Kitchen Island

Now, before you head to the store to purchase a premanufactured island, think again. They're expensive and can't be customized to match your kitchen. Instead, try building an island yourself. It will save you money and you can customize it to look just the way you want. If you have the right tools and a little patience, it's definitely a project worth tackling.

Materials:

tape measure
table saw with saw blade and dado blade
wood chisel
drill with screw bits and drill bits
pneumatic nail gun or hammer
finish nails
carpentry glue
clamps
router
sandpaper
1-1/4" wooden dowels
dowel centers
grout
tile and spacers
mastic adhesive
rubber grout float
sponge
safety goggles
dust mask
latex gloves

Steps:

1. Take the initial measurements.

2. Before you begin, get a rough estimate of the depth and width for your kitchen island.
Use the size of the tiles, factoring in the space for the grout lines, to fine -tune the measurements so you won't have to cut any tile later.

3. Cut the counter top, bottom shelves, and apron pieces.

4. Using a table saw, cut the counter top and bottom shelves to size from a 4 x 8-foot piece of 3/4-inch plywood.

5. Next, cut three lengths of plywood to form the back and side apron pieces.

6. Make or purchase the table legs. The legs for the kitchen island should be sturdy. You can turn them yourself on a lathe, or you may want to have someone else turn them for you. You may also be able to find appropriate table legs in your local home improvement store.

7. Make dado cuts in the table legs.

8. Install a dado blade on your table saw and set it to make a 3/4"-deep cut in your table legs for installing the apron boards. If you don't have a table saw with a dado blade, you can also use a circular saw, making several long cuts near one another and chiseling out the waste, or a router with a dado bit.

9. Place a stop on the saw to help you make cuts at the appropriate length.

10. Use a scrap piece of wood to check the length, depth and width of the dado cut. The length should be exactly the same as the height of the apron boards, and the width should be exactly the same as the thickness of the apron boards.

12. Use a wood chisel to square off the ends of the cuts (figure C).

13. After the dado cuts are made, dry-fit the plywood pieces to be sure they fit together properly (figure D).

14. Build the face frame for the kitchen island.

15. Determine the size you want to make your drawers, then cut appropriate sized pieces (top, bottom, two side pieces and a center piece) out of 3/4" wood stock to build the face frame.

16. Dry-fit the pieces together on your workbench.

17. Mark the locations for holes for the wooden dowels.

18. Using the marks as a guide, drill two holes for the dowels in one of the face frame pieces. Use a drill bit that is the same diameter as your dowels. The holes should be approximately 5/8" deep. You may want to use a drill stop or a piece of tape on the drill bit to help you gauge the depth.

20. Drill dowel holes in the adjoining wood (figure F). Repeat this process for all dowel holes.

21. Place a drop of carpenter's glue in each dowel hole, tap a dowel into each appropriate hole (figure G), fit the pieces together and tighten them with clamps (figure H). Allow the glue to cure for the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer.

22. Assemble the legs and apron. Run a bead of glue inside each of the dado cuts. Insert the side boards into the dado cuts as appropriate. Secure the boards by toenailing them into position.

23. Nail the center brace in place. The drawer slide will attach to this piece. Cut and assemble the drawers.

24. Use the table saw to cut 3/4" plywood to the appropriate width, depth and height for your drawers.

25. Use a dado blade to cut grooves in the sides and ends for the drawer bottoms.
Cut the drawer bottoms out of 5/16" plywood. Run a bead of glue inside the grooves.

26. Place the drawer bottoms into the grooves and press the sides and ends into position. If you have to hammer the pieces to make them fit snugly, be sure to use a hammer block so you won't damage the wood. Secure the drawers by nailing them together.
depth.

28. Install faceplates on the drawers. Cut drawer faceplates to size. Finish the edges of the faceplates with a router (figure J).

29. Drill holes for the hardware in the center of each faceplate. Glue the faceplates onto the drawers and secure them with finish nails, nailing from the inside of the drawer. Be sure the nails aren't long enough to poke through the front of the faceplates.

30. Install the bottom shelf. Cut frames for the bottom shelf out of 1 x 2-inch wood stock using a miter saw and cutting each joint at a 45-degree angle. Attach the frame to the precut bottom shelf using glue and nails.

31. Dry-fit the bottom shelf on the frame, and screw it into position (figure K).

33. Cut trim pieces for the counter top out of 1 x 2-inch wood stock using a miter saw and cutting each joint at a 45-degree angle. Use tile pieces to determine how far the trim should extend above the shelf (figure M).

34. Attach the trim pieces using glue and finish nails (figure N).

35. Use sandpaper or a router with a round over bit to smooth the edges of the trim (figure O).

36. Paint the kitchen island. Remove the drawer tracks and hardware. Prime and paint the kitchen island and drawers (figure P).

37. Reattach the drawer tracks and hardware. Install the tile on the counter top. Dry-fit the tiles on the top shelf to determine the proper spacing.

38. Make or purchase the appropriate sized spacers to place between the tiles for even grout lines. Some tiles already have spacers built in (figure Q).

39. After removing the tiles, apply mastic adhesive to the counter top using a notched edge trowel. Don't spread any more adhesive than you can tile in about 15 minutes (figure R).

40. Set spacers around the edge of the countertop and place the tiles into position. Allow the adhesive to cure for the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer, then remove the spacers.

41. Apply the grout to the tiles. For wider joints, you can use a sanded grout. For narrower joints, use a non -sanded grout. Mix the grout following the manufacturer's instructions. Typical mixtures recommend pouring about two cups of fresh water into a clean bucket, then adding grout and water until the grout reaches the consistency of firm cookie dough. Use eye protection and latex gloves, because the grout can irritate eyes and skin.

43. As you finish grouting sections of tile, clean them off with a damp sponge. Rinse the sponge frequently with clean water.

44. After the grout hardens, usually in about 40 minutes, use the sponge to polish off any excess grout from the tiles (figure T).