Another weekend, another few loads of laundry! Most people don’t get too excited about doing this, but having been without my washer and dryer for awhile last month, it’s sure been nice to fire them up again in their new location in the mudroom addition. We haven’t completed this part of the house by a long shot, but it’s in a usable state.

Future plans for this area will include some wall-mounted cabinets above the washer/dryer—I haven’t decided whether to go with white or stained wood cabinetry at this point, but whatever we choose will also dictate the cabinetry on the other side of the room, which will be coat storage and possibly a broom closet.

We also plan to install countertop above the appliances that will stretch from wall to wall and will include a utility sink. We found the perfect model to fit the space through a plumbing supply house that ‘Fearless Bob’ turned us on to. It’s compact (17”) and deep, and manufactured from a material called Durastone.
The same company (Mustee) made the washing machine pan which we decided to install beneath the washer. This provides extra insurance in the event the machine ever floods, containing the water while allowing it to drain away. Since we have oak flooring within a couple of feet of the washer on two sides (starting on the other side of the walls) it was definitely worth the price (about $150 Cdn).

Two Sundays ago, we ran the electrical for the dryer, pulling the wire from the old location out of the walls and thru the floor joists right back to the panel; and completely replacing that with a direct run of new wire leading to the designated laundry location in the mudroom addition. There was a lot of swearing (my husband banging his head while he ran wire through “the scary place“) and fatigued arms (mine, from holding a giant mag light above my head—for what seemed like an eternity at the time—while John fiddled in the pitch black of our cellar to connect everything at our awkwardly-placed electrical panel). There were even looks that could kill being exchanged. How we’ve managed to stay married is truly baffling at times.

After installing some flexible dryer duct and screwing on a couple of outlet plates (we used electrical outlet insulators behind the plates to minimize drafts), we were ready to move the dryer in and hook it all up.

Here’s to sorting socks, folding clothes and catching up on everybody’s dirty laundry!