New Build Advice/Laundry on First or Second Floor
Erica
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
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Beefing up flooring in second floor laundry?
Comments (8)Raam - Stupid question... how do you block an I-Joist? Blocking solid lumber is pretty straightforward.. but an I Joist? Do you block just the top flange? The webs? Brickeye - Hey! Don't know if you remember, but I used to post here as "Saltbox-NH" a few years back.. I owner built a reproduction Saltbox colonial. Sold that, now I'm building again. The washer and dryer will be sitting on a pan connected to a dedicated drain. It's a high efficiency washer so the total water it would ever have at one point is like 13 gallons... I think it also has some sort of overflow sensor but I'm not sure.. I'll have to RTFM. There will also be easy access shutoffs for hot and cold water supply in the laundry room itself and we are doing Pex/manifold so there's an additional shutoff in the basement. Worthy- No rubber membrane, curb or tiles... seems a bit overkill vs. what a pan w/drain can provide in the rare occurance of an issue....See MoreOT: Laundry room main floor or second floor?
Comments (38)In our first house we had one level, and W/D near the garage entry. Next and current house is 2-story with laundry room on 2nd floor, and I love it. But, it just depends on how you live and how you actually "do" your laundry. For us, by that time, our girls were school-aged. So I was not tending a baby and folding lots of little baby things. The upstairs is just great since the laundry is in the middle of the hall, with baths and BR's on either end, so all linens and clothes just go there. You can dash and get something from the dryer to put on, or a warm towel. I don't think it's as simple as "where you spend your time" with the exception of watching small children, but maybe more about how you attack the clean clothes, and whether you have bedrooms on 2 floors or all upstairs. Or maybe as pointed out, if you do 10 loads of laundry in one day, you then are having a real laundry project, like a cooking project, and tending it most of the day. So those habits and preferences will affect what works best. I spread my laundry loads throughout the week, and so tending 1 or 2 loads in a given evening overlaps with other trips up or down stairs to do other things. With the upstairs laundry, I bring a hamper to my room and fold clothes and towels and put them directly in the closets/drawers. I may use the bed to make piles of folded stuff. I listen to radio or talk with my husband or just, you know, think deep thoughts. (Girls (esp in past years) take hampers to room and who knows what they do then? Not my problem). There is room in the laundry to fold there, so I might do some towels there, but otherwise I don't, since I would then have to just stack stuff in hamper and bring back and dig out again. So, I prefer my current system to an off-the kitchen system in which I'd haul stuff upstairs or fold stuff on the sofa. I don't have a mudroom and wish I did. I think that definitely influences laundry gameplans, since then you have other advantages of the mudroom and how your organize the flow of clothes and stuff. If one or more family members have to deal with dirty work clothes/uniforms, or maybe just active kids and sports stuff, that can be an advantage if you are organizing the clothes and shoes off upon entry. I guess you have to put on a robe or something to come trouping through the living room after stripping? But for those who have less frequent "toxic" clothes, you could just have a drop-off hamper at the entry point. I think it's less universal than kitchen design, which while still very personal, has the somewhat universal issues of work triangles and door-openings and things for the basic layout, and then moves on to more preference-based issues for how and where you eat, do homework, watch TV....See MoreFirst post, first new build, first kitchen design -- thoughts?
Comments (26)I'm not against cook tops or ranges in islands, provided the island is large enough to allow for ample work space on either side of the cook top or range. Your first plan allowed for 24", about 7" more than I currently have on each side of my island cook top. I hate it with a passion because there is so little room to prep and work next to the cook top. It's one of the driving reasons for completely reworking our kitchen (remodel to start soon, yay!). And the pop-up downdraft is a joke. That said, new pop-up downdrafts are much more effective but, as has been pointed out, island venting is more expensive than perimeter venting. So I'm glad to see that your later versions moved the range out of the island and eliminated that odd sink wall jog by bumping the whole wall out. Of the 2 latest plans you posted, I prefer Option 2. There is no zone crossing between clean-up and prep/cooking functions, unlike what will occur in your Option 3. I think Option 2 could be made even better. I moved the sink out of the corner. I'm not sure what you gain by going with a corner sink, other than mirroring the other angled corner. (I have a corner sink under corner windows; I've always been happy with this set-up. The main downside is that it's very difficult to clean behind the sink.) Eliminating these 2 angled corners gains you longer stretches of counter, which is always a plus, IMO. Here are images of sinks against walls, not under windows, so you can see design options for this type of set-up. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchens-by-julie-williams-design-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~114198) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Novato Kitchen & Bath Designers Julie Williams Design [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchens-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~1994291) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Los Gatos Kitchen & Bath Designers Kitchens of Los Gatos [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-dallas-phvw-vp~574875) [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Dallas Interior Designers & Decorators Denise McGaha Interiors [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/island-view-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~696524) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Boston Kitchen & Bath Designers Dalia Kitchen Design btw, I made an assumption about the size of your double pantry doors, basing its width on the integrated fridge (also assumed this was 42" not 36"). If it's larger or smaller, you'll need to adjust the sink wall accordingly. Putting a range in a corner is a tricky thing to do. You have to design it very carefully to make sure it works, plus it eats up a lot of space on each wall. A 36" cook top will require 51"-54" of space from each wall. Because a range sticks out beyond the counter edge, you'll need wider spacers next to it in order to be able to open cab doors and drawers without bumping into the range. That's not saying it can't be done but you should know the pros and cons of such a set-up. Read the following articles written by Kelly Morisseau, CMKBD, for more information. A reader asks: A cooktop or range in the corner? A Design Reader Asks: Help with range in the corner? btw, the same cautions apply to placing a fridge or an oven in a corner, too. Plus, there's the awkward placement of a tall thing breaking up stretches of counter. I wouldn't do it....See MoreNew build floor plan advice
Comments (42)I knew two houses, growing up, with master suites I liked. These are "squared bubble diagrams", no dimensions are given, this is just rough placements. The first, I like that there is a dressing area so you can "finish up" before/after dressing without getting your stocking feet wet. I'm pretty sure there was a door to the bath at the open area, which may have been more to the left, away from the wet area. This next one, I liked how there was a short "entry" to the whole suite; as I recall the door was arched. The closets were to the right, they were reach-ins so it was basically a walk-in but with doors in front of the clothes. Tidy. And at the end was a door to the bathroom. The bathroom also had a door to the master bedroom, so you could do a circle. But you could also use the bathroom in the night without a long trek, and could also get ready for the day or for bed without disturbing a sleeper. Neither required a long hallway. And remember, no dimensions are given, these are just placement....See MoreErica
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