Laundry room in house

[Dan Stuewe]

Somewhere on the list of dream remodeling of our home is moving the washer and dryer upstairs (this would also give me more space in the "workshop"). We have a seemingly good location almost directly above the current location in the garage. Electricity and gas would need to be run upstairs, but even that shouldn't be too bad since they would run almost straight up from where they are. Water and drain is also convient since the location is on the other side of a wall from a shower. What I'm most concerned about is venting. We live in a very tightly packed corner of suberbia, in fact the exterior wall we'd use for the vent looks right down on our neighbors side yard (I think it is called a zero-lot). The vent currently comes out at ground level into our neighbors side yard and we have had instances where the lint has gotten a bit thick. Anyway, I'm guessing we'll have to go up through the celing/attic/roof, but I'm wondering what other options might be available.

BTW, it does scare me a bit to have a "leak waiting to happen" on the second floor of my home, but I'm planning on being as proactive as possible by using a valve shutoff sensor as well as a drain in the floor.

[John Shuk]

I live in a colonial and we have a garage that connects to the end of the house. We have what is called a "bonus" room over the garage that houses the washer dryer. Aside from having a problem with freezing (not a concern for you) I think it would work better on the first floor because that is where most of the day is spent. You have to run up to load the washer then run up to load the dryer. Then hang out upstairs to fold. It just seems like more of a chore to me. Not carrying a basket downstairs is a good thing but with young kids my wife has to bring it down to fold sometimes anyway. My dryer vents out the eve. If I had it to do over again I would put it on the first floor. Space is also kind of tight with the sloped ceilings. Just some thoughts. Good luck.

[Paul Downes]

Were goin inthe opposite direction. Our laundry room on the first floor is too small. Considering the 10 kids we have it is an overwhelming mess trying to get it done in the cramped space available. Our washer broke down a couple of days ago and the wife made me go to the laundromat today. Never again. blew half the day. So I'm going to clean out and dedicate a large basement room to a mini laundromat. I've even been looking into commercial machines. Going to get 2 washers to go with the 2 dryers we currently have. I have new insight into some of the frustration my wife has expressed. GOT to keep the little woman happy!!:D

[Jim Becker]

In my previous home, I moved the laundry to the second floor after closing on the house (builder wouldn't do it) into what was a very, very small bedroom that backed up to the master bath. This house currently has the laundry in the basement and I hate it...the planned addition will have the laundry back on the second floor where it belongs...near the rooms where we all take off our dirty clothing!

Dan, a dryer vent through the wall is pretty unobtrusive. I wouldn't worry about it and no way would I go "up" with it...you want it as short as possible to reduce lint collection in the duct.

[David LaRue]

Dan,

We moved out laundry room from the basement to the 2nd floor as part of a new addition. It has a couple of benefits (not in the least is that now I have my 8" jointer in the location of the old W&D) It is close to where the clothes are, and we don't have to treck up and down the stairs. As far as venting, we went with a side vent out of the house and a underside vent out of the dryer. This allows you to put the dryer right up against the walls. However, I would not recommend this! It was a pain to install! I originally wanted to go through the roof with the vent but the Architect nixed it. Not sure why, but if apartment buildings can do it you should be able to to. If you go horizontal, make sure you put a pitch on the pipe so that the condensation drains. Also, you need to not have the water pipes and the exhaust pipe in the same space to prevent freezing the cold air will come in from the dryer pipe (here in-the north this is an issue)

As far as the drain is concerned, we put in a custom 2" + tall tinned pan with a shower type drain and a "P" trap. So, if it did overflow, it would not be an issue. You need to keep water in the "P" trap to keep sewer gases from backing up however, and these will dry up, so once a year you need to add water to the drain typically. And yes you can put in shut offs, but you also should put in normally closed solenoid switched valves. These only turn on if the washer is calling for water. Then lastly make sure you use quality Stainless steel braided water lines.

Bottom line .. go for it. It was one of the best things we did!

[Matt Meiser]

We have a ranch with a first floor laundry and love it. Our last house had a first floor laundry and second floor bedrooms. This is much better. Our house has a floor drain under the washer to help with the safety factor.

Someday we plan to remodel the laundry and 1/2 bath area and incorporate them into the MBR as a walk in closet. When we do, the laundry will be in the MBR closet.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

LOML has dictated that if (when, I hope) we build another house, the laundry will either be IN the master bedroom closet proper, or attached to it with a doorway. I hate doing the wash, and don't do it to suit her anyway...so as long as she keeps doing it, I'd probably put it in the living room if she told me to.

KC

[Ray Bersch]

Having built homes for many years I have found the laundry location is a personal choice - I was quite frankly surprised at the many differing opinions on this topic, so I do what the person doing the laundry wants - period. For second floor locations you may find that code requires a drain, but prohibits the drain from being connected to the house waste lines. It is a simple matter of evaporation of trap water - the idea of a once a year shot of water is ok, but not to the code guys, primarily because if you forget or if the next owner does not even know about it, sewer gas could kill - generally, not a good thing. But you can take the drain to "daylight" such as out to the side of the building, or route it down to the basement, say to a sump or drain. In an apartment building I built a couple of years ago, we took the drains out to the side of the building and put a screen in it, caulked it and painted it to match the trim board that it penetrates. I can say that they are practically invisible.

As for preventing water supply hose breaks, I usually encourage using the KISS method. Indeed there are many types of demand valves and automatic shutoff valves and whatever. But the cost/benefit does not make it for me. Why do we need another piece of electronic equipment to worry about? First, most leaks are from the washer itself and even then, they are not catastrophic. Hose breaks are rare nowadays; the hoses are very good to excellent. Change them every so often, if you want - what, five years, ten years - who knows, but they are not expensive and a few changes will be far cheaper than auto-shutoff valves. In my house we have a single lever ball valve that shuts off both hoses at one time and my wife has the habit of shutting off the valves after each use - again, a personal thing. I can hardly remember to turn off the kitchen sink faucet when finished, but then, I don't do the laundry. None-the-less, you will find that hoses usually break when there is water pressure in the hose, and the hammering of the water from the washer fill valves is what will make one go - and when it does, the small pan and drain will not likely contain the gushing water unless caught immediately. So then you have gone to a lot of trouble for nothing......But if you do go for an auto shut off, I would recommend the "normally closed" setup - a failure of the valve will only result in a delayed laundry day.

As for the dryer vent - once again, codes will dictate what you can do and going up is usually a no-no. Going down and out or straight out is best. And the issues here are very serious - take some dryer vent lint and put a match to it - you will be a believer - and dryer vent fires are a leading cause of house fires in the US. Try going on the roof to clean your dryer vent - What, you don't clean your dryer vent? From what you said, it appears not - but you neglect this at your own (and your family's) peril. Do it once a year (Paul, you should do it once a month!!) This will also allow your dryer to work better.

Perhaps you do not plan on applying for a permit to do this work, but I suggest you find out what the code says anyway. Codes are written to protect you and the folks that buy your home (and this is being said by a builder, mind you, we hate codes!) but they are there for the best and you should follow them. Besides, what a pain if when you go to sell the house the buyer's inspector points out the violations and then you have to correct them.
Good luck<O:p</O:p

[Norman Hitt]

Our house is all on one floor, no basement or second floor, and when the house was built, they vented the dryer through the roof, Buuut....Fortunately, sometime during the first owner's Tenure here, they changed it and took it out the side wall, down close to the floor, (at the same level as the dryer outlet). I am very appreciative of this, because those that vent through the roof, are a constant PITA to keep from clogging up, and as mentioned before, they are also a fire hazard. I have a feeling that the reason for the change, was because the first owner got tired of it clogging up and having to clean it out.;)

[David LaRue]

Ray,

Our addition was professionally designed, built by a licensed contractor, and inspected by the city. Perhaps there is a code prohibiting the vertical dryer vent, and that is why the architect removed it. Good catch on their part. By code they allow the drain into the DWV.

BTW I do clean my vent yearly... / as needed (comforters make a lot of lint)

A leading major insurance claim for houses is for water damage from potable pipe / water leakage, and I believe the number was somewhere north of 9k per occurrence. (this may be low) But the point is that here an once of prevention is in my opinion worth the added expense. my .02

[Ray Bersch]

Ray,

BTW I do clean my vent yearly... / as needed (comforters make a lot of lint) Great, and I hope our posts will encourage others to do so -

A leading major insurance claim for houses is for water damage from potable pipe / water leakage, and I believe the number was somewhere north of 9k per occurrence. (this may be low) But the point is that here an once of prevention is in my opinion worth the added expense. my .02 That's cool, you gotta feel comfortable.