How to Build a Kitchen Island Ledge

Extending a kitchen island by installing a ledge provides you with more surface space for cooking or storage. As with the original island countertop, a ledge extension requires a strong support to prevent its collapsing beneath the weight of the objects you place onto the surface. Unlike the original surface, you don’t need a cabinet beneath the ledge surface. Instead, the ledge is supported by a series of brackets underneath.

Measuring tape
3/4-inch plywood
Circular saw
Wood screws
Drill and screw set
2 countertop braces
C-clamps
Pencil
Lag bolts
1/4-inch nut driver
Socket wrench

Instructions

- 1
  Empty the kitchen island. Cut any power to the cabinet from the circuit box of your home.
- 2
  Measure the length and width of the side of the island where you intend to place the ledge.
- 3
  Cut a sheet of 3/4-inch plywood made of the same material as your island cabinetry to the measured size of the cabinet side with a circular saw.
- 4
  Attach the plywood sheet to the side of the cabinet. Use wood screws slightly shorter in length than the width of the cabinet size and the plywood combined. Employ a drill with a screw bit to drive wood screws through the cabinet interior and into the rear of the plywood. Space the screws about 8 inches apart. The plywood sheet provides a surface to mount your braces to without collapsing the cabinet side.
- 5
  Measure the height of the ledge material. Set two countertop braces against the face of the plywood about 2 inches from the outer edges of the island. Position the braces so the top of the braces are level with a point that’s the precise height of the ledge material beneath the original countertop surface. This allows you to install the ledge flush with the surface of the countertop.
  
  Clamp the braces in place using C-clamps. Set a level over the top of the braces to ensure they’re level with one another. Loosen the clamps and adjust as needed.
- 6
  Mark the mounting holes in the braces onto the plywood sheet with a pencil and then unclamp the braces.
- 7
  Use a 1/4-inch drill bit to drill a pilot hole into the sides of the island at the marked locations. Drill 1/4 inch less in depth into the side as the total thickness of the cabinet and plywood wall, plus the thickness of the brace.
  
  Restore braces to the side of the cabinet. Screw 1/4-inch lag bolts through the mounting holes and into the side of the island with the drill containing a 1/4-inch nut driver. Leave the nut slightly loose with the drill and tighten by hand with a socket wrench.
- 8
  Order a ledge addition that’s the same length as your island side. Set the addition on top of the braces. The ledge top should fit flush with the top of the existing countertop and countertop edges.
- 9
  Mark the location of the mounting holes on the bottom of the ledge. Remove the ledge. Drill holes in the marks with the 1/4-inch bit to the depth of the ledge and the brace minus 1/4 inch. Place the ledge back over the braces. Screw the lag bolts through the braces and into the base of the ledge.

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Kitchens