Frigidaire front loader and dryer---stacked arrangement
I bought this pair in March 2006 after my old washer died. You can see a metal pipe (concrete filled) to the right of the machines. That is called a "bollard" and is required by county (Orange County, CA) building code when the laundry area is in the rear of a garage. To the left of the machines (partly visible) is a gas water heater. To the right of the machines is the furnace. Hence, there are three gas lines that could be severed by an out of control automobile. The bollard prevents a car from taking out three gas lines and a 40 gallon water heater. Some of the homes in our neighborhood were built with the laundry area in a side alcove---this arrangement does not require a bollard.
If you remove the pipe, it's out of compliance with building code, and it would have to be replaced if one wanted to sell the house. So to get a front loader--whose door would be blocked by the pipe--I bought a pair and stacked them. Even a 15" pedestal would not raise the washer high enough to avoid interference from the pipe.
I placed two folding TV trays in the washer space, and they serve as an adequate folding table. I have seen some homes in which the bollard was right at the juncture of the washer and the dryer, so that a front loading door wouldn't be in the way, but the house was built in 1988 and there were no domestic front loaders being sold in US at the time (you could buy imported Miele's, etc.). So they probably figured it didn't matter if the pipe was right in front of the washer or not.
This is the model FTF 2140 washer and FGQ 1442 dryer. The dryer isn't the biggest around, at 5.7 cu ft, but I can dry a king size comforter in it if I remove it once to turn it inside out. In my case, an important feature is that it stacks, so that I can enjoy a front loader without an expensive modification to the laundry area.
I bought the pair from Howard's (large local retailer) in large part because they were open on Sunday (the only day I could shop) and they could guarantee delivery the next Wednesday, the only weekday when I could be home to accept delivery/installation. I later learned that a more discounted retailer (Univeral Appliance in LA) sells for less, and they sell the next higher model (2940) for the same as I paid for my 2140. About the only major difference is automatic temperature control....I guess that is useful if your washer is a long ways from the water heater, but my washer is adjacent to the heater.
So far, very happy with the pair's performance. Final high speed spin gets clothes dry enough that they're finished in the dryer in 30-40 minutes. Rebates were $100 from water district and $35 from gas company.
PS: the machine is level---my camera was not!
