a drain pan with a drain would be better.

Make sure you use some refrigerator sliders or a way to slide the W&D out for servicing.

Just remeber if you are going to have bifold doors, make sure that you can still have room for the washer door to be left open, so it doesnt get the mold problem.

regus -thanks--there is about a one inch lip on the standard drain pan-will these sliders work and will they add to the vibration issue?
mc58- thanks- I was thinking this appears to be an on-going issue w/fl. I was going to do a standard 5 ft opening w/2 30" bi-folds- does anyone have this - is it a large enough opening? please let me know about your "closet laundry"- starting next week- thank you

While states differ a little in their plumbing codes, most would require a 2nd floor washer to have a drain pan with a drain connected. This should have been done when you extended the plumbing to the 2nd floor location. You can also get valves that include a floor water sensor to automatically shut off the water in case of a leak.

I have a 2nd floor traditional t/l washer and f/l dryer with 60" bifold doors and the space is pretty tight. My dryer is angled in a little to open, the actual opening is probably ~50".

Thanks Chris- I will put in the pan- the plumber did put the pipe to the drain, but the standard pan from HD appears to be too small, so I have to have one made- The delivery guy said a sheet metal co. could do it-I was trying to get away from having to do that. I am trying to make the closet as small as possible. I have looked everywhere for pocket doors that come out toward you then pivot like our tv cabinet. The bifolds take up too much room at the end- I think I would lose a lot of space to open the FL's all the way-any ideas ?

My friend said she used 3 different plastic drain pans and they all cracked-she recommended the Mustee Durapan which is made of fiberglass-I have it on order from a local distributer -she said it's the only one that has worked-thought I would pass this on to anyone else doing 2nd story laundry-(she didn't know they were cracked until she had water damage). Still working on design of closet -having the handyman do the new cubbies in the mudroom first- the Bosch set is so quiet I made the mudroom 1st priority.

This may be helpfull ... When we were doing our remodel I read about some bi-fold door hardware that was supposed to open the doors more fully than standard door hardware. The link below is to the company website that sells them. The ads show the doors swinging all the way out and to the side. We didn't use them, but it looks like a good idea for tight spaces.

Here is a link that might be useful: JohnsonHardware.com

Thank you so much lcp213nc- I think that will work on my closet- I was thinking of regular door hinges-but those look more functional-thanks again

I first came across the information about those hinges a couple of years ago. Thought they looked interesting, and stuck a note about them in my "wish/idea" notebook. When I read your post yesterday I remembered them. Hope they work as well as the ads indicate. We've still got a playroom to re-do and bi-folds that open fully may be good out there. So, post some feedback if you do use those hinges. Thanks! And, good luck!

I never heard of anyone having problems with a washer pan before, mine is a standard plastic one from HD (4 yrs old).
I'll keep an eye one mine, I occasionally pour water on it to clean it, so we'll see.

Those full access hinges are interesting. I went ahead and ordered a set for a diferent project, I'll let you know how they work.

I did see some hinges that pivot and slide in like on an entertainment center (that work with a 78" door). I think the full-access hinges are a better solution and you can use standard doors with them. The only problem I can see is they may not work well if you don't have the space to open them fully (~15") on each side of the opening (look at the last page of the installation instructions).

Another thing I included in my laundry closet was a door activated light. I usually install them on all closets, for some reason open doors bug me and this reminds everyone to close them.

Here is a link that might be useful: heavy duty pivot door slide