"Do you have opinions about a washer-dryer in the basement?"

That is the norm here in SW PA...
I am sure many will speak out against it though.

We only have a one story with a basement, but I really do enjoy not doing the stairs with the laundry.

There are safegaurd systems to protect the floors.

Looking at your plans, I would rearrange things a bit. The shared bath could be more efficient between the bedrooms and the laundry could be accessible from the master bath and/or center hall.

It really is a matter of preference. The reason laundry rooms on the living floor is so popular is because this is a daily use issue and so darn handy. Since you are on the second floor already, it really is not about mobility.

Build what works for you.

Personally, I would leave the laundry on the 2nd floor. But, you don't necessarily need a whole laundry room. A washer/dryer in a closet would be fine with me. You could put it in the hall bath where the shallow linen closet it. You would need to move one of the closets in the adjacent bedroom to where the washer and dryer is currently drawn. The rest of the laundry room space can be used to make that bedroom bigger. For storage in the hall bath, you can put a cabinet between the sinks.

I'm sure there are other ways to do it as well.

Second floor laundries are standard here even in small townhouse developments. The only basement laundry I've seen lately was in a luxury home built by a Mid Easterner where the assumption was that all menial tasks were performed by domestics, so who cares.

In my 1920's house in NJ with all bedrooms on the 2nd floor, the washer & dryer were in the basement at the opposite end of the house from the staircase. I thought I was in hog heaven since I had previously lived in a highrise apartment with the laundry in the basement & even that was an improvement over going out to a washateria (Texan for laundromat).

After moving to Texas, I admit being spoiled by having the washer & dryer in the garage entrance/mudroom (in Houston, basements are, pretty much, non-existant). I didn't like the arrangements where the location of the mudroom meant that laundry had to be hauled through the kitchen area, but is was so nice to be close enough, when watching TV, to be able to check on how the washing was progressing. Our new house will have a mudroom between the kitchen & garage with the laundry in its own room over by the bedrooms.

Looking at your layout, I would say that you have a reasonable case for moving the laundry to the basement if you plan to spend a reasonable amount of time in the media room and/or office. It wasn't the carrying the laundry up & down the stairs that I found wearying, but feeling like I was a jack-in-the-box popping up & down the stairs to check on the laundry. You could come up with a new "game" for your new house called "run-downstairs-and-see-if-the-clothes-are-dry-for-Mommie" which can evolve into "this-is-where-the softener-goes-and-here-is-the-start-button".

You might also consider turning the washer/dryer by 90 degrees & putting them behind bifold doors in the hallway. Do you plan to iron in that laundry room? If not, you are devoting a lot of space to that room. You could even stack the units if you are tall enough for that (I'm not). Another option is to reconfigure the whole mudroom/pantry/powder room area on the first floor to include the washer dryer.

BTW - I really like the window seat at the landing of your staircase.

Jo Ann

Thanks for the feedback!

We'll sketch out the ideas about rearranging the second floor. The bathrooms were grouped over the kitchen and half bath for an efficient plumbing layout. We are planning an on-demand heater in the basement under the front entry and I'm not sure how much grouping the bathrooms really matters.

What are the safeguard systems to protect the floor in a laundry room, by the way?

A smaller laundry closet sounds good to me. I haven't ironed since 1993. I'd much rather give the small bedroom some more space, especially for storage.

I also like the idea of kids checking on the laundry. A good life skill. One reason why I've avoided designs with the washer/dryer in the master suite. If the laundry is in the basement, the kids can fold clothes while they watch a movie. If it is on the second floor, it will be easy for kids to carry clean laundry to their bedroom, fold it, and put it away. One more goal for the move!

Liz

It is 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

You either have to carry the laundry down, then you can check on it while you do other stuff... or you have to go up and down the stairs to check on it.

Our other house, laundry was 2 floors away also, but I didnt really mind it. But the new house, I tried to really think about how we do laundry. For our older years, I wanted everything on one floor, so main level laundry was a given. But as far as placement, I decided it would better serve us to be a laundry and mud room combo. We come in all dirty and sometimes have to start stripping down at the back door. (full bath is close there also)

But it is relatively close to the kitchen, which is close to the great room, etc so checking on it throughout the day will be convenient.

I decided my teenage son who's room is on the lower level, can bring his laundry up. Everytime I would mention things like a mini-master suite with his own bath, or own laundry, etc, his standard answer was... "we don't need all that Mom."

My daughter who has moved back home while she goes back to school, along with my little grandson, will be on the 2nd floor. At first I thought, 7 days a week, we can surely all get our laundry done. But decided to give her a set upstairs and I don't think I will regret that. It was going to be a stack in a hall closet so when other guests are there, they can access it also. But ended up expanding the bathroom area, so there was room in the bathroom, tucked around a corner in the eaves. It will be perfect for them. All their dirty clothes will be there anyways, there will be a space to put them out of the way, or she tends to put them straight into the washer until she has a full load......

I knew ahead of time that we were going to be this modern day Waltons, I like the new phrase of "shared accomodations" so I am trying to really think about each space and how it will be used and by who and trying to make sure everyone can co-exist without too much cramping of the styles.

Sorry Luann, but the laundry in the basement in western pa is in the past...way in the past. None of my friends that have built homes in the last 10+ years have a laundry room in the basement. I own a 60+ year old home. I curse that laundry room every single solitary day. I hate, hate, hate it! If I am ever blessed to move or build, I will never, ever have another laundry room in the basement. I don't care what Mike Holmes says! LOL! Life skill for kids probably not, but I guess it would be a good punishment for the kids. But how long are your kids going to be with you? Let's be realistic. Kids are busy. They are never home. YOU will end up being the one doing the laundry in the basement and if you are like me, you are aging and in your retirement years that laundry basement is going to stink. If you have a large family like mine, it is H E double hockey sticks. Tell your friends to kindly mind their own business, (I'm saying that in a very nice joking manner!LOL!). DON'T DO IT!

Sorry, I'm done now. I just feel strongly about this! LOL!

Laundry is a drag. It's an even bigger drag humping laundry like a mule. You're probably designing a new haus because your old haus was a pain in the butt. Putting laundry in basement would be like designing in a pain in the butt.

There is some space to realign walk-in/ensuite/kid's bath to include a small laundry center. I would just add the old laundry space to the double bedroom.

Also can't hurt to rough-in a second laundry location.

I say NO to the basement. They need to be very handy and yet tucked away for noise reduction.

Hah! I appreciate the honest responses. We need it. I'll work on redesigning the second floor to include a smaller laundry area. Thank you!

What are the safeguard systems to protect the floor in a laundry room, by the way?

What I've had to do by local Code is build a "dam" in front of the washer, sink, dryer, and slightly slope the tiles under them to a floor drain. Another approach would be to treat the entire laundry room floor as if it were a shower floor with a central drain.

Thank you worthy. Because of one former home, I still get the chills when I hear the sound of water dripping. My husband too.

Liz

Personally, I would never put laundry in the basement if there was any way possible to have it on the bedroom level, especially if those bedrooms are 2 floors away. I would work to have the laundry in a hallway closet or make it smaller, or if all else, live with the smaller bedroom on that floor. I only say this b/c I Had laundry in the basement with bedrooms on the second floor in a home before we had children and I hated it. I can't imagine making all those trips when my children are younger -- I do alot of laundry! Good luck! You've been given some good advice for rearranging.

http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=i2800-1&PartID=2800&Acc=1

A floor drain is ideal.

http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/laundry/msg0800293813891.html?2

With kids, time is what you need most. Do not put the laundry in the basement under any circumstances. It is even dangerous as you may tend to leave your kids unsupervised as you run down to do a load. I heard some bad stories while mothers were in the basement doing laundry.

You can put all sorts of controls and alarms so that in case of any leaking the supply lines shut down and an alarm goes off in the laundry room or even calls your cell phone. I would discuss those options with your plumber for peace of mind.
Taking care of kids is hard enough, I have 5, you will hate yourself every time you are running to the basement to do launry. Think how easy it is to run sheets in the middle of the night upstairs due to bedwetting, throwing up/etc. It happens with kids.
Whoever advises laundry in the basement is not the one washing everyday, guaranteed!

"Sorry Luann, but the laundry in the basement in western pa is in the past...way in the past"

Sorry, but not true! The majority of the houses have basement laundry rooms.
You yourself have one, as do I and practically everyone I know.
So it is very much present in the present.

Another vote for putting the washer/dryer upstairs. Your kids are in that "age group" where you will be doing alot of laundry for many years!! I think laundry just gets "forgotten" when it is left in the basement!! How nice to have all the kids' clothes close to the laundry and their bedrooms!! Sounds like a dream to me :)

I've been advised to add a floor drain to my upstairs laundry. As well, I'm probably going to have the flooring guy run the linoleum slightly up the wall on all sides to act a collector should anything catastrophic happen.

First house: We had three little kids and a laundry room in the basement. Absolutly hated it -- and I was in my late 20s-early 30s in that house.

Second house: Laundry room/pantry off the kitchen - clothes chute from the second story bedrooms emptied into the cabinets over the w/d. It worked fine -- but I made the kids carry their own laundry back upstairs!

Third house: Laundry room/pantry off kitchen, no kids anymore. I realized that now almost all our laundry happened in the master wing -- so why hadn't I thought about carrying so much back and forth all the time?

New house: Laundry room off master bath. LOVE IT!!! Except for the fact that DD#2 and her DH, 2 kids are living in the lower level -- No big deal, but it is just slightly inconvenient for them to have to time their laundry when the master bed/bathroom aren't in use. We did put in a hookup in the lower level so we or a future owner could add a second laundry set there.

Incidentally, many years ago, at my suggestion, a friend with 5 kids put her laundry appliances in the upstairs hallway between the master suite and the kids' wing. Worked great for all of them.

Run through all the scenarios in your mind and I suspect one of them will click with you!

But Luann my current home was built in 1948!! I was talking about new homes currently being built in the Pittsburgh area. Tour any new home today around our area, you will be pressed to find a laundry basement. In fact, we have toured many, many new homes in Wash., Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties and I cannot think of one that had a basement laundry.

Sorry, but I think you are in the minority on that laundry placement. But what works for you does just that. I'm not trying to make you mad or anything, just sayin' what I've seen. Heck, I doubt I'll ever be lucky enough to get out of this house, but if I do, you know where my laundry room won't be. LOL!