Kitchen cabinets

bernie_penkin · Post by **bernie_penkin** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:03 pm

My kitchen is in need of remodeling. One of the goals is to get rid of the L-shaped counter and put in an island. With that said, the dumb question... How are my cabinets attached to the floor and can I get to the anchors without tearing apart the cabinet? This project is in the early planning stages. Thanks

billmeyer · Post by **billmeyer** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:37 pm

Bernie,
What I have seen done is to screw blocks to the floor then set your cabinet over the blocks. Then you can screw or nail through your toe kick into the blocks.

I am not sure what you mean by the anchors.

Bill

bernie_penkin · Post by **bernie_penkin** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 3:58 pm

That is what I meant. Retired Chief quartermaster. Anchors are a part of my language. I will have to take a look. Thanks

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:21 pm

The cabinets are often nailed/screwed/anchored through the base or toe kick. In some cases a toe kick veneer is added after they cabinet is anchored.

I have also see cabinets set in construction adhesive and nothing else. Usually in those cases the floor construction (wood flooring, tile, carpeting) helps hold the whole mess in place.

Take the counter top which also helps hold everything in place off and bump them around a little chances are a little bumping will pop them loss enough for you to figure how they are held in place.

SDSSmith · Post by **SDSSmith** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:38 pm

bernie_penkin wrote:My kitchen is in need of remodeling. One of the goals is to get rid of the L-shaped counter and put in an island. With that said, the dumb question... How are my cabinets attached to the floor and can I get to the anchors without tearing apart the cabinet? This project is in the early planning stages. Thanks

For base cabinets up against a wall, I fasten through the back near the top of the cabinet. I do not fasten to the floor. You don't have an island yet, do you?

bernie_penkin · Post by **bernie_penkin** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:17 pm

That is what I meant. Retired Chief quartermaster. Anchors are a part of my language. I will have to take a look. Thanks

bernie_penkin · Post by **bernie_penkin** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:20 pm

Thanks for the advice. Some of the cabinets are against the wall. The one I want to move is the L attached to the cabinets. The goal is to turn it into an island or replace the whole set of cabinets along with a new floor.

osx-addict · Post by **osx-addict** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:43 pm

We've got a large island that is ~8` long and >3' wide that just sits there.. It is not glued or screwed in place at all and weighs a ton -- probably >3-400lb would by my guess all topped with a large custom sized piece of granite.. It won't be going anywhere unless the big one does us all in..

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:48 pm

osx-addict wrote:We've got a large island that is ~8` long and >3' wide that just sits there.. It is not glued or screwed in place at all and weighs a ton -- probably >3-400lb would by my guess all topped with a large custom sized piece of granite.. It won't be going anywhere unless the big one does us all in..

We have only a 3' island which has a heavy counter top that really moves very little. We were lucky that the builder had ran electric to the center of this island and has a short piece of pipe sticking up to prevent the island from moving very far in any direction. This allows us to move the island so the refrigerator can be moved from its place so we can clean behind the refrigerator. You may want to route an electric wire to the location of the island and put several outlets on the island as an extension cord to anything on the island is a disaster waiting to happen.

I just removed all the cabinets in our kitchen. The cabinets on the wall was screwed to the furing strips on the block wall and the "L" shaped section was screwed to the cabinet that was secured to the wall and to the counter top. No floor attachments on any of the cabinets.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:14 pm

billmayo wrote:... You may want to route an electric wire to the location of the island and put several outlets on the island as an extension cord to anything on the island is a disaster waiting to happen...

In the State of Washington, code requires an receptacle in any island.

My wife is knot tall and asked me to custom make our cabinets with a lower height when we built our house. I explained to her that the counter top had to cover the dishwasher and the trash compactor as well as should be even with the range, so I could knot do that for her, but I did create an island that was lower then standard. She loves it and uses it all the time.

None of my cabinets are attached to the floor EXCEPT the island.