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My kitchen island is a 66" x 36" countertop supported by two 33" x 24" base cabinets, leaving a 12" overhang on the long side.

The island weighs at least 300lbs empty. Contents will add another 150-200 pounds, for a total of 500-600 lbs.

The flooring is loose lay vinyl.

I'm working on making the island mobile by creating two caster bases made out of 3/4" or 1" plywood with 4 casters attached to each one, and then to place them under each cabinet base. This is honestly the cleanest look I can think of so that the majority of the casters are hidden, and so that the island does not sit too high.

I am finding 4" casters to be the most common size online, and find some that seem to be a rubber or plastic that is non marring. I believe these are the way to go for the vinyl flooring, but I am not sure if I will run into a problem with the vinyl wanting to "catch" when trying to move the island? Secondly, I am not sure if the island will want to move too easily? I can not imagine 500 to 600 pounds, with 8 casters, moving without being intentional.

Anyone have some experience with this or have something more to add? I'm trying to keep this simple, and not so complicated that it never gets done! I also am not sure how else to get casters under the island without them being an eye sore.

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    Locking casters. And whenever you move it put a sheet of 1/4 inch plywood down to roll it on. Every time I have moved a rolling refrigerator on unglued vinyl it has caused a problem. So I never move one now without protecting the vinyl.
    – Kris
    May 14, 2018 at 19:45
  • @Kris There is one flaw with locking casters - You have to access them to lock them. The underside of the cabinet is a 4" tall void of space before the start of the bottom of the cabinet. This means the casters are 90% hidden and not accessible. I used vinyl flooring tape under my fridge so that it would not bunch up. On the island, it would be a lot more surface area because the casters are larger AND there are 8 instead of 4. Wouldn't that be fine? I have a 4' mini scaffolding that rolls just fine..?
    – CCCBuilder
    May 24, 2018 at 15:12
  • Put 200 lbs on the scaffold and test drive it on the vinyl.
    – Kris
    May 24, 2018 at 17:15

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I’m sure the unglued vinyl will “ball-up” when moving (rolling) the counter.

When we do libraries, we always glue the carpet down or it will “ball-up” when they push the book carts around.

You’d better find a way to “anchor” the counter down too. (When my drunk friends come over they always lean on the counter. ) Maybe there’s a caster with suction cups too.

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  • suction cups attached to loose tile? .... lol
    – jsotola
    May 15, 2018 at 0:00
  • @jsotola It’s not loose “tile” it’s loose sheet vinyl.
    – Lee Sam
    May 15, 2018 at 0:17
  • loose lay vinyl .... might be sheet or it might be plank
    – jsotola
    May 15, 2018 at 1:48
  • @jsotola Hmmm...loose lay plank is new to me. I’m too big of klutz to use that...I’d be tripping over that...
    – Lee Sam
    May 15, 2018 at 2:03
  • It's sheet loose lay. Very heavy, and 3/16" thick probably. It's also secured around 2 sides from cabinets and from transition strip that nailed into it for carpet. Have not had any issues with it not being able to float either, surprisingly. I assume 8 large casters would not bunch it up unless they had a lot of weight on one edge.
    – CCCBuilder
    May 24, 2018 at 15:14

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