2nd floor laundry room do's and don'ts

12 years ago

I posted initially on the laundry forum, but thought the best info might be available here instead.

We are constructing a small addition that will include a second floor laundry room off the existing master bathroom. The interior dimensions will be approximately 5'W X 10'L. The current plan is to run sink, FL washer, dryer and folding counter, all along the 10' exterior wall. The new machines are LG and are built to reduce vibration. A floor drain will factor into the plan as well.

We have read several theories on floor construction for second floor laundry rooms, ranging from pouring concrete pads (with and without rebar), reinforcing floor joists, adding anti-vibration pads, and last but not least, using foam pool noodles wedged between the machines. Because this is a new build, we'd like to do it once, and do it right.

Is there a definitive 'best way' to do this? Any advice would be appreciated.

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Comments (9)

juliekcmo
12 years ago
We did our 2nd floor laundry about 5 years ago. About the same size as yours.
We have top loaders, so not the same concerns as the higher rpm front-loaders.

My recommendations are to install a nice bathroom-type fan to run so your bedroom won't smell like bleach or detergent.

Good lighting.

Enough electrical and floor space for an iron and ironing board with convenient electrical outlet.

And hanging closet rod for hanging up clothes from the dryer. And floor space for a "clothes horse" to air dry sweaters and such.

Ours was also a new build-over our 4 season porch. We did 2 closets, laundry/dressing room, and office. I don't know what your Master Bath situation is. Our home is from 1931 and our bath is tiny. So now I use the bathroom to shower, but do my makeup and dry my hair in the laundry/dressing room. This has been really great. Like having his/her bathrooms almost. So we have a basic 5 foot length of formica counter with a small but deeper type of SS laundry sink in it at one end. We used basic grade unpainted kitchen cabinets, which were painted white. This give fantastic drawers and under sink storage. My drawers are actually big enough for my hair dryer and hair products. We have a large mirror and vanity lighting, as well as ceiling can lights. Also put in a medicine cabinet on the end wall for more storage.

Geting back to your construction questions, our code did not require floor drains. Our machines are standard top loaders and don't have the RPMs when spinning that front loaders have. So our floor is engineered for the weight but nothing special beyond that. We did have architect/engineer on our build.

Good luck.
weedyacres
12 years ago
Be advised that 5' is not very wide for a laundry room. Our house originally had a first floor laundry room that was about 5 1/2' wide and 12 feet long. The w/d were at the far end of the long wall. It was awkward getting the stuff out of the dryer: you couldn't do it from in front of it, you had to kind of squat in front of the washer and reach over to pull the stuff out into a laundry basket. Hated it.

We built a new laundry room on the 2nd floor. We didn't do anything special, just have the washer in an overflow pan with a drain to the crawl space, so I can't help you out much on that end.
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Ask yourself how confident you be of any drain if there were a burst hose pouring out 500 gallons an hour. Do you think a burst hose will cooperate and pour all that water into your nice new drain. Imagine that happening when you are at work, out for the evening or away on vacation. Will the drain promise to stay open and clear if it is handling 500 gallons an hour for 8 hours, two days, a week? I'm sorry, but anyone who says it is enough to have a drain has not lived through this, thinking through this and/or done the research. Second to ruptured refrigerator ice maker hoses, ruptured washing machine hoses are the most common home owners insurance claim. When this occurs the water damage is unbelievable. 5 figures in damages easy, then all the hassle and worry about mold, mildew and drying out your house. The key to any upstairs laundry installation is in redundancy - multiple preventative measures - with a drain being perhaps the last line and not at all the most effective. First, you want a manual shut off handy so you can turn off the water supply to the valves/hoses when you are away for long periods. Second, you want the best hoses you can get. I have a Miele washer and despite its $2000 price, I threw the hoses that came with it right in the trash and use these - Floodcheck. They are unbelievably well constructed and not expensive. http://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2/sm/flood-chek.aspx Third, you need an electronic shut off valve with leak sensor. I use the Burst Buster. I had tried the Watts Intelliflow, but it failed after one year. It was junk and the Burstbuster is much better. http://www.aymcdonald.com/burstbuster.cfm Forth you could install a pan. The pan may or may not have a drain connected to it. However, despite the back up problem your plumber brought up, what about the drain trap drying out? All drains need to have a p trap. The trap serves an important purpose in keeping sewer gas out of your home. How does it do this? There is always a small amount of water in the trap that acts as a barrier. In a laundry pan drain you will never run water through that drain so it will dry out and as a result sewer gas will enter your home. Ask your plumber how he can give you a drain that wont back up AND won't dry out AND be in code? I'm sorry to sound preachy, but I see the same bad advice on these forums over and over. Drains present many problems and expense, but their purpose is to deal with a failure (leak). You need to concentrate most on multiple ways of *preventing* that failure in the first place. Right? Actually "leak" is the wrong word. "Torrent" is more appropriate when it comes to washing machine hoses. Do you have a washer in your basement?Just for fun, take off the hose and turn it on while pointing it into the sink. Picture that happening in your upstairs
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brickeyee
12 years ago
Drain pans under washers and protection from broken hoses (Watts has one system).
davidro1
12 years ago
since it's a new build perhaps you could specify more about the structure, joists etc.

since these are new machines you may be fine in terms of anti vibration.

ideally, a floor drain has a "primer" that gets water from another source regularly.
If not, you have to fill it up from time to time.
This is a pain in the butt because you only know about it when it's too late (the house gets sewer gases).

h th
gagan_rawal_yahoo_com
12 years ago
I have strange issue. Installation guy said I need washer pan 34 X 31( Internal 33X 30). This is for GE FL machine. I cannot find pan of that size in all home depots. max I got is
32 X 30 external ( 27X 30 int). Please advice
brickeyee
12 years ago
"If not, you have to fill it up from time to time."

Without a trap primer it is unlikely to pass a code inspection.

Using the washer cold line to prime may be acceptable to the AHJ.
klabio
12 years ago
There is a product called FloodSaver that comes in a model deep enough for your application. And their surround product is nice since it runs up behind the washer in case of a burst hose.

To avoid the sewer gas issue I was advised to pour some mineral oil into the trap. It doesn't evaporate.

Here is a link that might be useful: FloodSaver
brickeyee
12 years ago
While mineral oil can help prevent evaporation from the trap, it is not a code compliant solution.

A trap primer is.
weedyacres
12 years ago
We actually put the overflow pan drain going straight into the crawl space. No p-trap--not needed because it's not hooked up to a sewer pipe. We okayed it with our inspector before doing it.

2nd floor laundry room do's and don'ts

Comments (9)

juliekcmo

weedyacres

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