Laundry cupboard in small 2 bed flat

Elceecee

Hello,

I am hopefully buying my first flat - a small ground floor 2 bed Victorian conversion (leasehold).

It has a small, but manageable, kitchen at the back of the flat but currently the washing machine is taking up lots of valuable space. I'm trying to think of places the washing machine could go, and was hoping for some insight on how feasible my ideas are/ to hear from people who've come up with ingeneous solutions. I also (very sad I know) have dreams of a nice clean laundry cupboard where all the associated laundry stuff could be stored neatly. Are these easy enough jobs? Are they crazy ideas? Has anyone done anything similar/better?

Option 1) Cupboard in the hall. The kitchen is next to a large second bedroom - would it be possible to build a laundry cupboard in the second bedroom, knocking access to the cupboard through to the hallway. It would be against a wall shared with the kitchen and probably 2/3 metres away from the machine's current location.

Option 2) Cupboard under the stairs. There already is a small cupbard under the stairs (which lead up to the upstairs neighbours flat). How feasible would it be to build in cupboards to the side of the stairs (the triangle bit) using the larger of them for the washing machine etc? The stairs are at the front of the flat, so it would be much further for any plumbing to run, but nearer the bathroom.

Le_Kirk

Your first concern would be how are you going to get the waste water out of the washing machine - how far away from the drain is it now and how far away when the WM is in it's new position.

shaun_from_Africa

One possible problem with option 2 is noise.
Some washing machines can make a fair bit of noise and vibration, especially if they are on a wooden floor and the machine isn't perfectly level.
If the WM is very close to, or actually touching the underside of the stairs leading to the upstairs flat, the residents may well hear it running.

tizerbelle

Either option would probably be doable it is just a matter of how much money would you have to pay to get them done. 

Before you start though, how small is the kitchen?  Are you sure it is too small for you?  The washing machine is going to take up space wherever it is.  If you go with option 1, you are reducing the size of a bedroom - how big is it to start with.  Option 2, could the potential storage under the stairs be better used for other purposes - do you have any storage now - where does your ironing board, hoover, coats, shoes, diy tools etc etc get stored? 

Perhaps the laundry cupboard dream should be put on the back burner till you are ready to move to your next property and then add it to your list of must haves for that property?

MovingForwards

Can you upload the floor plan?
Any internal changes would require the freeholders consent, which you have to pay for.

naf123

Not ideal but doable - how big is the bathroom/toilets  - there is a whole host of regulations about putting a washing machine in the bathroom 

Doozergirl

shaun_from_Africa said:

One possible problem with option 2 is noise.
Some washing machines can make a fair bit of noise and vibration, especially if they are on a wooden floor and the machine isn't perfectly level.
If the WM is very close to, or actually touching the underside of the stairs leading to the upstairs flat, the residents may well hear it running.

And you need to be conscious of fireproofing.  You could be breaking through a designed fire break by opening up anything else under the stairs, but you're also placing one of the items most likely to catch fire under there as well 😬