Mulling over a home addition.. first floor laundry?

[mskitkat]

I went from basement laundry to first floor laundry. So far, I'm loving it. It's super convenient.

[shopgirl07]

Second floor laundry is ideal (IMO) but first floor laundry beats basement every time. It will help resale value too.

[polarbearfans]

I would love a first floor laundry, mainly because I am afraid of the basement. My laundry only get done when my husband is home to do it

[ECB]

I would do it. Laundry on the first floor is awesome.

[shopgirl07]

Sept 21, 2014 17:05:10 GMT -5 @starry said:

Sept 21, 2014 16:59:40 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

Second floor laundry is ideal (IMO) but first floor laundry beats basement every time. It will help resale value too.

the only option for a second floor laundry would be eliminating my walk in closet or a bedroom so I don't think that would really help the value of my house... I have thought about it but it doesn't seem worth it in my case.

Oh I agree. I think the first floor laundry is a big improvement and would add value.

[dexteroni]

Sept 21, 2014 16:59:40 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

Second floor laundry is ideal (IMO) but first floor laundry beats basement every time. It will help resale value too.

Agree. If you're not doing a 2-story addition and there's no way to move it to the existing second floor space, definitely go for first floor. Basement laundry (which I have) is depressing.

[carolinagirl831]

If you currently have basement, I would def add mudroom/ laundry. But In my area this the norm

[wanderlustmom]

We don't have a mudroom and would love one too but actually I had second floor laundry and I much prefer laundry off the kitchen. I am always prepping meals so that's the most convenient. It may be an outlier opinion but I didn't like going upstairs to do my laundry--that's the floor I'm on least.

[jenna]

We have a mudroom/laundry room right off the garage, and it leads into the kitchen. Love it.

[mich1]

Our laundry room is as close to the master bedroom as it could possibly be without being in it. I LOVE it. The master bedroom is on the first floor, laundry room around the corner.

It's way better than traipsing through the kitchen with laundry as I did at my last place, or schlep it down to the basement in the previous one.

[Deleted]

Hi starry! I would absolutely add it. Granted we are now in a single level home, but I love my mudroom more than anything. Dirty shoes, coats, slushy winter kid's crap (hats, mittens, etc) never come into the rest of the house. They get hung up in the mudroom or GASP go straight into the washing machine. Keeps our floors SO MUCH CLEANER.

[IrishBelle]

Mudroom and main floor laundry? Its a win. Go for it.

[starburst]

Yes, do it! I hate having to lug my laundry to the basement. 1st or 2nd floor laundry is a must in our next house.

[irishbride2]

I'm a weirdo and hate my laundry in the mudroom. Its what we have now. It requires me to really keep up on laundry since people go in and out of there. I miss the relaxed nature of a basement laundry room where I could lay out things to dry and organize piles without immediately putting them away.

[mmmomof2]

We don't have basements here, but garage laundry is common. New construction here has 2nd floor laundry. While convenient I worry about water damage in the ceiling (my parents washer hose once burst and it was a nightmare!). Our current house has a laundry room off the family room. I much prefer not going out into the garage, but it can get noisy at times.

I lug laundry all the time from the second floor to the first floor and it's not awful. As long as the basement was climate controlled I wouldn't mind it down there. More room to hang stuff, etc.

[sjh722]

Yes. Like @supergreen said, dirty stuff gets dropped straight into the washing machine. We have kind of an awkward rear entry/mudroom/laundry area right now but at least it's all by the garage. We also have a bathroom right by the back door. I give 4 stars to whoever thought of that idea too.

My someday dream house involves a big mudroom with a bathroom, laundry room, and walk-in pantry all right off the mudroom. My aunt has this and it's awesome. (The back door also leads into the laundry room so if you're coming in from the yard, nothing super messy or dirty comes straight into the house.)

[KaraOrNot]

I love our first floor laundry. Do it!

[Willis Jackson]

Sept 21, 2014 18:17:46 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

We also have a first floor guest bedroom with en suite bath so when we get real old we could live on just the first floor because of the washer / dryer there, which might be something else to consider if you have a bedroom on the first floor.

This was my first thought.

We're house hunting now and one of our requirements is being able to live on only the first floor if necessary.

[Deleted]

Definitely add it! 2nd floor laundry was the best I've had so far, but first floor laundry is nice because you can bump it while you're doing other things around the main level of the house. Basement laundry just sucks.

[jinkies]

Sept 21, 2014 19:18:09 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

I'm a weirdo and hate my laundry in the mudroom. Its what we have now. It requires me to really keep up on laundry since people go in and out of there. I miss the relaxed nature of a basement laundry room where I could lay out things to dry and organize piles without immediately putting them away.

I hated this too, for the exact same reason. Our house is laid out so that our side entrance (into the mudroom/laundry) is actually the closest to the driveway, the only way out onto our patio/outdoor space, and the way to the only downstairs bathroom. It was a super high traffic area, and having the laundry there just got in everyone's way.  (we ended up moving laundry to the 2nd floor)

It doesn't sound like this is what OP is planning, though. As long as the laundry is its own room, and not a throughway between high use areas, I think this addition sounds awesome. The fewer stairs between the washer/dryer and the bedrooms, the better!

[catbus]

I would definitely consider it, but I don't know what I'd decide.

I really do not like the idea of second-floor laundry rooms in two-story homes. I realize this is unpopular, it just seems weird to me.

[Deleted]

Sept 21, 2014 22:01:32 GMT -5 catbus said:

I would definitely consider it, but I don't know what I'd decide.

I really do not like the idea of second-floor laundry rooms in two-story homes. I realize this is unpopular, it just seems weird to me.

I don't like it either. I run laundry overnight and don't want to listen to it. We have main floor laundry/mud room other than it being small, I love it. We don't kept laundry there, just wash it there though.

[catbus]

Sept 21, 2014 22:08:48 GMT -5 @gingerbb said:

Sept 21, 2014 22:01:32 GMT -5 catbus said:

I would definitely consider it, but I don't know what I'd decide.

I really do not like the idea of second-floor laundry rooms in two-story homes. I realize this is unpopular, it just seems weird to me.

I don't like it either. I run laundry overnight and don't want to listen to it. We have main floor laundry/mud room other than it being small, I love it. We don't kept laundry there, just wash it there though.

Exactly. The noise (because even the newest models can be loud in fill and spin cycles) and the logistics of it all make it not worthwhile to me. 

[boiler717]

I would definitely prefer first floor laundry and mudroom to basement! I like having laundry on the first floor because it makes it easy to pop in to switch things, fold, etc. I'm afraid if it were upstairs I would never hear it and I would leave wet clothes in the washer all day.

[barefootcontessa]

in my old house I had a second floor laundry. I liked it but think I would like a first floor more since I spend so much time in the kitchen and main floor. I definitely think it would help your resell value.

[L]

Would you have room to enclose the washer and dryer into a closet within the mud room? This would give you a place to hide your laundry if guests enter through the mud room and would help muffle any noise.

I hate basements and would prefer my laundry anywhere else. But I also hated that our last home had the W&D in the (too small) mud room. The muddy boots were just way too close to the clean clothes! I would have preferred some sort of separation, even just a set of doors.

[msmerymac]

Sept 21, 2014 16:59:40 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

Second floor laundry is ideal (IMO) but first floor laundry beats basement every time. It will help resale value too.

See, I disagree. You have to make sure your floor can handle the washer and dryer (without causing vibration) and if your washer leaks, you're SOL. That's the one benefit of basement laundry - if the washer hose becomes detached, whatever. I'm not going to be replacing a ton of floor and drywall. 

That said, if you cans swing first floor, it seems more convenient, especially if it's common in the neighborhood.

[nomad100]

We are trying to figure out how to bring the laundry upstairs closer to the bedrooms so we don't have to walk through the entire house to get to the basement (have a ranch house so no second floor).

I would so put the laundry on the main floor!

[mich1]

Sept 21, 2014 19:57:49 GMT -5 Willis Jackson said:

Sept 21, 2014 18:17:46 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

We also have a first floor guest bedroom with en suite bath so when we get real old we could live on just the first floor because of the washer / dryer there, which might be something else to consider if you have a bedroom on the first floor.

This was my first thought.

We're house hunting now and one of our requirements is being able to live on only the first floor if necessary.

We got a very good idea as to how h/c accessible our house is when I got sick a few years ago and spent the year in a wheelchair.  We can easily live on the single first floor and any permanent changes would only be putting up a ramp to get up the single step into the house, and widening a doorframe to the master bedroom.  We took off the door to deal with the wheelchair back then, which really isn't an optimal solution.

i think we will likely die in this house!

[Deleted]

Sept 22, 2014 6:28:16 GMT -5 L said:

Would you have room to enclose the washer and dryer into a closet within the mud room? This would give you a place to hide your laundry if guests enter through the mud room and would help muffle any noise.

I hate basements and would prefer my laundry anywhere else. But I also hated that our last home had the W&D in the (too small) mud room. The muddy boots were just way too close to the clean clothes! I would have preferred some sort of separation, even just a set of doors.

Or the mud room itself should have a door to muffle noise. I see homes where it's open and think I wouldn't want to see or hear the washer or dryer while hanging in the living room!

Our mud room connects the garage to the house so not much visitor traffic, they come through the front door. I also don't keep clean (or dirty ) clothes in the laundry room. I use it to wash clothes only. I fold in the living room and if I need to hang to dry I do that in my master bathroom.