@nmassman44, washerdude
Now that I"ve done eight or so loads, I have noticed I really have to crouch and stretch to reach a small item (sock, underwear) that winds up in the far rear of the drum. This is a consequence of the machine now being 31" deep, rather than 27" deep, with arms the same length as before!! Not Electrolux's fault at all, though it makes me wonder someone shorter---with shorter arms---removes small items from the rear, whether the things are stacked, on pedestals, or right on the floor side by side. It's easier to remove things from the dryer, since the door is basically at chest height.
With the old Frig 2140, I could rotate the drum by hand and items would take a half turn and then fall from the top of the drum, sometimes landing closer to me. Haven't tried this yet with the Electrolux, but it might make those rear small items easier to snatch. For me, no other configuration is possible, since the bollard in front of what should be the washer space is tall enough to block the door of a FL machine, even if on a pedestal.
One option in the future might be to cut the bollard low enough to permit a door to swing atop a pedestal, without removing it entirely. The pedestals ($300 a piece...) are 15" high, and the distance from the bottom of the washer to the bottom of the door is 12", so if the 32" pipe were cut down by 6", say down to 26" high, it might still be tall enough to serve its purpose (protect the machines from a runaway car) while being tall enough that a future building inspector wouldn't notice the loss of height. I didn't consider this possibility because the pair after rebates cost roughly $1962, which was fine, but I wasn't in the mood to tack on another $600 to the price, as my budget was "under $2000". Note that this "solution" would not allow access to the contents of the washer pedestal's drawer, since it still would be unable to open due to the bollard----it would have to serve as a pedestal only.
Another issue, though solvable, is that I mounted a small white utility cabinet from Lowes
http://www.lowes.com/pd_348194-444-...=1¤tURL=?Ntt=utility+cabinet&facetInfo=
above the empty washer space; it would have to be remounted. I use it to store laundry supplies. Right now, the only thing beneath it is a table I use to fold laundry and support a laundry basket.
With a washer/pedestal beneath it, there is not enough clearance and it would have to be rehung four inches higher, at which point the highest shelf would become difficult to reach. This is why I like the stacked configuration, since it lets me use vertical space that otherwise would go unused, and lets me use the washer space behind the bollard (folding table below; add-on cabinet above) for storage/utility purposes. The cabinet affords storage space in lieu of pedestal drawer storage.
And there's another thing I don't get about pedestals: if the idea is to avoid stooping, don't you still have to stoop to remove or place items in the drawers? And assuming you store detergent and other supplies in them, you'd have to stoop to access them every time you run a load.
[this post was last edited: 11/23/2014-19:54]
(Although I better do that to keep the seals fresh.)
