Laundry room floor with drain

15 years ago

I would like to re-do the flooring of our second floor laundry room with tile and a floor drain to guard against possible flood damage. The room is approximately 6 x 6 feet. Currently the room has a wood floor which I assume would be removed down to the joists.

From what I have read, the most common approach seems to be to construct the floor exactly as you would do for a shower, with the additional requirement of a trap primer to keep water in the trap. I have seen a couple of suggestions that the slope requirement of 1/4 inch per foot could be relaxed to 1/8 inch. From what I understand, the most common way of doing a shower floor is to use a mortar bed with a pre-slope, then a waterproof membrane, then another layer of mortar, and then tile with thinset.

The disadvantages of the mud job approach that I can think of are (a) it's expensive, and (b) it will add about 3 inches to the floor height, resulting in a step up from the adjacent hallway.

I did read a couple of suggestions that the Kerdi shower system might be used for a laundry but (a) none of the tilers I have spoken with for past projects have known anything about Kerdi showers, and (b) I'm not sure whether the Kerdi shower system is approved for the weight and vibration demands of a laundry room.

The job will be done by a tiling contractor, but I would like to educate myself on the options and best practices before I start talking to tilers.

Any suggestions or comments from the experts would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

schreibdave

15 years ago

I would think it would be easier to add a floor drain and set the washer in one of those plastic tubs that is designed for this purpose. Rather than construct the entire room as if it were a shower. That's what I have in my house.

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Comments (9)

mrblandings
Original Author
15 years ago
The tub is one option, and certainly would be less work. However, the tub would not help for leaks that cause water to spray out, such as a broken hose for example. The tub also makes it impossible to slide the washer out if I need access to the back for some reason -- instead it would have to be lifted out of the tub.

I will probably cost out the project both ways and then decide whether the extra peace of mind for a whole-floor solution is worth the extra expense.
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Having had them combined, I agree with what's been said. Consider whether a barn-style sliding/rolling door, or bi-fold, plus stacking even full-size washer/dryer, and a tiny wall-mount wash-up sink and/or shower stall would make the separation easily possible; it will be well worthwhile, particularly if you want guests to feel comfortable using it. And, rather than making the laundry the mere closet, I'd make the bathroom the mere closet. In the laundry, one seeks fresh-smelling and dry - a convergence and dispatch of often-intimate belongings from multiple members of the household, always in progress, milling through noisy cyclings and beepings, nagging for attention, and demanding work -- often intimates hanging in plain view, and/or shedding lint; one wants space to shake out and sort and fold. In the bathroom, one seeks privacy in an isolated corner, and/or transport from cares elsewhere, often in steamy wetness, without the distraction of others' belongings, or fear of being in anyone's way; one wants to disappear. Also; think aersolization of effluent. It's easier than you'd think to separate the rooms, even if you have to walk through one to get to the other, and well worth it. They'll still be adjacent; and you can easily shed clothes from one into the other. Your kitchen and bathroom both use plumbing, but that's no reason to combine them.
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As Joe said no drain needed unless the laundry room is on the 2nd floor you will install the pan with it. The pipe can burst anywhere if a toilet overflows you not gonna start putting floor drains into the bathroom. Here is an example it happened to one of my customers, the nut on the toilet bowl cracked on the 2nd floor while they were away, flooded the entire house (2 floors +finished basement) 100k in damage. I can give you a few more horror stories when the metal dishwasher hose bursts on it's own without the appliance being in running mode. The moral of the story is and it's everyone should keep in mind that when going away to shut the main water valve off near the meter and never run dishwashers or washers when you going out and no one will be home. Most importantly check the water lines under the sinks from time to time, being in this business you come across base cabinets when people keep stuffing stuff under there and at times the lines get damaged or kinked, etc and it's only a matter of time before they burst. Good luck
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paral
15 years ago
The simple plastic (white) tub would move with the washer. Once the washer is placed into it, the whole thing would slide together.
detroitmi
15 years ago
Well,the best for a laundry room is: Mud the floor then tile over,the standard thickness of the MUD is 3/4 not 3 inches, no slope needed unless you want it to, to get a slope to that floor would be more expensive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile Jobs
mrblandings
Original Author
15 years ago
detroitmi: can you explain what the advantage of tiling over mud would be if there is no slope to direct water to the drain? I have been assuming that the entire point of using a mortar bed would be to create a slope to the drain. If I go with the other suggested option -- a drain under the washer pan only instead of a floor drain -- then I would think it would be much easier and thus less expensive to tile over CBU or Ditra rather than over a mud job.
detroitmi
15 years ago
Since when is better to install tile over Ditra(which is plastic?) or backerBoards instead of MUD? Go ahead and get it sloped.Nothing wrong with that. You can get flooded with or without slope.
mrblandings
Original Author
15 years ago
detroitmi: I didn't suggest Ditra or CBU would be better than mud, just less expensive. I guess the way I see it is there are two ways to go: (a) a mud job sloped to a floor drain, or (b) a flat floor using a washer pan, with the drain attached to the pan. I'm going to cost out the job both ways and make a decision after I get some numbers.
detroitmi
15 years ago
mrblandings:"can you explain what the advantage of tiling over mud ". Well, the advantage is ,Mud lasts forever ,I am remodeling old houses "30,40 50 years old" the tiles are so strong on MUD ,unbelivable,( so ,using MUD is a money saver,that's my opinion),Ditra,BackerBoards ? you gotta change it in a few years or so,you don't want that.You were talking about saving money.So do it right the first time and you won't have to redo it again.Slope it, go ahead,nothing wrong with that .
glennsfc
15 years ago
Who changes a Ditra installed job in a few years? You only do that if you change your mind and want a different tile. Who wants to step up into a room over a curb?

Laundry room floor with drain

schreibdave

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mrblandings
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schreibdave

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