Can a power point be added to my kitchen island?

An outlet on the end or side panel of the island is the most common choice. It's easy to reach, sits clear of spills and suits a stand mixer or laptop charger. A pop-up outlet stays hidden in the benchtop until you need it, but it needs clear space in the cabinet underneath and a benchtop that can be cut cleanly. Outlets inside a drawer or appliance cupboard suit charging stations and appliances that live there.

Keep outlets well away from the sink and cooktop, and think about where cords will hang. A cord draped across a walkway from a bench-end outlet is easy to catch. Where the outlet will run heavy appliances, we check what else that circuit already carries.

Homes with a timber floor over a subfloor, common in older brick veneer and weatherboard houses around Altona, Newport and Footscray, usually let a cable run under the floor and up into the island. On a concrete slab, which most newer homes in Point Cook, Tarneit and Werribee sit on, the options are cutting a channel in the slab and patching it, or laying conduit before the floor goes down. Bringing power down from the ceiling inside a post rarely suits a kitchen.

If the floor and cabinetry are already finished, ask your electrician to look under the island and check the floor finish before deciding. Tiles, hybrid flooring and stone benchtops all affect what's practical.

When the old kitchen is out, the cable route, conduit and outlet positions can be set before the floor, cabinets and benchtop go in. The work is quicker and stays hidden. Energy Safe Victoria notes that the Wiring Rules call for additional safety switch protection when an existing installation is altered, so it's worth having the switchboard looked at while the kitchen is apart. You get a Certificate of Electrical Safety for the work.