Good quality stackable washers will not be that cheap. They'll all be front load. The old small combo single units are just as expensive as the front loaders and do about half of the laundry, half as well. The FIRST thing you should do is to get a plumber in there to give you an estimate for the water and drain connections. It won't be as cheap or easy as you think. Washers are required to have a 2" standpipe these days rather than the old 1 1/2". That's all the way to the main drain, which could be prohibitive to do depending on what the home's construction is. The reason is that most modern washers eject water rather rapidly, and can overflow the smaller pipe size. Also, if you are concerned about leaks, you should build the laundry closet (Make SURE there's actually enough clearance to connect things with a person as well as the units!) as a "wet room" with a floor drain. Like a giant shower pan with the washing machine sitting it int. You'll have to keep the trap wet to keep sewer gas out as regular maintenance and it's not a cheap choice to do it that way, but it is the SURE choice for someone who is concerned about leaks. Is there no space other than the tenant's that could be turned into a communal laundry room? A basement or garage? That would alleviate your mind on the leaks, and give you more space to put in the less expensive units.

I have LG washer and dryer stacked. The washing machine is WM2301 with 4.2CF capacity and an internal heater but otherwise it has no fancy features like steam, etc. I am very pleased with this set. I owned 3 other front loaders before and this is by far the best of them. The FL I owned most recently was Whirlpool Duet Sport without a heater which was still working fine after 4 years of ownership but I decided to upgrate to LG FL with a heater. The LG is a lot more stable, has bigger capacity and the internal heater makes a huge difference in washing ability. I paid $1K for the pair on a great black Friday special at Best Buy.

Amd111~ For what it's worth, I have a Maytag Epic set. They are stackable also & did require a kit... Just remember if you have to take the feet off the dryer to put them in a safe place!... Anyway, I originally had mine stacked & it didn't seem to cause any problems; no extra noise, vibration, etc... Also, we live in a mobile home, and there was no problem w/ the weight at all, I was also paranoid about this to begin with. Just recently, I unstacked mine to create hanging space in my laundry room, remember the "tip" above? I lost 1 of my dryer feet & DH had to rig up boards of the perfect height to go under my dryer so it was the same height as my washer! About the venting situation... Why couldn't you buy a longer dryer vent, possibly the expandable periscope vents, and maybe even a longer dryer cord if necessary to put the machines like they're supposed to be? I had to rearrange my laundry room from the way it's supposed to be set up b/c of the depth of my machines, I just bought a longer dryer cord, a periscope vent (these also let you push the dryer further back), and longer washer hoses... All of this stuff is readily available online. Anyway, that's just a thought, good luck! Mc_Hudd

The biggest problem you may or may not have is the construction of your home. There is always going to be some vibration from a stacked set, much less a regular side by side. If everything is very solid, you are probably ok but if the structure is at all bouncy it will translate into the walls and be loud. There are any number of things you can do, and there are any number of options for washers but the structure will be the limiting factor.