We wanted first floor master as that is what we had in our last house but when it came time to build we went with 2nd floor master and here is why. We built on a 100 ft wide lot with a neighborhood that mandates side load garages (which we like anyway). If you are building a house with large common areas, it doesn't give you much width to do a nice size master suite on the first floor. Yes - you can always build back but on smaller lots, you resist side windows, and as you build back, you have less window space per floor space (think townhouse). So after looking at spec houses in the same neighborhood, we realized that we liked what we could get only in 2nd floor master plans. The footprint stayed smaller which kept our garage entry easy and kept us away from a river running through the back yard (more like a seasonal thing but either way something you don't want near the house). Our neighbor has a 1st floor master - he has a hard time getting in his driveway. And his closets are smaller than ours. So for a "city" lot with a bigger house, 2nd floor master allows a better suite. For privacy - two walls are exterior, one is against master bath and then laundry room and the fourth is a large master closet bumped up mostly to a closet in a guest bedroom. There is a small area that goes from master closet directly into guest bedroom but otherwise we are 3 walls away from anyone. We also have 2 doors - one to the suite and one to the bedroom. And for virtual separation our suite is a foot higher so you have to walk up 2 stairs to get to it.

I don't know enough about current offerings from all the current manufacturers to say that one is better than another in a second floor application. Your appliance dealer may make his recommendation based on only one attribute, like noise level during operation. A washer has many attributes that you may value differently than your appliance dealer. Consider doing research about potential candidates on line comparing some of the following: Noise pressure during operation Wash ability Capacity Cycle speed Cycle options Efficiency water and heat requirements Appearance Durability Ease of use Overall size All the brands seem to have fans on this blog site, and GardenWeb seems to have some very sophisticated bloggers, appliance services by trade or just really good consumers who want to provide feedback on their ownership experience. You will see good and bad reviews for all machines, and be sure to check a few web sites for a good overall picture of customer satisfaction. Best of luck in your laundry purchase decision.

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.

No, it wouldn’t solve the problem, that would require a whole lot more than just building a wall because most noise travels through the stuff inside the walls and under the floors. I recommend a noise machine in their rooms for now and trying to get them used to more noise at an early age as you add more blessings. Personally, I had 5 kids in 4.5 years (yes, there is a set of twins, LOL!) and I found it helpful for my newborns to take their daytime naps in a bassinet in the family room where all the noise was. My kids are all teens and young adults now... it’s funny to hear them reminisce about bedtime when they were little, they fell asleep with certain familiar sounds, in their case there was a long time period where hubby and I would pop in our Seinfeld dvds when they went to bed. Hahaha! It’s a good memory for them now.