Help me get this washer/dryer out of the kitchen!

Who in the world decided that sticking a stackable washer and dryer in the kitchen was a good idea?!

Can anyone give me an idea about what it would take (in terms of time, labor, money) to move a washer and dryer under the stairs? The stairs are just on the other side of the wall.

Currently in kitchen:




This is the other side of the wall. Thinking about moving the washer dryer to where the small closet is.




This is what I would like to... except maybe for adding doors.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/613332/Laundry-Room-Bathroom-traditional-laundry-room-montreal
Would LOVE any and all thoughts and ideas.

That dosn't look like a problem. That unit is fairly easy to hook up as it has a removeable panel in the center, others, not so much.
You will want to check on re routing the vent pipe plumbing and electrical.

My anti-virus blocked your pic web site. Do you want the stackable where I have drawn the lines or literally under the stairs behind the door?

If you want it under the stairs, is the existing water supply on the other side of the stairs? Is the drain and vent pipe there too? It is hard to understand the orientation of the kitchen and the stairs without better pics.

Villa: it is just behind the square you put in the photo.

I suppose your fridge is in the closet now since the washer/dryer is in the fridge spot in the kitchen.

Thoughts ...

The stackable might be wider than the door to the space under the stairs. Some re-framing will be required and a new (wider) door installed. While you are at it, moisture might be an issue, so the new doors should be bi-fold with slats to allow ventilation.

The water lines, drain and vent are probably directly behind the existing stackable. New lines and a vent connection needed. This means cutting into the wall when the door re-framing demolition is done to make those connections. Cutting from inside the closet across the wall where I drew the red box to connect. Drain lines require a minimum of 1/4" per foot fall to work properly so this measurement is crucial.

There is no electrical in the closet. If the stackable is 110V, it can be easily re-routed. However, if the dryer is 220V you will face the problem of a junction in a 220v line ... let the debate begin! Being a newer place, these ought to be dedicated circuits by code. If not, new circuits should be installed.

What about floor drainage? If the laundry overflows or a supply line breaks where will the water go? Your kitchen location might have a floor drain. If you have a basement, you can install a floor drain in the closet. If not, you better get braided metal supply lines and hope for the best.

Finally, storage. You are sacrificing all of the under stair area. Can your bi-fold doors allow access to the left side where you can put laundry supplies and other stuff?

GOOD LUCK ... sounds like a fun project.

I did get a look at the link before AVG shut it down.
If you are looking at the first picture where they had side by side under the stairs.
That may be a bearing wall and depending on how the stairs are built there may be some tricky framing required and depending how the roof was built there could be a a bearing point buried in the wall.
So some real investigating would have to be done. You're best bet would be if you can stack them in the closet if they fit
Villa: we seldom see floordrains for these things on the second or third floor. But it would be a good idea.

Yes, I would like to conceal the washer dryer unit under the stairs if possible. I'm not sure if it would be cost effective to do so, since the place is a rental. The square you indicated is where the unit is located on the other side of the wall.

We did recently have an inspection and discovered that the unit vents into the crawl space below the house is a code violation. So, I would also need to figure out how it can be vented to the exterior of the house.

I would like to do something like this... http://www.houzz.com/photos/613332/Laundry-Room-Bathroom-traditional-laundry-room-montreal

..or maybe use a large, ventless, washer dryer combo.

nealtw said:

Villa: it is just behind the square you put in the photo.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is were the unit is located currently.

woodchuck said:

I suppose your fridge is in the closet now since the washer/dryer is in the fridge spot in the kitchen.

Click to expand...

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Ha! Indeed. ..and maybe we'll find the garbage disposal in the bathtub! lol.

The previous owner has an over sized refrigerator in an awkward corner of the kitchen. Ideally, if we can get the washer/dryer out we can put the fridge in this area. Fingers crossed!

The pic in post #8 is nice but you really don't want to put the washer/dryer facing the living room, do you? If you are contemplating that kind of reframing, this is no small project. The venting problem can be handled by extending the vent pipe in the crawl space to an outside wall.

What is on the back side of the closet, is that a hallway or what?
Has the dryer got a dedicated wire and plug or is it cheated off the stove plug?
If you have to move the dedicated wire will you be moving it closer to the breaker box?
In the crawl space do the staircase wall continue down to a foundation or are there double floor joists under those wall or not?

Are you the owner of the rental, or just the renter? If the latter, call the landlord, and tell him/her what you want. If the former, just pay for the remodel and add the costs to your accountant's expense list come tax time.

CallMeVilla said:

The pic in post #8 is nice but you really don't want to put the washer/dryer facing the living room, do you? If you are contemplating that kind of reframing, this is no small project. The venting problem can be handled by extending the vent pipe in the crawl space to an outside wall.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this is the only spot this could go if it didn't stay in the kitchen. As much I hate the idea of laundry in the living room, it's less expensive than relocating it upstairs and still better than keeping it in a 200sq/ft kitchen. How much do you think reframing would cost?

nealtw said:

What is on the back side of the closet, is that a hallway or what?
Has the dryer got a dedicated wire and plug or is it cheated off the stove plug?
If you have to move the dedicated wire will you be moving it closer to the breaker box?
In the crawl space do the staircase wall continue down to a foundation or are there double floor joists under those wall or not?

Click to expand...

The back side of the closet is the other side of the duplex, so it's not usable.

Cost of framing it will depend on what you find.
If we look at the photo of the livingroom and look at where the ceiling stops at the staircase. The corner between the ceiling and wall above is at least a double floor joist and may be a beam. If the upper floor joists are running front to back, it will likely be just a double joist, the qustion is then does that double continue to the kitchen wall or does it stop just above the end of that wall or somewhere between there and the kitchen wall. On s not more correct than the other. The good news is under the house. If that wall is supporting the wall above it will be supported under the floor with a supprting wall down to the footing or a double or triple floor joist or a beam where that supporting wall might be.