Removing a kitchen island which houses sink and washing machine

[NoFitStateMum]

We have a large island in the kitche diner which was here when we bought the house. It would not be my choice as takes up loads of space that could be better used. We're on a budget and certainly can't afford to remodel the kitchen entirely and don't want the hassle either but the island is annoying me.

It is 120cm x 220cm and seats 4 on one side. It houses a small sink and has 2 built in wine coolers and had the dishwasher and washing machine underneath.

How big and expensive a job would it be to have it taken out and to relocate the sink and washing machine to the worktop on the units along the wall. There is a tiled floor with underfloor heating.

Can @PigletJohn help maybe please?

Thank you

I think it would be quite expensive because you would have to take up the floor to disconnect and reroute the services. From your description I think you probably have a concrete floor, and it would have to be taken up with care to protect the UFH and insulation.

I suppose you could have the island reduced in size more economically, leaving the services in place but reducing the worktop size. Tiling would need to be patched and you might not find matching tiles. With luck the floor is fully tiled under the island.

have a look round to see if there are already outlets in the walls for cooker circuits, taps and waste pipes. Wise people often install one or more additional cooker outlets in case you want ovens built in on the sides of the room.

You can get away without an extractor fan over an oven, but not a hob.

see if you can find building plans. the architect or contractor might have them, there may be something on the council's Planning Permission or Building Regulations website.

Thank you so much for that info and advice.

If they planned in any way ahead when they did the kitchen they would have placed extras elsewhere in case they ever changed their mind (or whoever they sold to did!) however not everyone does. If you’ve got UFH then you probably have concrete floors and moving everything around could be very expensive. You might get lucky and find they planned ahead though- we have with our kitchen extension and although we don’t ever envisage needing water/drainage/electric to various places, we’ve put the ground work in for them whilst the floor is up so that if we (or anyone) wants to then it’s not a whole floor up, start from scratch job.

my own house was built with a cooker outlet on both sides of the room, and when I changed the floors in various rooms, I took care to make them so they could be lifted without damage for access to pipes and cables. For example if I want to relocate a radiator, or add (even more) sockets. This is not very difficult because they (usually) run along the sides of a room.

not everyone is blessed with such a forward-thinking designer. But in a kitchen you can often run services behind, below, or even above, the units. It's always easier before the kitchen is installed.

looking at the plans will enable you to think how it might be done.