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Why are sink countertops never as deep as washer/dryers?

7 years ago

I've seen a lot of layouts where the sink is located on the same wall as the W/D. I've never seen it where they make the depth of that (sink) countertop equal to that of the W/D - is there a reason? Seems this extra depth could be useful vs. allocating it to the walkway (and appear more seamless of a transition)? We are considering this layout ourselves with top loaders.

Please help me understand.

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Comments (6)

rococogurl
7 years ago
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.
momanda09
Original Author
7 years ago
Our laundry room will be 8' wide with countertops on either side (one of those countertops will have the top loaders as part of it). The countertop incl. the sink will be 36" wide. We are doing custom cabinetry.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

Example 1

Example 2
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I do have plenty of room, so I don't need the pull out shelves as a folding spot, although it seems convenient. Where should I put the folding counter (i.e., is it directly behind the dryer so you turn and empty the dryer on the opposite counter, or is it next to the dryer, which means carrying the stuff around the opened dryer door? My laundry room is 15.5 long and the counter with the w/d is 2'6" wide and the opposing counter is 2' wide. The aisle is 4' wide. I could take a little width from my closet if you think I need more than a 4' aisle. Is 4' enough to fold sheets etc? (my closet is on the other side of the wall, but they don't match up perfectly, so I would create a jog in my closet if I put some of the space in the laundry. I'm so glad I shared the idea because all of you have so many good suggestions. Yeah, I assumed that if w/d can go on a pedestal, they can certainly go on a built in, but I never knew about the rods. I do see on Pinterest that a lot of people build DIY pedestals, so I imagine there is a way to do it right. The cart that can be folded is a great idea too!
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rococogurl
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
what you are talking about is clear. If you are doing custom cabinets they can be made any depth. I would not do a cabinet deeper than 24" without roll out shelves.

So 30" + 48" = 78. 96-78 = 18 for hanging or 12" deep shelves or shalllow cabinets on the opposite wall.
practigal
7 years ago
I put mine under the counter/extended the counter over it. The soap tray is hard to get out. You have to sit or squat to read the controls because you cannot see them from above.

If my w/d could be located in a room other than the kitchen I would be thrilled....
momanda09
Original Author
7 years ago
Our w/d won't be in our kitchen - we will have a separate laundry room (yay... finally!).

We have an old historical house so the door to our laundry room is 2'x6" - not sure we need a 48" walkway? If we allocate 30" to the w/d wall, the opposite wall could have 26" (folding counter with sorting baskets below) - that would leave 40" - more than sufficient space for the walkway, right? (note the dryer is located next to the window in our galley laundry room so nobody would need to walk by it when the door is open...)

Is 26" a good depth for a folding counter (4 laundry baskets below stacked each 2 high).
rococogurl
7 years ago
Industry standard for aisles is 48". 40" will be ok but I wouldn't do less -- don't forget that cabinet doors need to open etc

24" is standard counter depth. Mine is 24" d by 13'6" long and it's a fantastic counter. Have a smallish sink at one end and the machines are below.

26" deep is fine if that accommodates baskets below. But don't forget that the counter needs some type of support so an allowance must be made for that.

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