Washing machine - is this too tight a fit?

GustyGardenGalaxy

How much clearance is necessary at the sides and top of your average washing machine?

I ask as I have the following space for a machine:

Width: 60cm
Height: 86cm

The machine that I have my eyes on measures as follows:

Width: 59.5cm
Height: 85cm

This seems way too tight to my mind bearing in mind that the machine will of course vibrate, trouble is that I can't seem to find a smaller 'full size' washing machine (the only possible option is a Compact, but the drum will be too small).

Any thoughts please?

Note: I'm going for a free-standing machine.

loracan1

andrew-b wrote: »

It'll fit..shove it in.

I'd go with that, but is it possible to go and physically look at the machine you want in comet or similar and take a tape measure?

I did manage to get a so-called 59.5 d/w in a 60 gap last year...very carefully...but it was integrated so had feet that I could lower/higher to move it back.

Yorkie1

Make sure you have checked the dimensions of the gap throughout. I once thought I'd be able to fit an appliance in under a shelf, only to do a final height check towards the back of the gap and to discover that the floor wasn't flat and that the appliance therefore wouldn't fit more than 1/3 of the way under the shelf.

Also make sure you measure between the skirting boards not the walls ...

GustyGardenGalaxy

loracan1 wrote: »

I'd go with that, but is it possible to go and physically look at the machine you want in comet or similar and take a tape measure?

Already done that.

I did manage to get a so-called 59.5 d/w in a 60 gap last year...very carefully...but it was integrated so had feet that I could lower/higher to move it back.

So should I be getting an integrated machine ?

Aquatronixjenny

What type of floor do you have? If you have tiles then you will be able to just 'shove' it in, but if you have lino then you will need at least 1 or 2cm of 'wiggle space' to get it home

aliasojo

If you have lino/vinyl, you shouldn't be sliding it in on top of that at all, you should really have a piece of hardboard/mdf/plywood etc cut to size for the machine to sit on. You can get 4mm stuff for when space is tight. You should also have another similar piece kept to put in front of the machine temporarily so if you ever need to pull it out for repair you pull it out onto the plywood thus avoiding ripping your flooring.

As for the original question, if your measurements (taken in various places) are accurate, then it's perfectly do-able. If your machine ends up vibrating and knocking the sides of units or the wall, you can cut up some of those little kitchen scourers (the foam kind) and use them as buffers squeezed in between the machine and the unit. That works well, been there, lol.

GustyGardenGalaxy

Thanks everyone, you've made some good points and given me some things to ponder!