screws anywhere. It might need to be partially dismantled to get at the screws.

Personally I'd get in a carpenter.

If you want to try it yourself start by removing the kickboards at the bottom. You might be able to get to see the screws

Roen

There's a chance it may not be attached. I moved my one with a hand from one of the lads in work. Just picked it up and dropped it back. 20/25mm granite top on it. Bloody heavy.
Exercise caution whatever you do and if you're not happy get someone in.

Jimmy.

Sleeper12 wrote: »

The kitchen island will have a few presses & worktop. It didn't arrive at the house as an island. It was assembled there. Whoever installed it could have put screws anywhere. It might need to be partially dismantled to get at the screws.

Personally I'd get in a carpenter.

If you want to try it yourself start by removing the kickboards at the bottom. You might be able to get to see the screws

Who would have thought, I was certain they built the house around the island on weekend rates.

keithdub

If the kitchen was tiled first it won't be fixed down. I have put casters on one before it was not the easiest of jobs

And you will have to brace inbetween the units if there is space between them . If you are going to life it do it on the gables

Jimmy.

It may be still, couldn’t they have drilled down through the tile?

keithdub

No why risk cracking a tile on something they thought would never move

Jimmy.

We drill tiles all the time never crack any. No big deal. Kids may be swinging off the island unit after they have the tele pulled off the mdf.

Shefwedfan

The weight of the island and fact you have tiles could mean they never drilled it down, the granite would hold it in place.....I would say it could be moved

Not they stick little feet underneath so you can’t drag it, take off the granite and then lift and move it

I bought island and they just put on tiles, made the mistake of moving it by sliding and had to put the little feet back in place then

listermint

It's not often islands are drilled down. They are held in by their weight. Conventionally islands are made up of 4 cabinet or 6 cabinet presses.

The granite top is most likely stuck to the top of the units with adhesive. So that would be he worst part to get off. You could remove the top first with leverage and strength and then reposition the cabinets underneath to new location. The install top again with adhesive.

Don't try drag it around the plastic legs will snap and could break entirely.

Jimmy.

Any horsing on the granite will break it.

3Js

There may have been a neat run of sealer, such as Tec7, used around the bottom of the island perimeter to ensure it stayed in place, check for that and cut it away (carefully) with a Stanley knife or wood chisel.

Remove the kick boards anyway to try and locate any screws which should not be too difficult to remove, remember someone had to install the island so there will be no big mystery, if there are screws you should be able to find them but chances are there won't be any.

I wouldn't get into trying to remove a granite worktop that has been stuck down as the risk of breaking that is severe and will prove very costly.

Calahonda52

a chisel will crack the granite, you need a fine toothed, with minimal set on the teeth, backless handsaw to cut the adhesive, once you get a bit cut, very gently tap in fine wedges to create a very small lift

Lumen

Remove kickboards, insert 4x2s or whatever, trolley jack it to new position?

MAJJ

Lumen wrote: »

Remove kickboards, insert 4x2s or whatever, trolley jack it to new position?

What he said as likely it's not attached to floor.

screamer

Be careful you don't crack the tiles and you might end up having to retile the whole kitchen.

Cedrus

Lumen wrote: »

Remove kickboards, insert 4x2s or whatever, trolley jack it to new position?

This should work, but also, have a good look underneath when you have the kickboards off, a keen fitter could have the feet glued down (as said above), a keen sparky could have attached a bonding wire, the previous owner could have asked for a water or power supply that they never used.

When you know it's clear, pallet truck away, but don't forget, those adjustable plastic legs only work properly when vertical, any twist or drag in them when you land it and you could lose the whole show.

Lumen

Cedrus wrote: »

...but don't forget, those adjustable plastic legs only work properly when vertical, any twist or drag in them when you land it and you could lose the whole show.

An obvious question: why is a load-bearing structure constructed using flimsy plastic legs?

It's not like wood is expensive or difficult to work with.

Shefwedfan

Lumen wrote: »

An obvious question: why is a load-bearing structure constructed using flimsy plastic legs?

It's not like wood is expensive or difficult to work with.

They are not flimsy


They are not meant to be dragged across a floor :P

3Js

Just for clarity, my suggestion of using a wood chisel to break the bond of any sealer on the bottom of the island was meant to convey the chisel being used in a scraping motion and not as a battering type motion.

CJhaughey

If you are going to roll it any distance with a trolly jack it may be worth putting down a sheet of thin ply to spread the load over the tiles.

Point loading them with trolley jack wheels may crack them if the grout isn't fully supporting them.
I'd try getting a length of windscreen wire cutter to cut the adhesive you can anchor one end and pull it around under the granite to cut the adhesive if its been stuck down with adhesive.
Its square in section and makes a neat job of adhesive.