Home> Help> Kitchen Cabinets> What is a Kitchen Plinth?

A kitchen plinth — often called a kickboard — is the removable strip of board that runs along the floor at the base of your cabinets. Its job is to conceal the adjustable legs that support your base units, closing off the gap underneath so your kitchen looks neat and finished from worktop to floor.

Why do you need a plinth?

Flat-pack base units do not sit directly on the floor. Instead they stand on adjustable plastic legs, which let you level the cabinets on an uneven floor and set them all to a consistent height. Those legs would otherwise be on full view, so the plinth clips onto the front of them to hide the legs, keep out draughts and stop crumbs, dust and spills disappearing beneath your units.

Standard plinth height and fitting

Base units are 720mm high and sit on legs that lift them roughly 150mm off the floor, giving a worktop height of around 900mm once the unit and worktop are in place. The plinth fills that gap at the bottom. It is normally supplied as a long length in a finish that matches your doors, ready for you to cut to size and clip onto the legs using push-fit clips — no permanent fixing required, so it can be pulled off for cleaning or access to pipework.

A neat finishing touch

For the best result, add a plinth seal along the bottom edge. This flexible strip closes the gap between the plinth and the floor, keeping dirt and moisture out and giving a professional, wipe-clean finish.

Need help choosing the right plinth for your units? Call us on 02920 007 948 or email info@flatpackkitchens.co.uk, or browse our kitchen cabinets to get started.

What is a Kitchen Plinth?

A kitchen plinth is the long piece of wood that is fixed to the legs of the kitchen base units. It is used to hide the legs and also to stop things getting kicked and knocked under the kitchen cabinets.

The plinths are long pieces of wood, normally approximately three metres long. They can be joined together if required to ensure a consistent run underneath the kitchen cabinets.

How to fit plinths around corners and on the end of units

There are two way typically used to fit the plinth to the end of a run of kitchen units. You would either bring the plinth back at a 90 degree angle, as in the picture, or you would use an end panel at the end of the run, to butt the plinth up to it. Giving a clean finish.

Both are popular way of finishing the end of a kitchen unit run, so it is mainly down to preference as to which method you use in your kitchen.

Please bear in mind that plinth is typically bought separate from the kitchen units. It is sometimes made of a brushed steel or aluminium effect finish, but more typically these days they are made of the same material as the kitchen doors.

How high should kitchen plinth be?

A kitchen plinth is fitted at 150mm high as standard. The kitchen base cabinets have adjustable legs. These legs are normally set at 150mm high, with an option to adjust slightly to accommodate uneven floors and fitting adjustments.