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Monday, July 16, 2012

Washer and Dryer Pedestal


My washer and dryer pedestal is in place!   I have no regrets building my pedestal.  When we decided to replace our set, I knew I didn't want to buy the matching pedestals that came with it because I had heard from several people that it was too small to even put laundry detergent in.  Since our space is small, I needed to maximize it and building my own would allow me to place laundry baskets underneath for added storage.  It didn't hurt that it also saved me $420 as well since the store bought pedestals were $250 a piece and the total price I paid was roughly $80 for the wood.

Here's my how-to.  I took the plans from here and modified it to my space.  The maximum height my pedestal could be would be 17 inches due to a pre-existing cabinet above the dryer.  Therefore, I had to somehow figure out a way to shorten it, without shortening the opening since the typical laundry basket is 10.5 inches, I wanted an 11 inch clearance.  The only way to shorten the overall height was to use 2x3s instead of 2x4s which the plan uses.

There are two floors to the pedestal.  Since the bottom floor would really have no weight to bare other than laundry baskets, I used 2x3's and placed it on its side (the 2inch side). 

 

The dimensions of the floors were 57x35.  In hind sight, I would have made the width shorter had I known the dryer vent was at the exact location of one of my pedestal legs.  That's something to think about. The location of the dryer vent may force you to build it less wide, or drill out a space/hole to allow it to connect.

For the top layer, I also used 2x3s, but I placed them vertically (on the 3 inch side) for more support.  This gave the over all height to be 16.25 inches, giving me a 3/4 inch clearance under the cabinet.

 

Most of the plans I found online used MDF.  Water and MDF don't mx well and since I have had enough experience with water spraying everywhere in my laundry room, I decided I would use ply wood instead.  That also allowed me to stain it to match my cabinets in the room.  I used 1/2 inch thick of plywood for both layers.


Now for the legs.  Everyone online as able to find 4x4s in the store, but of course, untreated 4x4 is no where to be found where I live.  Therefore, I nailed two pieces of 2x4s together to make my legs.  Since I had a lot of the same cuts to make, I clamped a piece of wood at the end of the saw and just budded all my pieces to it.  This allowed every cut to be exactly the same and what was even better, cutting all the legs were fast.


I glued and nailed the boards together.  One thing I hate about 2x4s are the curved edges.  When I nailed them together, there was a groove in between that I didn't care for.  I wanted it to look like one piece and it didn't so I used a planer to shave off that curve so that it would look seamless.


 Whatever gaps remained, I used a stainable wood filler.  You can also make your own.  It is basically just glue and sawdust.  I sanded all the pieces down and then added trim around all the exposed edges.  


I didn't like the unfinished edge of the plywood so I decided to cover it up.  I think adding trim around the edges of the plywood makes a HUGE difference. 


A coat of stain and then two coats of polyethylene, with sanding in between finished the look.


After reading a lot of horror stories, I thought installation would be tough.  With a little preparation, it wasn't so bad.


 I really do love the look of it, even more than the store bought one.


I contemplated painting the pedestal, but I am glad I stuck with staining it because we have a locker-style built-in cabinet on the other side of the laundry room that is stained as well.



What's left to do?  I need to build a shelf or roll out for this space.


I have this plastic thing right now, but it looks a little out of place so I hope to build a pull out or shelving unit to match the rest of the room.


Oh, and here's my tip for buying a washer and dryer.  I was against buying a new set because there really wasn't anything wrong with our old set.  Since it was a top loader and I am rather short, I would have to use a step stool to get the clothes out of the washer, but I got used to it.  My hubby didn't like that so I researched for a new washer and dryer.  Once I found "the" one, I waited..and waited until the sale.  I found an incredible price online to which I brought to the store for a price match.  They price matched and took an additional 10% off that price.  To top that off, I bought them on appliance tax-free weekend.  Did you know that even existed?  I didn't.  Apparently, the government has one weekend a year where energy-efficient appliances are tax-free.

So what did I end up paying?  My washer and dryer retailed for $1399 each.  Crazy huh?  It had high reviews (that's probably why it was oober expensive).  I found a store selling it for $940.  I priced matched it at my local store and got an additional 10% off.  That brought the price down to only $846 each.  If I bought it on any other weekend for the regular price, it would have cost $3028.84.  I saved a whopping $1336.84.  Because of that savings, I was willing to splurge on a new set.  I was also able to sell my old one for $300.  Therefore, I was only out of pocket for $1392 for both the washer and dryer.  That's like buying the washer and getting the dryer for free or getting over 50% off which is definitely better than any black Friday deal I have seen.  I love my new set, and for the price, I have no regrets.

14 comments:

  1. My wife and I really like your pedestal, nice job! What color stain did you use, if you don't mind us asking?

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    1. I had the painters custom match the stain to match our current cabinets in the laundry room so there is no specific color stain name, but it resembles a mahogany color.

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  2. How did you get the washer and dryer to stay on the pedestal? I had one built and my dryer fell right off the pedestal any suggestions on how to make sure it stays

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    1. I guess I don't understand the question. Your washer fell right off? I had no problems with the washer and dryer staying put.

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  3. Have you had any issues with vibration or movement of the washer or dryer? Several manufacturers say not to install on anything but the floor in their instalation guides. I'm planning on making a pedastal like yours and was considering using the 2x3 like you did to conserve height but was concerned abut sturdiness. Thanks for sharing your project it looks great!

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    1. As far as movement, yes, the dryer does shake when operating which was a concern initially. However, nearly two years later, I haven't had any issues with the actual washer or dryer moving from the original position I placed them in. Just for added support I did add a center leg in the back of the pedestal. I was told it wasn't necessary, but having it there was just a little added assurance that the plywood would never sag and it hasn't!

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  4. How did you vent the dryer out?

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    1. The dryer is vented the same way as before, through a coiled tube that gets connected to exterior wall. The pedestal was pulled forward for the space. Had I thought about the placement of the vent, I would have taken that into consideration in designing it.

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  5. Nice job. How did you fasten your homemade posts to the top and bottom platforms? Did you use steel L braces or did you notch the 4x4 posts so that the 2X3's rested on the notched sides of the post?

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  6. How did you attach the legs to the two bases? Also can you further explain the extra leg you added? Thank you!

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    1. I believe I glued the legs onto the bases and then screwed them into the two bases at an angle (from the inside). There is a extra leg in the center back to distribute the weight. It is parallel to the two corner legs so it is not seen at all and it does not effect the laundry baskets stored underneath.

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  7. Thanks for posting the details! Simple, sturdy and stylish!

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