Tips on new floor needed in kitchen

[homebuff]

Greeting fellow carpenter's!
My moblehome is a 16x60 & the Kitchen has an island with the gas stove & a one piece counter with the curved bar & a double sink.
The curved bar is part of the center island.
I need to know how to remove the center island & the counter.
I am well aware of the safety precautions of messing with gas when removing the gas line & stove.
It has a shut off valve right behind the stove.
I cannot see any screws or braces that attaches the counter or center island to the wall or floor.
A carpenter friend of mine told me the style I have may have to be completely torn apart & replaced with a new one.
He has not actually seen it in person, so how would he know.
The reason I need to remove them is in the lower sink area a while back developed a small leak at one of the old stye grey plastic poly lines going up to the handle valve on the hot side (which by the way I already repaired the leak) & didn't catch it in time & it damaged the existing floor.
The floor is that particle board type that swells up real bad.
I know for a fact there's mold under there.
The only thing thats holding it all up is some floor laminate board I installed some year's back.
I would upload some pictures but have never had the success of doing so for quite some time over the years.
Says the image is too large & does not support your settings.
I need assistance for both the image upload & the floor replacement tip's so I can get right on the project before the floor collapses on my wife & I.

Thank's!
Brent

[Greg]

The fact that it is a factory island probably means that will indeed need to come apart to move. most counters are like a house of cards, move one part and the whole thing falls apart.

What you may be able to do is remove the laminate and cut the island at floor level with a sawsall, or since you are replacing the sub floor cut that and then you should be able to see how it is attached from the bottom. If I had to guess, I would look for about either a half million nails or a dozen square drive screws.

As for pictures, you can resize them with either Picasa or I think windows has a program. I like the Picasa since you can opt to resize when you export the photo.

Greg

[homebuff]

Thank's Greg!
I'll see what it will take to remove the counter.
Hope I don't have to completely tear it apart.
Now where did I put that recipicating saw?
Not that good at it.
Wife would be so mad!
I do have a Windows program & also my Kodak upload software where I can upload all my pics by default to my folders using my Kodak CX6330 digital camera.
Kodak should do the trick.
Thank's!
Brent
Congradulate me!
I will be registered here for 5 yrs. come tomorrow.

[Greg]

5 years? Time fly's when your having fun!!

Greg

[JD]

Be very careful with that sawzall. With water & probably electric on that island, you could find either with that sawzall.

All of the island and extended breakfast bars I have worked on were screwed to the floor (medium square bit) When there is paneling on both sides of a wall or partition, you need to remove paneling on one side to get to the base plate and screws. I'd try to move the island without removing the countertop is possible. Often times you will have replace the furring strip at the bottom of the island walls or rebuild other parts. Be very careful modifying the gas line. You may want to call a plumber for that.

[homebuff]

Thank's JD!
The cabinets does have paneling around the outside portion on the living room side & cabinets doors around the inside area on the kitchen side.
It warps around & ends at some bookshelf's in the living room area.
The stove is at the other end in a pocket area.
Yes! It does have an electrical gangbox inside that stove area.
The gas line comes up right out of the floor.
Your tips sound as though they may help me in my long planned project this summer.
I am very aware of the safety of working with gas & electricity.
When I moved the trlr in 17 yrs. ago I installed a complete set of gas pipes underneith the trlr.
for proper lenth to fit the meter outside the boundry line of the property to the meter.
Still have projects to start on installing gang boxes in several spots but too lazy to do so right now.
The kitchen floor may be the last one unless I decide to hire a carpenter to come in & do the job.
Again thank's for those tips.
My wife asked me "Your Not Going To Tear Apart" in pieces my counter tops & cabinets are you?
I told her "If It Has to Be Done, It Has To Be Done Dear"!
Stand Back!

[homebuff]

Trying to edit the image to here.

[Mobile68]

See if you can remove the bottom shelf to expose the base plate. You might have to remove any sort of "kick plate" first.

[homebuff]

Thank's Moble68!
I'll check to see if it has one.
The lower devider shelf board inside the cabinet has almost rotted away.

[Mobile68]

You're welcome.

It's worth a try as removing panelling is pain in the butt, and no matter how careful you try to be, it often breaks.

[homebuff]

Yes! And that's what my Wife want's me NOT TO DO! Tear up the paneling.