First, I recommend a deep breath. It's only laundry, after all. (I can say this, because a few months back, I was where you are, hyperventilating about all the choices!) You can find my ongoing saga by searching for Bosch 500 and platform and second floor. I need to go update that thread with some pictures and if I have time later tonight, I will. They do make different sized trays. I used one called Floodsaver, from floodsaver.com and had to choose their larger pan to fit the front loaders. I opted for their entire surround. No tray will allow the drawer to open. The Bosch set has crappy little drawers that don't store much, so I opted for platform to get the height, and the tray because I'm paranoid about leaks. But many people have correctly pointed out that you're not talking 20 or 30 gallons of water in the machine at a time. And I know the Duet has really NICE drawers, so you do have to make a choice. Another option you have... search for Luna Laundry System in the forum and build THAT sort of storage with a tray on top! Then you can bail out on the Duet drawers but still have height and storage and the tray! I do have a vibration problem, but I'm going to put some ShakeAway pads under the machine (when I can get someone to come help me with the logistics of doing it). The vibration is only at certain stages of the spin cycle - maybe 5 solid minutes of things around the house jiggling. It's no worse than what we used to experience in older homes near railroad tracks when a train came through, however. Here is a link that might be useful: Floodsaver laundry pans and surrounds

I wouldn't. One good flood and that laminate is toast. Not like wood that you can refinish. If you feel the flooring warranty is strong enough to warrant the installation, I would recommend creating a seam or a threshold like you would have between rooms anyway. That way you could at least replace the section that could potentially get damaged much easier. Laundry rooms are much like bathrooms- there is constantly water getting on the floor. If you wouldn't put it in a bathroom, I'd have a hard time advocating putting it in a laundry room(or kitchen for that matter) I understand why people use laminate but it does not seem durable in the long run. Maybe look into a special at an online consolidator like Lumber Liquidators. They often have very good deals on small end lots or other close outs on wood. There is a reason why old wood floors can last hundreds of years. FYI- I'm a designer and I've used everything from hardwood, bamboo, cork, laminates, tile, concrete, carpet and carpet tiles, even plexiglas on floors. The most similar thing to laminate I've used in real life (in a house) was a bamboo. It doesn't always wear as well as wood but it's a much more durable than a laminate. We use laminate constantly on sets (i work in the film industry) and by the end of the shoot most of the time it's in pieces, literally. I cannot tell you how many huge chunks of laminate I've seen in tatters on the stage floor. Film sets are very unforgiving but so are people and foot traffic year after year. Especially when the structure is compromised with water. Try getting a sample and putting a few drops of water on the top of it and see how quickly it swells and the press board or whatever is under the top coating comes to the surface. It will be a good test. You'll see how it will perform to some degree. Here is a link that might be useful: This site can have good deals on both wood and laminates

LINK SPAM! Don't bother answering The link is to a furniture company. They get higher Google rank if they get links from high-traffic sites like gardenweb.

Here is another option. Why not build the closet to enclose the sink and the air handler? The door would then swing toward the cabinets. You then have a sink and some storage area for mops and brooms. The down side is the sink is still blocking the air handler. But it would not be too difficult to remove the sink when the air handler needs to be replaced. If you are worried about enclosing the sink, then remove it and build the closet as if it were there. Then new owner can add a sink if they want it to the existing plumbing connections.