I’d like to install a countertop over my washer and dryer and would appreciate some help with a few details. In the pictures that I have looked at for this type of installation I don’t see the water shutoff valves, drain pipe, or electrical outlets. How is that done?
I’m considering using one of the current sensing washer vavle shutoff boxes so that the water connections could be tucked behind the units.
But what about the drain pipe? I’d like for it all to be concealed but I need to pipe it to above the level of the washer.
Is it okay to locate the power outlets in the wall behind the units?
Thanks in advance,
Blue
Replies
I too didn't find any specs when I roughed in my undercounter washer and dryer. A visit to the local smart plumbing shop advised that I reconsider the idea and relocate them to another room that would not require finished cabnitery. Probabaly good advise, but I ignored it. We wanted the applicances in room that could double as a bulter's pantry.
All hookups are right behind the units. The drain and supply lines are just about as high as you can get them without sticking above the counter. The only thing I could come up with to gain access to the power or supply lines is to leave the counter loosly mounted (might want to rethink this for a granite top). I have never had a washer line break so I am not too worried about them. I leave my sink and toliet lines pressurized all the time, why not the washer?
Might be a good article for FHB. This set up is very common in newer construction in our area and considered an "upgrade" item.
Let me know what you come up with.
I did some further research (read the owner's manual!) after posting my initial message and found that the required drain height is only 24" which fits beneath the countertop. This resolved my plumbing rough-in issue. I never did find locally the automatic valves (as in Watts A2C-M1 - IntelliFlow Automatic Washing Machine Water Shutoff Valves with Leak Sensor) for the water supplies lines but I think that this would be the ideal installation, just in case THEY are right and there really is a concern about bursting water supply lines. For the power, I ended up installing a GFI above the counter with a downstream outlet for the washer and dryer beneath the counter. I figured that this way I could disconnect power to the washer/dryer outlet easily. I'll be purchasing some 5' long steel braided hoses to connect the water supplies.
The final installation (I'm not done yet) will require the dryer to be slid into place and connected to the dryer vent, connection of the hoses and drain for the washer, and then squeezing out of the space between the washer and dryer. I spent a lot of time sitting on a five gallon bucket trying to figure this one out. I'm convinced that none of the washers and dryers shown in the marketing brochures are actually connected!
I just did a stacked w/d in a closet that is 42" wide id , with pocket doors . ala ent centers...the drain for the washer is inside the wall. Ie the cab is 30" deep and the drain plumbing for the washer is behind the face of the wall, no drywall on the wall and its inside the studs.( hope that is clear, but maybe not) the w/d is abt 28 wide and the dryer vents on the side. the space between the w/d and the side of the closet is enuff to use for broom closet and three shelves for stuff to wash with...The water outlets are on the broom closet/shelf/ vent side. Couldnt see how you could install it under a counter and still get all the stuff all hooked up. This works really well....If Its not clear what I did Let me know...and will try to clairify....
I got a good laugh from your "thinking on the bucket" comment - very funny. What appeared very simple in concept is suprisingly difficult to execute given all the constraints.
You are probabaly right about the fact that half of the units are not really hooked up. I crawled around several model homes and came away with no real clues. We are at the final rough-in stage. I can take a few digital photos of our layout this weekend and post them for you. What I can't quite figure out is how they are able to achieve almost zero clearance on back of the units. Since all my utilities are behind the appliances, I'll still need 3-4 inches (gas valve, hoses, etc) which will just add to the counter top width. Since the cabinets are still not built, I guess 3-4 inches is doable, any more and it will look like I slid them under a pingpong table!
PS. You might want to reconsider the GFI. I think the washer/dryer install instructions that I reviewed recommended against using a GFI in this application.
You make a good point about the zero clearance. I will be using a 30" countertop for my installation to fit the dryer vent, hoses, etc. but this works out for me because the washer/dryer are not adjacent to other 24" deep cabinets. I've seen the narrow profile eliptical dryer vents but they are still at least 3" deep by the time you make the connections. I'm beginning to think that there are a lot of washer/dryers that are being sold with front panel controls that don't really work in this installation. Asko has a Design and Planning Guide, http://www.askousa.com/pub/asko_product-n-design_guide.pdf, that is very helpful. The Asko washers seem to be better suited because the dryers can vent to the sides and the washer connections are made vertically instead of sticking out the back of a 24" unit (the overall depth of the Asko washer is 23 7/16" but this includes an overhang in the back which provides a chase for the plumbing connections).
Thanks for the tip about the GFI, I'll check the installation instructions.
Steve
this may be of some help.. maybe not, since there is a countertop involved.. but still looks like a neat product
http://www.wired-2-shop.com/joneakes/ProductDetail.asp?ProdID=48&nPrdImageID=&CatID=10
The first time I did this, I simply had holes cut into the countertop large enough to pass thru the breaded stainless hoses as well as the discharge.
Now I know it sounds tacky, but in practice, the presence of these hoses provided benefits greater than their absence would have. I'm really picky about such details. I tried everything I could think of as well as a number of others. Hiding the hoses costs (besides money) too much. But the stainless and careful installation to minimize exposure and interference, it really is not an issue.
My laundry space was large enough to have 8" on both sides of the full size units (Whirlpool Gallery). I had the cabinet guy build these cabs 27" deep, allowing for hose and wire hang behind. The Corian guy then put in a 28 1/2" deep top.
So this means I had custom built cabs with top of the line Corian tops and 3 holes cut in the top with hoses coming thru. No one ever noticed and no one ever was bothered by them.
It's not an issue to worry about.
Thanks for your reply Stonefever but I must disagree. The holes, through Corian no less, are a portal to the funk that lives behind the washer and dryer.
Interesting concern.
It wasn't an issue for me due to how well things were buttoned up. The holes were only as big as necessary.
Several times I moved the machines out for one reason or another and I only found the expected dust. I do see how it's possible to have more if your dryer vent pipes leak. My location sent the solid duct directly out the wall - total length of maybe 12 inches - and I taped up all joints.
But for me, it wasn't an issue.
Just because your suppy lines have never burst, doesn't mean they won't next time you are on vacation. Use SS braided lines and a single lever cutoff. Turn them off when you leave town. Have seen and repaired many damaged floors and walls due to burst washer supply hoses.
I installed Asko w/d units side by side under a 24" deep counter. Next to them is a broom cabinet also 24" deep and 84" high. The washing machine box (recessed enclosure for the water supplies and the drain standpipe) is inside the cabinet. The electrical outlet is behind the dryer. I used a couple of desktop grommets siliconed into their holes to trim out the holes I cut in the side of the cabinet, and the water supply and washer drain pipe came in thru that. I cut a false bottom into the cabinet and ran the dryer exhaust alumiflex thru there. You can take out the brooms, lift up the false panel, and there's the exhaust duct. Reach your hand in and you can grab the outlet fitting that connects to the side of the dryer. Pull that out and you can slide the dryer out. It plugs into the washer, and the washer plug is behind the dryer, so you can unplug the washer from the wall before moving it. Nothing shows from the outside when everything is in place. It took some scheming to come up with this, and I had the units on the job so I could figure it out before building the cabinet and roughing in the water. The Asko dryer has a couple of outlet choices, which is critical.