Dryer Venting Products/ Accessories for Laundry room remodel

[ghowell6]

I've been doing a lot of research on this lately, and have been looking for better/ more efficient ways to vent a gas dryer in my remodeled laundry room/bathroom.

I decided to get a stackable front loader and use the space where the dryer was to put an alcove shower. Moving to a stackable dryer (and creating a recessed alcove for the washer and dryer) has lead to a lot of thought on the best way to design it for maintenance in the future.

So far, my thoughts are as follows:

Install a recessed washer box, with the drain and supply valves recessed in the wall.

Use a recessed dryer duct box, with a magnetically aligned vent. (Checked out the DryerBox and MagVent online... I plan on using these products in conjunction with each other, so hopefully I can connect the gas and slide the dryer on top of the washer).

Insulate the dryer duct in the attic.

Install "remote" shutoff valves for the water and gas on the other side of the wall in the garage. Obviously I'll have shutoff valves behind the units, but I figure that they would not be easily accessible in case of an emergency.

Has anyone remodeled a laundry room before and installed stackable units? Any tips or lessons learned?

As part of the bathroom remodel, I've run a new 20A circuit for the bathroom lights and outlets (lights won't be before the GFCI, by design), (2) 20A circuits (one for the washer, and one for the gas dryer), and (1) 30A 240V circuit, in case I decide to change back to an electric dryer in the future. The duct run is only about 10' (just goes up the wall and out the side of the garage, in the attic) so it should be easy to clean in the future.

 

[yogitunes]

probably what I thought was the best design of a washer alcove....

they used a true stand up shower design.....shower pan, including plumbing into the existing plumbing drain down the center, and of course the plastic walls...

the plumbing hookup box was to one side...giving easy access for the off chance you have to turn off the water in a hurry....

I would use a quick-connect gas fitting, and liking your magnetic dryer vent idea...

 

[mattl]

Your 2 20A circuits for the laundry equipment are way overkill, one is plenty.  Modern stuff draw very little current. Routing shut offs into a garage may be fine if you do not have sub freezing weather to deal with.   If you do mounting the drain/feed box forward of the stacked unit might be a safer option, but might require longer hoses. Honestly I've never shut off the feeds to any of my washers other than to swap them out.  I would encourage a drained washer pan with a trap, $25 well spent if you are on a wood floor.

 

[combo52]

Installing Stack W-D in An Alcove

It sounds like you have it pretty well covered, I would agree with Matt that 2 20 amp circuits are over kill, 1 is more than enough, if local codes require separate circuits install 2 15 amp circuits which gives a much greater margin of safety.  I would skip the 240 volt circuit breaker as it is just a waste of money and copper, mining and refining copper is very bad environmentally.

 

Putting a washer in a pan makes it impossible to service, If you feel that a drain is necessary it is better to tile the floor and put in some type of floor drain.

 

John L.

 

[lowefficiency]

With everything packed in tight, what's the plan for cleaning the dryer duct?

If the opposite side of the wall is accessible (garage?), could you install an access door, so that the dryer vent could be disconnected and cleaned without having to pull the units out?

 

[ghowell6]

I figure the (2) 20A circuits is overkill- but, since I have the wall open, I'd rather put the circuits in now, than have to pull one in later. After reading the dryer specs, it wants a 15A circuit.

I know that (by code) in my area, at least one 20A is required for the laundry area. They are currently sharing a 20A duplex receptacle, but I think I'll just put two single receptacles at the appropriate heights in the closet, and wire them to (2) 15A breakers. I'll just put in 12-2 so the breaker and receptacle can be changed out later to pass an inspection, if need be.

I've already got the 10-3 to relocate the dryer receptacle, so I think I'll still proceed with that... copper may be bad for the environment, but I've already got the wire. Don't think I'll change my mind from a gas dryer in the future, but if I sell the home, it's always nice to have both options. Gas dryers aren't common where I live, even though everyone has gas furnaces to heat their homes.

We do get freezing weather occasionally, but my garage is insulated and drywalled. I'm not too worried about a shutoff valve freezing in the wall. The washer box could possibly go on the side of the closet- one wall has a pocket door that goes out to my den, and the other wall will have the shower plumbing in it, that's the only reason why I've thought about putting shutoffs where they are accessible from the other side of the alcove in the garage.

John- what are your thoughts on those dense rubber pucks that people put under washers? It looks like it would raise the washer up enough in the pan that it would be easy to service (or, at least clean the drain filter).

I think the dryer duct should be easy to clean with a brush from the outside- It only has to run 3' up in the interior wall, and then it's got about 6' once it turns to go outside my garage. I also purchased a long-run elbow that should make it easier to clean, and hopefully less prone to excessive lint collection. If I have to slide the washer and dryer out once every 2 years to clean it, it shouldn't be too bad. The magnetic dryer connector should make that a lot easier... my uncle had a stackable unit in one of his rentals, and I remember he had to crawl over the dryer to hook the duct up. It was at the end of a hallways, and the shutoffs and drain shared a closet with the hot water heater.

Amazon.com

 

[combo52]

Rubber Cushions Fro Washer Feet

Hi Grant, I am not a fan of them, they are supposed to absorb vibration but they usually allow the machine to vibrate quite a lot, and on a stack machine it really gets rocking.

 

Have you considered building a shelf for the dryer ? that way you can pull out the washer for service without struggling with the whole set.

 

John L.