Utility room ideas please 🙏

jonnydeppiwish!

Afternoon all

sorry if this I a repeat thread but I couldn’t find where the last one went ☹️ 

We have this add on to the house we’ve almost finished updating. Currently has electric and cold water supple with drainage (needs updating though).

How would you go about making it into a small utility room? We’d like to replace the glazing with walls (brick double skinned may be too thick) not sure on stud and clad with lots of insulation.

roof needs insulating too, but wall between the 2 old cupboards is not supporting so plan is to take that out as well. We don’t need a back door, so just a small window for ventilation (not sure the neighbours appreciate me stripping off after a run in there 😂)

The door from the kitchen is an exterior grade door.

thanks in advance!

Bigphil1474

I would carefully consider whether you do need a back door - can you get access easily enough if you need builders in, major garden works, drain issues etc. 

Aside from that. For the glazing replacement, you'd just fill the gap with the same width wall to match. A whole brick wall is a double line of bricks, a half brick wall is a single line of bricks (think width of brick). If you are replacing glazing front and back, then decide whether you want a window front or back or both. You will need ventilation if you are running washers and dryers in there. 

You could remove the dividing wall or maybe have a washing side and drying side? I'd definitely put some worktop and a sink where the machines currently are. 

If you go out running and go to the utility room to strip off, wouldn't a back door give you easier access rather than going through the house, especially if you end up covered in mud? Also for kids and dogs, if you have any.

Flugelhorn

Just having another look at the photos - this has sliding doors on both sides? 

Agree I would get rid of those - or at least one of them. You could have a normal single back door and window to open for ventilation. re washing stuff - we had the washing machine underneath then a shelf with the dryer on above it - would probably fit into one of those alcoves.

Working_Mum

I think I'd be tempted to have a think about what you need from the space and maybe consider changing the orientation a bit. Have you got another back door from the house that you use? Do you have access from the drive to the house elsewhere - so do you need to replace the sliding door on the drive / garage side with a door so you have access to the back of the house if you're sweaty etc after running. Have you got a downstairs loo already? 

Removing the internal wall and putting your washing machine / dryer across there with a bit of work surface on top would give you a nice surface to work from. Do you need any cupboards for storage? If so you could put a tall larder type cupboard in there or maybe wall units.

I have a little utility room in my home - it originally had a side door out to the garden and a window at the end - I switched the door to the back wall so I could see down the garden from the sink, I placed a loo and small sink (with a sliding door) to the left hand side and a washer, dog bed space and tall larder cupboard to the right. It is such a useful space but having access from outside definitely helps. This is the view from my kitchen sink - the dog loves it!



I've no advice as to what materials to use other than my builder insulated the heck out of the original single brick walls and blocked up the old door with breeze blocks - I will be rendering the exterior at some point but it can wait!!



The utility area didn't have any gas but I found a nice upright electric radiator which looks great, the area doesn't get super cold either due to all of the insulation. There are lots of innovations for getting the most out of small spaces.

Good luck with your project and keep us posted - I love a good "before and after" story!

WM

twopenny

I maybe going off the wall a bit but my friend in Oz had a small shower in the utility room so clothes were straight in the washer and husband washed before entering their lovely new house 😁
He was a builder and played rugby so fair enough.

Get the washer and drier that open away from where you stand to make life quick and simple.
Worktop for washing basket and pegs.
Back door access to washing line or fresh air for washing hanging indoors on showery days.

And to go the whole hog. Said friend had a shute from the bedroom into the laundry basket so no dirty clothes in the bedroom or hooking them downstairs 😉

jonnydeppiwish!

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses!

We have a back door in the kitchen-diner already, plus access down both sides of the house to the garden.

The idea of having a door at the end rather than the side is genius and we hadn’t though of that - the only issue is it would give the neighbours behind direct line of sight of me changing after running (trust me, no one wants that view!).

washer and dryer in the cupboard par, with the inner wall removed is a good starting point though we would want a fridge freezer in there that’s currently blocking the view in to the garden from the table.

Shower - another great idea. Can’t get hot water in there as it’s single storey but I presume I could put an electric shower in there? Have space and easy access for that from the fuse board.

Wall - drive side is north facing so I think we should block that completely, and the south side we’ll need small window for ventilation. Don’t want too much glass as it gets hot in there when the sun shines.

thanks again all!