Are Kitchen Islands Attached To The Floor? 6 Things You Need To Know

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Last updated on March 16th, 2024 at 12:45 pm

About to do a kitchen remodel and wondering if kitchen islands are attached to the floor? Look no further because I have your answer!

Kitchen islands are attached to the floor to prevent them from shifting around or falling over while in use. Since the cabinets that make up a kitchen island cannot be attached to a wall, a 2″ x 4″ is attached to the floor and the cabinet is attached to the 2″ x 4″ to secure it instead.

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Traditional base cabinets are screwed into the wall studs to keep them from moving around while in use, so it only makes sense that a kitchen island would need a similar setup to keep it from sliding around!

Below, I’ll explain when you’d want to attach an island cabinet to the floor, when you would NOT, and how to anchor the kitchen island to the floor. Then soon enough, you’ll be a master at all things kitchen island-related!

Let’s dive in!

Quick Navigation: Attaching A Kitchen Island To The Floor

1. Why You Should Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor
2. When To Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor
3. When NOT To Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor
4. How Kitchen Islands Are Attached To The Floor
5. Where To Check If Your Kitchen Island Is Attached To The Floor
6. How To Make A Kitchen Island Out Of Base Cabinets And Attach It To The Floor
7. Other FAQs About Attaching A Kitchen Island To The Floor
8. Final Thoughts

Why You Should Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor

First, let’s discuss why you most likely will want to secure your kitchen island to the floor because there are several benefits you’ll receive from taking this extra step.

Some of those benefits include making the kitchen island:

• More secure
• More durable
• Safer
• Protects the plumbing and electricity running to it

One: Anchored Kitchen Island Cabinets Are More Secure

The first benefit of attaching a kitchen island to the floor is that it makes the island more secure.

Just like normal base cabinets against a wall, the kitchen island base cabinets need to be screwed into something to help keep them from shifting around during use.

Attaching the kitchen island to the floor will prevent it from moving around or falling backward while someone is leaning against it.

Plus, an island that is secured into place looks better because it will always be in the appropriate spot within the kitchen.

That means that your island will always be perfectly centered under pendant lights or in front of a decorative range hood. That consistency is a huge aid in the visual aspect of your kitchen.

And also with a secured kitchen island, your walkway between the island and the other cabinets or fridge will be consistent.

With a consistent walkway, you limit the likelihood of bumping into the island often (which can be painful and annoying).

Two: Anchored Kitchen Island Cabinets Are More Durable

The next benefit of attaching a kitchen island to the floor is that it makes the island more durable.

With the cabinets being secured together and attached to the floor, the cabinets will last forever.

However, if the island is made of base cabinets and can freely move around, then the cabinets can bump together, or the back or side can become weaker over time from constant leaning against it.

No need to worry about that, though, if it’s all secured together and fixed to the ground.

In addition to the island lasting longer, your belongings will also last longer because they’re staying stationary as well.

With an island that isn’t attached to the ground, there’s always the possibility of the items within shifting around or accidentally breaking.

But, if the island is fixed, then that problem disappears.

Three: Anchored Kitchen Island Cabinets Are Safer

The next benefit of attaching a kitchen island to the floor is that it makes the island safer to be around.

We’ve already talked about the inconvenience of the island leaning backward from someone leaning against it, but I’ve got to mention the safety hazard that this causes.

A little one or a pet could easily be squished if the unsecured island ever toppled over from someone leaning against it and not realizing that the cabinets aren’t secured to the ground.

However, the larger the island, the less this is likely to happen because your countertop will be heavy enough to hold the island into place.

Though, more often than not, an island should never need to move, so attaching it to the ground is the safest bet.

Four: Anchored Kitchen Cabinets Protect The Plumbing & Electricity From Damage

The final benefit of attaching a kitchen island to the floor is that it protects the plumbing and electricity running to it from being damaged.

Fixed kitchen islands are required by the electrical code to have electricity running to them. This electrical wiring is run through the subfloor and should not be jostled around. To prevent this from moving, the kitchen island is secured to the floor.

Islands that have sinks and dishwashers in them also have plumbing running to them. Plumbing also should not be bumped or slid around. The kitchen island needs to be anchored to the ground to protect the plumbing from being jostled during use.

Now that we’ve gone over the benefits, it’s time to discuss when you should fix an island to the ground and when you should NOT attach it to the ground.

Let’s keep going!

When To Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor

In most situations, you’ll want to attach your kitchen island to the floor.

This is especially true if your island is:

• Made out of several base cabinets
• Smaller in size (60″ x 24″ or less)
• Has seating around it
• Has a lighter-weight countertop (i.e. laminate or butcher block)
• Has plumbing or electricity running to it

As we’ve discussed above, we really want to limit an island’s ability to move. Especially if seating is going around it or the island is made out of several base cabinets that can shift independently of the other cabinets around them.

Occasionally, if you have a large island with a heavy countertop (such as quartz or granite), then the countertop can weigh enough to anchor the island into place.

But if you’re going through the full effort to install or move a kitchen island in the first place, you might as well install it correctly so it lasts forever.

Finally, all fixed kitchen islands are required to have electricity running to them, so they must be attached to the floor to have wires run to them.

If you are building a kitchen island out of base cabinets as we did, then you need to secure the island cabinets to the floor.

When NOT To Attach A Kitchen Island To The Floor

However, there is one situation when you would not want to attach your kitchen island to the floor.

This situation includes:

• Small, movable islands for tiny kitchens (specifically ones without seating around them or mostly for decorative purposes)

If your kitchen is small and cannot fit a standard kitchen island made out of base cabinets, then your best bet for fitting an island into it is one of the small, movable islands you can buy at places like Wayfair or Amazon.

These islands are meant to be lightweight and movable since they’re being placed in such a small space. Their real purpose is to act more like a table where you can place items on them and have a little extra counter space.

They typically don’t have seating around them, and they usually only have a little bit of storage space inside them.

These small islands are perfect for tiny kitchens that just need a little bit more counter space and don’t need to be attached to the floor.

However, any other island that is meant to be a more permanent fixture in the kitchen should be attached to the floor.

So, if you’ve determined that your island does need to be fixed in place, then let’s move on to how they are attached to the floor.

To decide whether a fixed or movable kitchen island is better for your kitchen, check out my other article here.

How Kitchen Islands Are Attached To The Floor

Wondering how to secure a kitchen island to the floor?

Island cabinets should be anchored to the floor using 2x4s screwed (wood subfloor) or nailed (concrete subfloor) into the subfloor. The island cabinet is then mounted/secured to the 2×4, which prevents the cabinet from moving or tipping over.

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Since kitchen islands aren’t touching a wall, they need to be anchored to the ground.

To accomplish this, a 2×4 is attached to the ground first. Then the island is attached to the 2×4, which holds the cabinet into place.

Here is what the anchors for a 3-cabinet island look like.

The 2x4s can be attached to a wood subfloor with screws or a concrete subfloor with concrete nails, a .22 caliber single shot tool, and .22 caliber powder loads.

Then the cabinet is set over the 2×4 and screwed into the 2×4 through the toe kick on the cabinet.

It’s really simple to attach a kitchen island to the ground!

Do Kitchen Islands Have To Be Anchored?

Fixed kitchen islands need to be anchored to the ground to protect any electric and/or plumbing from being damaged from movement. Securing the island to the floor also prevents it from being pushed over or pushed around and causing safety issues.

Movable kitchen islands typically are lightweight, after-market tables or wheelable carts that do not have to be anchored to the ground. These kitchen islands are designed to be moved and are typically smaller in size with no plumbing or electricity running to them.

Unless you are using a small, movable kitchen island, securing the kitchen island to the floor is a necessary step in the installation process.

Where To Check If Your Kitchen Island Is Attached To The Floor

If you already have a kitchen island and need to remove it for a remodel, then you might be wondering where to look to detach it from the floor.

Most likely, there is a finishing panel over the toe kick of the island that is masking the screws that have the entire island secured to the floor.

To check if your island is fixed in place, remove the finishing panel over the toe kick (it was most likely glued or brad nailed into place) and look for screws.

If you find screws under the panel, unscrew them to free the cabinets from the floor. You’ll also want to check for screws by the cabinet door hinges that are most likely holding the island cabinets together and unscrew them as well.

Lastly, remove the drawers from the island cabinets, climb in, look up, and locate any screws that are holding the countertop to the cabinets. (Laminate and butcherblock countertops will likely be secured this way.)

Then your island will be unassembled and much easier to remove!

How To Make A Kitchen Island Out Of Base Cabinets And Attach It To The Floor

I briefly mentioned above how a kitchen island is attached to the floor. But if you want a full tutorial on how to make a custom kitchen island out of base cabinets, then you need to check out my article here.

I’ll walk you through step-by-step how to design the perfect kitchen island to fit your space, install the cabinets, and attach the whole thing to the floor in a day!

Other FAQs About Attaching A Kitchen Island To The Floor

Before we end this discussion of all things kitchen island-related, let’s cover a few other questions that you might have to help you with your kitchen remodel!

How Much Does It Cost To Install A Kitchen Island?

On average, kitchen islands cost $3,000 to $5,000 with high-end island installations costing $10,000 or more. However, installing a simple kitchen island out of base cabinets yourself reduces the cost to $400 to $1,500. For a 78-inch long x 36-inch wide kitchen island, the cost of material is around $1,100.

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To install our kitchen island, we spent:

• 36-inch base cabinet – $300
• 18-inch trash can base cabinet – $285
• 12-inch base cabinet – $160
• 36-inch x 78-inch laminate countertop – $200
• Back panels (2) – $90 total
• Trim (stain, poly, & supplies) – $50
• Toekick finishing panel – $20
• Kitchen handles – $10

That comes to a total of $1,115.00. Not bad compared to the average $4,000 cost of a kitchen island. We did all of the installations ourselves, though, so this was only material cost, no labor. 

This article can further break down the cost of a kitchen island with different features than ours, so you can better budget for your project!

Can You Secure A Kitchen Island To A Concrete Floor?

Kitchen islands should be secured to concrete floors to prevent them from falling over or shifting. To anchor a kitchen island to a concrete floor, use a .22 caliber single shot tool, .22 caliber powder loads, and concrete nails to secure a 2″ x 4″ into the concrete. Afterward, screw through the toe kick of the cabinet into the 2″ x 4″ to attach it to the floor.

Do You Install Floor Or Kitchen Island First?

Floating Flooring (Laminate Plank/Vinyl Plank)	Nailed/Glued Flooring (Tile/Linoleum)
Install kitchen island CABINETS then lay FLOORING	Lay FLOORING then install kitchen island CABINETS
Needs to float, not be trapped in place	Needs to be secured in place
Easier to change out the flooring later without removing the island	The flooring is thin enough for another flooring to be installed over top later

Final Thoughts On Attaching A Kitchen Island To The Floor

There you have it!

Kitchen islands are attached to the floor to secure them into place and prevent them from shifting around or falling over. Other than store-bought, movable islands, a kitchen island is meant to be a permanent fixture in the kitchen just like the other base cabinets, so they should be anchored to the ground.

Now that you have a better understanding of how kitchen islands are constructed, you’ll be able to make better decisions for any future kitchen remodeling you might be doing!

Catch you in my next post!

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