Question: Kitchen island weight restrictions and granite counters.
What is a kitchen island weight restriction?
I have a pier and beam house. We’re looking at new kitchen designs and are concerned about weight. Would granite counters in the kitchen (including a free-standing island) be too much weight?
— Judy
Answer
This is a great home improvement question Judy. Adding granite counters should not have an impact on the framing, assuming the house is framed properly.
But since I don’t know the details—size/location of counter, size, joist spacing and span of framing—the right person to confirm this would be the building inspector where you live or contractor/supplier you’re working with.
You’re right to be cautious too. Heavy items over open framing—hot tubs are an extreme example, 4,000-pounds or more full of people—and even large format tile on floors can impact floor framing. What’s more, sometimes it’s a combination of those things that sneaks up on you and your floor joists, for example a new island + counter + floor tile may stress the floor structure.
Another resource you have is a high quality counter supplier and installer like Arch City Granite Co the fabricators of the room in the photo. Kitchen designs with islands are a skyrocketing trend and dealing with suppliers and installers who do this all the time is also a great place to start.
