Hey Fanatics - we are looking to remodel our laundry room soon and wanted to know if anyone has anything that we should absolutely do or avoid. Also would appreciate any recommendations on new washer and dryers. We live just outside of Ames and remember from other threads to possibly avoid Samsung due to no one working on them in the area.
Laundry Room Renovation
- Thread starter rpcyclone2013
- Start date
In the past we have had really good luck with the "scratch and dent" sales at Lowe's with Samsung. At the price we pay, they last 5-6 years they paid for themselves. Now I know something a little beat up may not go with a new remodel.......but we have had good luck with Samsung products.
As for the remodel.......if it's on an upper floor and it already doesn't, make sure the floor (Schluter fabric) is waterproofed and you have a separate floor drain for overflow in the middle of the room in case of accidents. That drain will need to run straight down the interior wall to the basement floor drain as if the washer were in the basement next to it. No traps and do not tie into the bathroom lines. I know, seems a bit much until you find out the hard way how much water even a HE washer uses.
Probably depends on how much space you have, but one thing my parents did when remodeling their house was have shelves installed that were big enough to hold the various laundry baskets they use. My mom liked it because it helped to keep piles of laundry off the floor.
It's going to be a new "addition" that takes up space in our garage. It will be about 10 x 9 feet. Would you still recommend putting a drain in?
Our laundry room is like 6 x 8, which is just big enough for the two machines, and a utility sink and thats it.
I do like the sink, but I kinda wish we had enough space to hang wet clothes. We have some clothes that we air dry, so maybe it's specific to us. Unfortunately, this would require a much bigger room.
We are also team Speed Queen, but I believe they have changed in recent years, maybe still better than the rest, I don't know.
I do like the sink, but I kinda wish we had enough space to hang wet clothes. We have some clothes that we air dry, so maybe it's specific to us. Unfortunately, this would require a much bigger room.
We are also team Speed Queen, but I believe they have changed in recent years, maybe still better than the rest, I don't know.
Can't remember where I saw this, but someone recommended a recessed dryer vent box. Makes installing/uninstalling the dryer much easier and also allows you to nearly push the dryer flush against the wall.
Install as many cabinets as you can. You really can't have enough storage.
It does depend a little on preference, but I prefer full cabinets, with doors, rather than open shelves. Allows you to "hide" any mess in the cabinets.
Install as many cabinets as you can. You really can't have enough storage.
It does depend a little on preference, but I prefer full cabinets, with doors, rather than open shelves. Allows you to "hide" any mess in the cabinets.
On a concrete slab, ground level? No. The only time it is recommended is when the laundry room is above living space (2nd/3rd floor). On some bath remodels we have done on upper floors we put it in. Cheap insurance.
I've heard good things about Speed Queen - we are okay paying for quality if it means it will last for a long time.
People use to laugh at the name in the past.......but you could not buy a better unit than Speed Queen.
First, just make sure it's warm enough in your garage since there will be a lot of water going through that area. But, I'd love to have that kind of space for a laundry room.
I'd make sure you have convenient shelving for detergent, softener, dryer sheets, etc. Have plenty of room to hang-dry stuff that doesn't interfere with other things. make sure the area is well ventilated so it dries. You may look at a non-slip/rubberized surface to keep your washer and dryer from "travelling" while in use. Also, install a sink for soaking/hand washing.
My sister has a nice set-up with bins in her laundry room and keeps most of her dirty laundry in there. She also has a flat surface large enough to fold items as well as storage for clean clothes in case she doesn't have time to put them away right away.
We just got a new Whirlpool top-loader washer with agitator and accompanying dryer. They are only 10 months old, but so far no complaints. We picked them up at Home Depot and have typically had good luck with them.
Good luck.
We have a set of Speed Queen's that we bought when we moved into our new house a year ago. We love them. They get our clothes so much cleaner than our old front loaders. They are built like tanks too. We had a set of Whirlpool Duets that were in our old house and it seemed like our clothes were not very clean and would have a smell to them. We tried to clean out around the door as best we could frequently, but it always seemed to get some type of mold type stuff in that area.
I have heard a lot of bad things about Samsung appliances in general.
If I could do a new laundry room and had the space I would definitely put in a utility sink. We have kids and sometimes it may be nice to soak clothes before washing. I know some people have an area for folding clothes. I feel it is a waste, but that is just me. I don't mine folding the clothes on my bed and putting them away from there.
Thanks. The contractor who is going to provide an estimate said they would put lots of insulation to make sure temps are okay. The current plan is to have a utility sink with a few feet of counter space and then lots of cabinets for storage. Curious to see what the cost will be as that will drive whether we move forward on it.
Which Speed Queen models do you have if you mind me asking? We have twins who are not quite two and another on the way so we already do a lot of laundry, and that will only increase once the new baby arrives.
What you want is vintage 1986 Sears appliances tucked away in the only unremodeled little room in the house. Did just add a new laundry tub so can claim "updated'. 
Looking forward to someday buyers walking through this architect designed (big remodel/rebuild) very contemporary house and than opening the door to this little room and going all "WTF?"
Looking forward to someday buyers walking through this architect designed (big remodel/rebuild) very contemporary house and than opening the door to this little room and going all "WTF?"
Be prepared for sticker shock on cabinets. We are a week away from being done with our kitchen renovation and cabinets were double what I was expecting. I assume you'll get by cheaper since you're going for more function than aesthetics, but I'd add 25%-35% to what you're anticipating. I'll be happy to be wrong on this for ya.
Yes, these won't be getting as much use as kitchen cabinets so sacrificing quality for cost is probably going to be okay. But we've started looking around, and you are certainly right. Cabinets $$$$
What you want is vintage 1986 Sears appliances tucked away in the only unremodeled little room in the house. Did just add a new laundry tub so can claim "updated'.
Looking forward to someday buyers walking through this architect designed (big remodel/rebuild) very contemporary house and than opening the door to this little room and going all "WTF?"
View attachment 91478
All this is missing is a blood stain on the floor and a machete swinging ominously in front of a light bulb on a string.
We have the TC5 washer. It is the "old style" agitator. The TR series agitate differently. On the TR series the tub and agitator move together as one and the concept is that the water moves through the clothes to clean them. On the TC model the agitator moves and the drum is stationary. It is a bit more aggressive on clothes, but I feel it does a better job. They brought this model back a year after the TR came out because of the kind of "cult following" that wanted the old style of machine. We ended up buying the matching dryer (DC5) that went with it, but was't as picky on the dryer.
I really like that we can really get a lot of laundry done in a hurry if we need to. We run a presoak cycle on our kids stuff (we have 3 year old and a 1 year old) and it takes a bit more time (about 40-45 min or so). A typical cycle is 30-35 min). They dryer takes more time with jeans and towels, but can still really do a ton of loads in a hurry if we need to.
I like the deep fill option so you can really put a lot in there. I know it is not as eco friendly to use more water, but I feel that less water does not clean as well.
I was also told that Speed Queen is the only one that is truly straight hot water if you select it (on Heavy cycle only I believe), Other machines to be more eco friendly still mix some cold/warm water in it.
I did replace the old hanging utility fluorescents with LED. I am actually going to paint the walls and maybe have someone do an epoxy floor finish, maybe next summer. Can't believe the washer/drier set is still running. The old well room is just off to the side, that little 5x4 cubby makes a good wine cellar.
