Another poster had an issue where her washer had a top loading detergent tray (it slid out a little so you could put the detergent, bleach, and fabric softener in the 3 little cups in the tray). That wasn't accounted for in her cabinet and it created a problem when she actually wanted to USE the machine. Personally, I would skip the counter on top and go for the pedestal base. Washers and dryers are bulky, if I need to put on a new hose for the washer or want to thoroughly clean the hose from the dryer, I need to get back there. Having a counter on top makes that harder, and when I fold laundry I watch TV (watching laundry isn't as much fun). I think that laundry rooms look nicer with a counter on shorter units, but when it comes to function it's harder. My laundry is in the basement, though, so I can go with function instead of form. But in any case, the depth of a counter needs to take into account your washer and dryer access points.

I'll admit DH is the one who is better with this sort of the stuff (I'm just the creative one who comes up with the projects). ;) I have a W/D on pedestals and a shallow shelf above the back of them that was there previously. The one in the back just has a piece of wood on each side holding up the wood shelf (like you see in closets in older homes). I told DH I want a shelf in front of it that extends to the front of the machines so I can set things and not have them rattle like they do now sitting on the machines. He was talking about putting another piece of wood on each wall like the ones in the back and maybe some sort of metal strapping (like you see on plumbing or HVAC ducts. Although I think that is overkill. There is no room between my machines for a leg or any kind of pedestal to support from the bottom. I was just looking at pictures, and I saw a couple support from the bottom. I do agree with being able to remove the shelf easily though. Edit: I just looked at the shelf above the machines and there is a metal bracket supporting the middle. I was going to say if you had a thick enough shelf you would not need a bracket in the middle as long as you didn't put a couple of the 96 load detergent containers in the middle of the shelf. Hmmm I'm looking. Wish DH was here so we could find a solution. This post was edited by IowaCommute on Thu, Apr 3, 14 at 17:04

I am not any further on the counter :) But I am still planning on using the ply as an underlay. Unless I don't, lol. The soapstone that I have on hold has a small ding in the surface. I can repair it by using epoxy and ground soapstone "crumbs". Then when dry it sands nicely and you really don't see it. I haven't actually bought the stone I have on hold, but its not going anywhere. They might have other remnants soon. I think I will drive there tomorrow and reassess the "ding" and maybe just go with it instead of waiting for something else to turn up. Just got the under cabinet LED lights installed today. I am still working on the crown at the top. I have one length in and have to cut a piece to finish it up. The space is to tight for me to fasten the crown as instructed. I am using extra strong velcro, that will hold 1lb/sqin. It has been working well for the top crown. I used velcro to attach the filler strips to the 2x4 backing at the ends of the cabinets too. It was great. The instructions for my style of crown have you attach the crown at the bottom of the uppers in a way that is not a good method. They have you directly screw through the bottom of the crown and up into the cabinet box. There is a narrow foam strip that gets applied between the crown and box which looks like it is used to block the gap between, so under cabinet lights don't show through. The foam works, but the screws don't finish flush. The screw heads are so obvious. I am going to back each screw out, one at a time, and counter sink the hole so the screw head will be recessed. Then I can cover the holes with a plug or wood filler. I would post a picture of my under cabinet lights but I haven't been able to post pictures for several days now. I don't know what gives.

Standard cabinet depth is 24"-26". Compact front-load washers & dryers will easily fit into this configuration. Alternately, cabinets can be 30" deep, which is considered custom. Many like that depth; some do not as things get lost in the back particularly with base cabinets. Standard size washers and dryers are not designed to integrate with kitchen cabinets because Americans tend to put them in a basement or into a laundry room. I would be very careful about keeping to kitchen aisle guidelines since it's easy to forget that cabinet and appliance doors need to open and in addition a person requires 24" of space as a minimum.