Islands in the Stream

We have a kitchen update for you - I bet you thought those were done. This weekend we installed the counter top on our island. But first, we realized that we did not discuss the island installation process, and thought that we should cover that.

Our island is constructed of two base cabinets screwed together; one cabinet is 24" wide, and the other is 15". The base cabinets we use come with legs, which are adjustable to account for uneven floors. They also bring the cabinets up to normal height. But in order to secure the island, we would have had to either forgo the legs, which would leave the island a few inches shorter than usual, or we had to put something underneath the cabinets to attach them to. We opted for the latter, and I made this:

It consists, as I recall, of a stack of three boards; 2 2x4s and a 1x4. I screwed the bottom board to the floor, then screwed the 2nd board to the first one, and the 3rd to the second. I added the short pieces in between as braces. I placed the island on top of this, and screwed through the bottom of the cabinets into the wood.

Here is the island after I installed the toe kick boards. Now on to the counter top.

We selected the Ikea Numerar oak counter top in size 73" x 39". The width allowed for about 14" overhang, so we can have a two-person seating area at the island. But we had to cut the counter down to a length of 41". Using advice from the Ikeafans website, I bought a new 40-tooth carbide-tipped blade for my circular saw and went to work. I made a practice cut at the end of the counter before making my real cut (of course, the first cut was better). The saw cut through the counter quite easily - I was surprised. I sanded down the edges of the cut, then brought the counter inside to acclimate to the indoor temp and humidity for two days before installing it. Here it is attached to the island:

After three coats of mineral oil and some light sanding, this counter will be ready to use today. The leftover melamine board we had been using as a temporary counter top for 3 months has been converted into a closet shelf.

Update: the mineral oil by itself was drying out pretty quickly, so we bought this butcher block conditioner. It contains mineral oil, beeswax, and carnauba wax. It seems to be doing the trick, but MacKenzie is still on the lookout for something not petroleum based (even though Craig says this stuff is just fine).