Where to Put the Laundry Room?
In a Two-Story Home, Where Is the Best Place to Put the Laundry?
It’s a dilemma that many homeowners face: Where to put the laundry room? Many modern homeowners prefer to the put laundry on the same floor as bedrooms to eliminate the need to carry laundry up and down stairs. However, main floor laundry can integrate into a mudroom, making the ideal setup for a larger laundry room rather than just a laundry location.
So, what side are you on? Main-floor or second-floor laundry? Let’s break down the pros and cons of each.
Second-Floor Laundry
Pros:
- No need to go up and down stairs to do laundry.
- Could keep hampers in laundry room rather than bedrooms.
- Reduce laundry clutter on the first floor.
Cons:
- Can create noise close to bedrooms.
- Not able to integrate with mudroom.
First-Floor Laundry
Pros:
- Can create the laundry/mudroom of your dreams by combining the two spaces.
- Less noise near bedrooms.
- During the day, you can manage laundry on the main level easier than second floor.
Cons:
- Have to climb stairs to put folded laundry away.
- Can create more clutter in the mudroom.
If you are considering second-floor laundry, it is important to consider the use of a washer pan.
When laundry is located above finished square footage, you have to consider what might happen if there is a leak or the washing machine malfunctions. But there’s a solution for this – a washer pan connected to a drain line! The pan fits securely beneath the washing machine to catch leaks and prevent damage to the floor or the living area below. This is easy to do when building a new home, while it can be very complicated to implement in an existing home.
In our floorplans that include second-floor laundry, we include the washer pan connected to a drain line.
When relocating the laundry to the second floor – or any area with finished square footage below it – we require that a washer tray connected to a drain line is added. It’s in the best interest of our homeowners to prevent serious damage.
Two of our floor plans include second-floor laundry:
For more inspiration, check out our photo gallery of second-floor laundry rooms.
No matter which floor you decide to put the laundry on, it’s good to think about what type of laundry space you want.
The most common types of laundry spaces include:
- Laundry room
- Laundry closet – typically with French-style doors to make it easiest to access the washer/dryer and to move appliances in and out
- Owner’s suite closet – relocating laundry to the owner’s suite
While the Chesapeake includes a second-floor laundry room, these homeowners redesigned the second floor to create dual owner’s suites. So they created a laundry closet accessed from the second-floor hallway.
Sometimes homeowners will create second-floor laundry when they customize their floor plan:
- Winchester II – homeowners replaced bedroom 4 with a 2nd-floor laundry room.
- Chelsea – these homeowners removed the two-story foyer to add finished square footage on the second-floor above the foyer for the laundry room.
- Charleston II – laundry relocated to the expanded owner’s suite walk-in closet.
- Washington II – these homeowners added a first-floor owner’s suite and redesigned the second-floor which included creating a second-floor laundry room.
A common customization is for homeowners to create a second-floor laundry room/closet by utilizing part of the loft in floor plans that include a loft on the second floor.
Examples of this:
If you’ve decided which laundry situation is best for you, it’s time for you to find a floor plan that has it! Remember, if you love a floor plan that doesn’t include the laundry setup you’re dreaming of, you can always customize your home to best fit your needs.
Ready to create the laundry room of your dreams? Contact us to get started.
About Wayne Homes
Wayne Homes is a custom homebuilder in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and West Virginia (see all Model Home Centers). We offer more than 50 fully customizable floorplans and a team dedicated to providing the best experience in the home building industry. For more information, Ask Julie by Live Chat or call us at (866) 253-6807.
Disclaimer: The details of this blog are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change.
