Thank you, Green Designs. Yes, the cross bracing would help, as well as added strength of metal brackets. Any suggestions whom to hire to do this? A carpenter I should think. I realize I forgot the helpful discussion I mentioned so here it is. Here is a link that might be useful: Link:

When we go a front loader I read of problems some of them had on anything but a concrete basement floor. We had a carpeted sub floor on a crawl space with normal joists. To improve stability I merely cut a 4x8 piece of A-C grade exterior plywood to fit under both the washer and dryer. i figured it would srpeat tha weight over more joists and add stability. We had it installed over the very short napped carpet with ring nails and then put a Hardy board underlayment on both the rest of the carpet and our "island". Then we had porcelain tile installed. This has worked just as we expected and is doable and cheap.

We are trying to think like the installer. We realized that our machines will have to be connected, leveled, and then pushed into a very tight space. So, we decided to: 1) max on insulation in floor and adjacent walls to try reduce vibration noise. 2) plumb the back and side walls according to where the machine outlets are (water, electricity, dryer vent). (Got a diagram of the back of the machines from the owner's manual) 3) install a Watts IntelliFlow (about $200) for leak detection 4) stub out the waste pipe already there for a pan because a delivery guy we consulted told us that they may not be willing to lift heavy machines over a lip, so we abandoned a built in, tiled pan. We would have liked to have a real floor drain but code requirements made this another $2000 worth of plumbing. 5) bought braided, steel hoses for extra measure. Here is a link that might be useful: Watts Intelliflow

I'm not a fan of direct-drive Whirlpools, despite their excellent reliablity, ease of repair, and ubiquity (most Kenmores were made by Whirlpool as well). Unlike the "real" Maytags, Speed Queen, or older Amanas, the agitator can't twist very far in either direction, and tries to make up for it by twisting back and forth very quickly. I had one for a few years and it clearly inflicted more wear on clothes and bed linens (sometimes to the point of tearing them) than with other washers I've used before or since. The one I had would only stay on fast agitate for about two minutes, after which it would slow down to a more typical speed. But because of its minimal agitator twist - about 90 degrees rather than 180-210 degrees in the Maytag, Amana, and SQ - the clothes didn't circulate well, especially larger and heavier items, so they didn't clean as well as other brands. The tub also doesn't spin during the drain cycles, so the layer of soap scum (or whatever it is) that often floats atop the water during the wash cycle gets redeposited on your clothes. Both the Maytag and SQ/Amana spin during the drain phase. Speed Queen seems to be the last manufacturer that used solid, non-perforated tubs in their top-load washers - I think well into the 1980s for commercial units as over a dozen such machines are still in use in the laundry room at the condo where I used to live not long ago. These would drain over the top ledge, and adding some water just before the spinout began would cause the layer of dirt floating on the top to overflow, falling over the edge, after which the tub would go into spin allowing centrifugal force to drain the remaining water over the top sidewall as well. I assume modern water usage guidelines have nixed this design as I don't know of any recent washer, including front loaders, that use non-perforated tubs. All things considered, I'd probably look for a higher-end Maytag first - these were in production for several decades with only minor changes, they're easy to find, parts are mostly still available, and they're easy on clothes, clean well, and are reliable. I also like the older GEs with the smaller porcelain tub (easy to spot by their chamfered door lids - corners cut off rather than square). One question I have about the GE - did all of them use the filter baskets or only higher-end machines? The local used-appliance store typically has about 5 of these for sale at any given time, but many are missing the filters.