Design and layout
Kitchen island installation
Kitchen island installation is fitting a separate block of units in the open floor of the kitchen, with its own worktop and finished panels, fixed securely to the floor. It often includes running power, water and waste to the island, planning extraction for an island hob, and supporting a worktop overhang so people can sit at it. An island needs enough clear space to walk round every side.
When do you need kitchen island installation?
An island is often the reason people start planning a new layout. It adds worktop and storage where a table used to stand, gives somewhere to sit with a coffee, and turns whoever is cooking towards the room rather than the wall. The catch is that an island sits away from every wall, so power, water, waste and extraction all have to travel across the floor or ceiling to reach it, and the room has to be big enough to move round it comfortably.
We start with a free survey visit to measure the space around the island, check whether the floor is suspended timber or solid concrete, and work out a practical route for cables, pipes and ducting. Services go in at first fix, before the floor finish. The island carcasses are then fixed down, levelled to the main runs and topped with the worktop, with stone templated once the units are fixed. Your itemised written quote shows the island, each service run and any floor work as separate lines.
What is included?
- Free survey visit to measure clearances and check how the floor is built
- Island carcasses fixed to the floor and levelled to match the main runs
- Sockets and a cable run to the island, tested and certified to BS 7671
- Hot and cold supplies and a waste with a steady fall for an island sink
- Chasing or ducting through a concrete floor, then reinstating the surface
- Island hood, ceiling extractor or downdraft unit with its ducting route planned first
- Seating overhang supported with hidden brackets, a leg or an end panel
- End panels, back panels and plinths finished on every visible face
How much does kitchen island installation cost?
These are national guide prices including VAT at 20%. Prices are higher in London and the South East and lower in much of the North, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Choose your area below for a local range.
| Typical project | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Island fitted, no services, mid-rangeUnits, worktop and end panels, supplied and fitted | £2,000–£5,000 |
| Power to an island on a suspended floorSockets and the cable run to the island | £250–£600 |
| Hot, cold and waste to an island sinkPipework run under the floor | £300–£800 |
| Extra for chasing services into a concrete floorCutting, ducting and reinstating the floor | £400–£1,500 |
| Large bespoke islandCabinets on both faces, stone worktop, appliances | £6,000–£12,000 |
Guide ranges cover the island units, worktop and fitting, with power, plumbing and floor chasing shown as separate lines; island hoods, pendant lights and new floor finishes are quoted on top. Your price is confirmed after a free survey visit.
How long does it take?
Typical timescale: 1 to 3 days for the island itself; longer with services under a solid floor. The programme for your kitchen is set out in the quote, and depends on the size of the room, what is moving, lead times for units and worktops and, after plastering, drying time.
Do you need permission or building regulations approval?
The rules differ across the UK. Choose your nation:
Adding an island does not need planning permission in England, though a listed building may need listed building consent. Taking power to it from an existing kitchen circuit is not notifiable, but it must meet BS 7671; a new circuit for an island induction hob is notifiable under Part P, so it is certified through a competent person scheme or building control. A ducted island hood should meet Approved Document F, and only a Gas Safe registered engineer may run gas to an island hob.
In Wales, an island needs no planning permission, though a listed building may need listed building consent. Part P is wider than in England: extending an existing circuit within a kitchen is notifiable, so even island sockets taken from the existing ring are certified through a competent person scheme or building control, as is any new hob circuit. Island extraction should meet Approved Document F, and gas pipework to an island hob is for Gas Safe registered engineers only.
In Scotland, fitting an island and taking power or water to it does not normally need a building warrant, but the electrics must meet the building standards and BS 7671, so ask for an Electrical Installation Certificate. A new connection to an underground drain for an island sink would need a warrant first. Fitting an island hood or extractor fan does not normally need a warrant, and a gas hob must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
In Northern Ireland, adding an island to a kitchen needs no planning permission, and fitting the units needs no building control application. There is no notification scheme for domestic electrical work, but cables to an island should be installed and tested to BS 7671 and certified. New drainage connections go to council building control, Technical Booklet K covers ventilation for an island hood, and gas work is for Gas Safe registered engineers only.
What should you think about before starting?
- Common guidance is around a metre of clear walkway round an island, and more where two people cook or a dishwasher door opens.
- Decide whether the island needs power, water or a hob before the floor is laid, because adding services later means lifting it.
- A solid concrete floor means chasing or ducting for cables and pipes, which adds cost and needs care around the damp-proof membrane.
- An island hob needs extraction: a hood or ceiling extractor with a ducting route to outside, or a downdraft unit inside the island.
- Seating overhangs need support; the worktop material and thickness decide whether hidden brackets, a leg or an end panel are used.
- Choose whether the floor finish runs under the island or stops at the plinth, as it affects future changes and underfloor heating.
How does the project run?
- Guide price. Use the online guide-price tool or call us for a realistic range for your area
- Free survey visit. We measure the room, check walls, floors and service positions, and look at the plan or delivery
- Itemised written quote. Broken down by stage and trade, with any worktop templating, engineer or approval costs listed
- Fitting in the right order. Strip-out, first fix, units, worktops, second fix and finishing, with the trades booked in sequence
- Final check and handover. A walk-round together, certificates for electrics and gas, and the manufacturers' documents
Questions about kitchen island installation
How much space do I need around a kitchen island?
Common guidance is around a metre of clear walkway on each side of an island, and more on the working side if two people cook at once or the dishwasher and oven doors open into the gap. In a narrower room, a peninsula joined to one run often works better. We measure at the survey and can mark the island out on the floor so you can walk round it before anything is ordered.
How much does it cost to install a kitchen island?
A mid-range island supplied and fitted without services is typically £2,000 to £5,000 including VAT, and a large island with cabinets on both faces, a stone worktop and appliances £6,000 to £12,000. Power on a suspended floor adds about £250 to £600, a sink supply and waste £300 to £800, and chasing into a concrete floor £400 to £1,500. Prices are confirmed after a survey visit.
Can an island have a sink or hob on a concrete floor?
Yes, but it takes more work. On a solid floor, cables and pipes are chased into the concrete or run in ducting, then the floor is made good before the finish goes down. The sink waste needs a steady fall to the drain, which can limit how far from an outside wall the sink can sit. We check the floor and the drain route at the survey before pricing.
What extraction works over an island hob?
There are three main options. An island hood hangs above the hob from the ceiling; a ceiling extractor sits almost flush with the plaster; and a downdraft extractor rises from the worktop behind the hob and is ducted through the plinth or under the floor. Ducted versions need a route to an outside wall. Recirculating versions filter grease and smells but do not remove moisture, so the room needs another extract.
How is a kitchen island fixed in place?
An island is fixed to the floor, not just stood on it. Battens or brackets are screwed down within the island footprint and the base units are fixed to them, so the island cannot shift when someone leans on the overhang. The units are levelled so the worktop matches the height of the main runs, and on underfloor heating the fixing points are planned around the pipes or cables.
Should the floor run under a kitchen island?
Often, yes. Laying a tiled or sheet floor right through before the island goes in gives a continuous surface and makes later layout changes easier, though it uses more material. Floating click floors are usually laid up to the island instead, because fixing units through them stops the floor moving. Underfloor heating is normally kept to the open floor, not under the units. We agree the order at the survey.
Related guides
Related kitchen services
Where do we carry out kitchen island installation?
We take on kitchen island installation across England, Wales, mainland Scotland and Northern Ireland. Choose your area for local guide prices and the rules that apply there.
England
- Bedfordshire
- Berkshire
- Bristol
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cheshire
- Cornwall
- Cumbria
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- Dorset
- County Durham
- the East Riding of Yorkshire
- East Sussex
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Greater London
- Greater Manchester
- Hampshire
- Herefordshire
- Hertfordshire
- the Isle of Wight
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Merseyside
- Norfolk
- North Yorkshire
- Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Rutland
- Shropshire
- Somerset
- South Yorkshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey
- Tyne and Wear
- Warwickshire
- the West Midlands
- West Sussex
- West Yorkshire
- Wiltshire
- Worcestershire