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Loose Kitchen Island Base Cabinets

January 28th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

When I install cupboards, I always make sure that they are not loose when being anchored to the floor. Kitchen island bases must be installed correctly. Loose cabinets are not acceptable. If you are having a problem where the installer did not fasten the boxes to the floor well enough, I’m going to give you a few suggestions.

Please understand that in most cases everything needs to be removed and reinstalled. This is really how to fix the problem properly.

How can I fix base cabinets that are attached to the floor and not secured well?


Much of how the situation is approached depends upon the type of cabinetry that you have in your kitchen. Usually the cabinet installer fastens a cleat onto the floor and then secures the island base cabinets to the cleat. The mystery is, did the installer cover over the fasteners that he used to secure the base cabinets to the floor cleats with? If so you may have to remove some parts in order to find where he actually attached the fasteners to the cleats.

There’s a good possibility that the L-shaped-cleats are the actual problem, because if the installer secured them really well, then the island cabinet should not be moving at all. If the kitchen has had some sort of flood. It’s possible that the securing boards underneath were made from particleboard and are disintegrating.

Here’s what MAY BE required in order to make the repair properly.

1) Remove the countertop
2) Take off the toe boards or finished panels that may be covering over the screws that were used to secure the kitchen island base cupboard to the floor cleats
3) Remove the screws
4) Mark the floor with a pencil so you know exactly where the island needs to be reinstalled
5) Remove the island base cabinetry
6) Fasten the floor cleats really well with plenty of screws. You may need to make new ones (cleats) if the old ones are split
7) Re-install the kitchen island base cabinets and counter top

  • Tip: If you are unsure of what you are doing, please hire a professional cabinet maker or installer to fix the loose kitchen island base cabinets.

Fixing a loose kitchen island is going to be a matter of using a common-sense-approach. Once you locate all of the fasteners, you will have to determine the easiest way to fix the base cabinets that are loose. In most cases the entire section of cupboards will need to be removed and re-installed. Repairing kitchen cabinets that are anchored to the floor may have become wobbly for several reasons. Until you begin to disassemble things you will not really be able to trouble shoot what is causing the section to be shaky.

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