Looking for feedback on cabinet plans

[Jim Dwight]

I have a floor to ceiling cabinet in my bathroom that I put together in the bathroom and made a little shorter than the 8 foot floor to ceiling height and covered the gap with crown molding. This is smaller than yours, however, which would affect standing it up. I'd make yours in top and bottom separate boxes. You could hide the joint with the face frame.

I also like to make the base separately unless I can't due to the design. It is easier to set and level a separate base. I don't think I would use pull out trays. Shelves should work fine and could be adjustable. I wonder if there is space to pull the tray out unless the room is big.

[Gabriel Marusic]

Ours is made of sheet metal...painted black with wood blocks to raise the washer up for easy service since the pan is fixed to the floor by the drain. It's also quite dirty. LOL Sorry about that!

Attachment 432656

That black one looks a lot better than mine. My floor is espresso colored so it would blend decently well.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Questions and Considerations

Is this laundry room on the first or second floor?

How long is the dryer hose run in linear feet?

Do you have a table to fold clothes?

How accessible is the plumbing?

How do you intend to remove the washer-dryer for service?

Corrugated dryer vent pipe is not a concern IF there is sufficient pressure from the dryer. For runs over 6-12 feet, depending on the static pressure of the dryer, you might need a booster fan and auxiliary filter trap. No room in that space or your plans for this contingency.

A washer pan is fine and dandy for perhaps a gallon or two of water. If there is a true overflow, it is worthless. You’ll need a floor drain, or an electronic shutoff. Speaking of shut offs, those should be easy to get at. I shut ours down when we leave town. The washer supply lines have a life span of only a few years, so they need to be easily replaced.

Most dryers need to be serviced every year or two, by vacuuming out the area where the combustion takes place. Lint gets in there. Usually, it’s a front cover removal, but I would leave room for service.

Sometimes boxing in an appliance with fixed permanent cabinets is not the best answer for practical servicing issues. I didn’t think the area was a mess and the open shelving addressed some of my concerns

If boxing these appliances in is still your preferred course of action, I agree with the others to fabricate this using 3-4 boxes. Easier to install.

[Jim Becker]

That black one looks a lot better than mine. My floor is espresso colored so it would blend decently well.

Even the while plastic pan can be painted...wink, wink...nod, nod...

And Thomas is correct...the pan is just part of the solution. It needs to have a drain that's routed away from the area; usually outside or to a sump pit.

[Robert Engel]

I think its a good idea to allow for 1 -1&1/2" filler strip against a wall to give some room for doors/drawers and also the filler strip can be scribed to the wall if desired. Same thing with the top against a ceiling. In lieu of scribing, a thin trim strip can also be applied, or if the gap is very small it can be caulked. I would allow at least 1" between machines and cab.

Definitely build in 2 units, it will make both construction and installation much easier.

I've never found dados do be either useful or necessary. In fact I avoid them totally it only adds to the amount of work, and chance of a mistake. Where the screws will never be seen, I simply screw in from the sides.

Melamine would be an excellent choice for materials.

Danny Proulx has an excellent book on building frameless cabs.

[Gabriel Marusic]

Questions and Considerations

Is this laundry room on the first or second floor?

How long is the dryer hose run in linear feet?

Do you have a table to fold clothes?

How accessible is the plumbing?

How do you intend to remove the washer-dryer for service?

Corrugated dryer vent pipe is not a concern IF there is sufficient pressure from the dryer. For runs over 6-12 feet, depending on the static pressure of the dryer, you might need a booster fan and auxiliary filter trap. No room in that space or your plans for this contingency.

A washer pan is fine and dandy for perhaps a gallon or two of water. If there is a true overflow, it is worthless. You’ll need a floor drain, or an electronic shutoff. Speaking of shut offs, those should be easy to get at. I shut ours down when we leave town. The washer supply lines have a life span of only a few years, so they need to be easily replaced.

Most dryers need to be serviced every year or two, by vacuuming out the area where the combustion takes place. Lint gets in there. Usually, it’s a front cover removal, but I would leave room for service.

Sometimes boxing in an appliance with fixed permanent cabinets is not the best answer for practical servicing issues. I didn’t think the area was a mess and the open shelving addressed some of my concerns

If boxing these appliances in is still your preferred course of action, I agree with the others to fabricate this using 3-4 boxes. Easier to install.

The washer is on the first floor of my small condo and sits on a concrete subfloor. The dryer vent pipe is maybe 2.5 feet from the dryer to the duct. The condo association mandates professional cleaning of the dryer duct and vent system on an annual basis since there was a fire from one the units a few years back. They actually bring in a service and we all have to pay for it. Access to the water lines from the wall to the dryer is arguably a bit to easy. The spigots are in the space to the right of the dryer and sit about 2' back. Without moving anything I can very easily turn them off or on. I'm actually thinking I may recess them into the wall to save a few inches of space as access to them isn't a concern. That side of the opening won't have a panel and will be exposed wall. While the cabinets themselves are different, this layout captures what I'm talking about. https://www.houzz.com/photos/sunnysl...hvw-vp~7526321 The dryer actually slides out very easily because of the plastic pan. I really only need a couple of inches of wiggle room on either side and I can get it slid out in a few minutes.

This opening actually sits in the hallway of my condo and is a real eyesore for me to look at. It's right in between my bedroom and bathroom so I have to pass by it a lot. If it was it's own room and not out in the open it wouldn't bother me as much. I wish I had room for a folding table, everything gets laid out on my bed and folded there.

I will definitely do 4 cabinets as you and others have suggested, that should be a pretty easy update for me.

[Gabriel Marusic]

Even the while plastic pan can be painted...wink, wink...nod, nod...

And Thomas is correct...the pan is just part of the solution. It needs to have a drain that's routed away from the area; usually outside or to a sump pit.

haha, yeah. I've definitely mulled it. I wonder if I could contact the manufacturer and get the actual paint color code from them and buy a new metal one and spray it to match the machine. It would look a lot better and be a real minimal amount of work. I wish I could set up a drain but unfortunately my condo doesn't allow for that.

[Gabriel Marusic]

I think its a good idea to allow for 1 -1&1/2" filler strip against a wall to give some room for doors/drawers and also the filler strip can be scribed to the wall if desired. Same thing with the top against a ceiling. In lieu of scribing, a thin trim strip can also be applied, or if the gap is very small it can be caulked. I would allow at least 1" between machines and cab.

Definitely build in 2 units, it will make both construction and installation much easier.

I've never found dados do be either useful or necessary. In fact I avoid them totally it only adds to the amount of work, and chance of a mistake. Where the screws will never be seen, I simply screw in from the sides.

Melamine would be an excellent choice for materials.

Danny Proulx has an excellent book on building frameless cabs.

You're right, the drawers need room to clear the doors which will have pulls on them that probably stick out at least an inch. I'll definitely be scribing as well since the walls are pretty out of wack. Going without dados would certainly be easier, don't they add a lot of extra strength though? I have maybe 2 screws that will potentially be seen from the sides. I've actually already purchased 6 sheets of russian birch ply so I can't make a materials change at this point. Thank you for the suggestion on the book, I'm going to look that up. Most of my research has come from youtube videos and reading posts around here.

[Dave Sabo]

Make your life easier and forget the dadoes. There really isn't a compelling reason to use them, especially if you aren't tooled up to make them easily and efficiently.

Dowels and or confirmat screws are plenty strong and have the advantage of being quick and easy to execute with a minimum of tools. An easy way around the hinge clearance issue is to use 155deg. zero protrusion hinges. These move the doors entirely out of the way and allow for full width rollouts. I'd suggest laying out the drawer positions before you assemble the cabinets because uneven / racked drawers are a pain. Installing them in-situ is doable, but not fun. Especially if you don;t have a reliable and accurate jig.