It's me! Aren't I cute?

Thanks again to everyone who answered about the trap in the washer
drain. I've closed it up with a umm..... device for now, and that will
keep us from asphyxiating until I get to the hardware store this
weekend.

Now...

Remember that the washer/dryer area is upstairs on the 2nd floor. The
age of the house is up for grabs- some folks say 30 years, others say
50 years, but it might be a moot point because the house is made from a
lot of recycled barn timber (very rustic, you should come see it).
There is a drop ceiling in the kitchen underneath (no basement, so this
is how they hide the pipes). From there, I can see that there are what
appear to be old 2x6 joists that run parallel to the outside wall. The
joists appear to be set atop some 6x6 or so huge barn beams AFAICT.

Things you'll ask that I won't know *exactly* until I go home tonight
and measu

1) how far apart the joists are spaced (I want to say 12")

2) how long of a span the joists are stretching across (I would wager
10')

3) weight of the washer/dryer. (I seem to recall the shipping weight of
the washer is 212 lbs. No Idea on the dryer. I've been all over
Maytag's site to try to figure this out but thier site blows chunks.)

4) How far away the mailbox is.

5) Anything else?

When we looked at the house, there was a standard, older toploader
washer there before, plus an electric dryer. The units we're putting
in are a Maytag Neptune pair, and of course we have to put in a gas
line for the dryer. Yay! I don't know what an average washer/dryer
weighs, so I don't know how ours compare. Of anything, the Maytags
will use less than half the water throughout the wash cycle, so at
~8.5lbs/gallon there's less weight there. We've run the washer a
couple of times. The clothes rotating in the drum go "thump" "thump"
"thump" all through the house, but I don't think the floor underneath
it moves at all. I stood in front of the washer and jumped up and down
(I weigh about 190) and the missus watched the floor from the kitchen
downstairs, and it didn't appear to move at all. Once upon a time,
there was a leaking toilet shutoff valve right next to this laundry
area and you can see water stains on the floor, but the home inspector
said that the floorboards (once again, old barn batting/planking, not
OSB or pressboard) are unfettered by this and still as robust as they
should be. The leaking valve has since been repaired, of course.

Right now, the dryer is not in the "laundry room". They do not fit in
the prescribed space side/side, so they will need to be staggered, with
the washer out front (soap door would be obstructed if it were behind).
There is a wall I can take out and they will fit, but I'm not crazy
about hacking up the house like that (yet). I will assume the washer
is the heavier of the two, and it will then be the furthest from the
outside wall (if staggered).

This is one of those paranoia (what if?) things that is keeping me up
at night. I've heard a story or two about a laundry room falling into
the floor below, ripping apart dryer gas lines, explosions, death,
mayhem, the earth stops rotating and everyone dies. Stuff like that.

I can't imagine this isn't something that needs to be looked at
first-hand to be 100% sure about, but are there any "rules of thumb"
regarding appliances, flooring and such? Is there any way I can
bolster up the floor just to be sure? Short of putting a column under
it, of course, because that would be smack-ass right in front of the
stove in the kitchen. Handy spot for a fire extinguisher, but makes it
hard to open the oven.

I will get the measurements above, and any others that you ask for.

Thanks again,

-Phaeton

If it can't support a washer/dryer then maybe you shouldn't be walking on
it either.

"phaeton" wrote in message
oups.com...
It's me! Aren't I cute?

Thanks again to everyone who answered about the trap in the washer
drain. I've closed it up with a umm..... device for now, and that will
keep us from asphyxiating until I get to the hardware store this
weekend.

Now...

Remember that the washer/dryer area is upstairs on the 2nd floor. The
age of the house is up for grabs- some folks say 30 years, others say
50 years, but it might be a moot point because the house is made from a
lot of recycled barn timber (very rustic, you should come see it).
There is a drop ceiling in the kitchen underneath (no basement, so this
is how they hide the pipes). From there, I can see that there are what
appear to be old 2x6 joists that run parallel to the outside wall. The
joists appear to be set atop some 6x6 or so huge barn beams AFAICT.

Things you'll ask that I won't know *exactly* until I go home tonight
and measu

1) how far apart the joists are spaced (I want to say 12")

2) how long of a span the joists are stretching across (I would wager
10')

3) weight of the washer/dryer. (I seem to recall the shipping weight of
the washer is 212 lbs. No Idea on the dryer. I've been all over
Maytag's site to try to figure this out but thier site blows chunks.)

4) How far away the mailbox is.

5) Anything else?

When we looked at the house, there was a standard, older toploader
washer there before, plus an electric dryer. The units we're putting
in are a Maytag Neptune pair, and of course we have to put in a gas
line for the dryer. Yay! I don't know what an average washer/dryer
weighs, so I don't know how ours compare. Of anything, the Maytags
will use less than half the water throughout the wash cycle, so at
~8.5lbs/gallon there's less weight there. We've run the washer a
couple of times. The clothes rotating in the drum go "thump" "thump"
"thump" all through the house, but I don't think the floor underneath
it moves at all. I stood in front of the washer and jumped up and down
(I weigh about 190) and the missus watched the floor from the kitchen
downstairs, and it didn't appear to move at all. Once upon a time,
there was a leaking toilet shutoff valve right next to this laundry
area and you can see water stains on the floor, but the home inspector
said that the floorboards (once again, old barn batting/planking, not
OSB or pressboard) are unfettered by this and still as robust as they
should be. The leaking valve has since been repaired, of course.

Right now, the dryer is not in the "laundry room". They do not fit in
the prescribed space side/side, so they will need to be staggered, with
the washer out front (soap door would be obstructed if it were behind).
There is a wall I can take out and they will fit, but I'm not crazy
about hacking up the house like that (yet). I will assume the washer
is the heavier of the two, and it will then be the furthest from the
outside wall (if staggered).

This is one of those paranoia (what if?) things that is keeping me up
at night. I've heard a story or two about a laundry room falling into
the floor below, ripping apart dryer gas lines, explosions, death,
mayhem, the earth stops rotating and everyone dies. Stuff like that.

I can't imagine this isn't something that needs to be looked at
first-hand to be 100% sure about, but are there any "rules of thumb"
regarding appliances, flooring and such? Is there any way I can
bolster up the floor just to be sure? Short of putting a column under
it, of course, because that would be smack-ass right in front of the
stove in the kitchen. Handy spot for a fire extinguisher, but makes it
hard to open the oven.

I will get the measurements above, and any others that you ask for.

Thanks again,

-Phaeton


No warranty here but if you can walk on it and it feels safe it can handle a
washer and dryer. New stuff weighs a lot less than the older stuff. You saw
some sitting there.


Colbyt

phaeton wrote:
regarding appliances, flooring and such? Is there any way I can
bolster up the floor just to be sure? Short of putting a column under

You want to check how far the joists below the machine are from the
nearest load-bearing column or wall; and move it as much as you can
towards such a column. Joists could be reinforced by sistering some
wood or steel angles, but you'd have to tear the floor up, which from
your description may not be as bad as in other houses. The washer is
going to be 2-3 times heavier than the dryer, or at least they feel
that way. Is the Neptune a horizontal-axis machine? My old
vertical-axis one felt a lot heavier than the horizontal, but that
would depend on the specific machine. Some horizontals are direct
drive, so they don't have the heavy gear-box, but these days some
verticals are direct drive too. A horizontal is going more than 800 rpm
in the spin cycle, and while it may not thump the floor, it could set
up interesting harmonics in the process if the floor beneath isn't
rigid. Just some thoughts that I had...

your load questions could be easily answered with a visit from your
local building inspector or an architect.
we have our conventional washer and gas dryer on our second floor of
our 1910 constructed two story building.
when the top loader washer spins it shakes the waterbed a bit.
if the wind gusts to 50 mph, the house moves a bit.
so if either of these bother you just go to the laundromat instead.

Normal construction can handle the weight of a washer/dryer without
doing anything special. If anything, many well maintained older homes
were built sturdier than some of today's homes. If there is no
evidence of the floors sagging, it doesn't give when you jump on it, I
wouldn't worry about it. A washer dryer is no worse than many other
loads that are routinely put on residential floors, like heavy
furniture, several people standing in one place area, etc.

On 29 Dec 2005 13:35:40 -0800, "phaeton"
wrote:

Remember that the washer/dryer area is upstairs on the 2nd floor. The
age of the house is up for grabs- some folks say 30 years, others say
50 years, but it might be a moot point because the house is made from a
lot of recycled barn timber (very rustic, you should come see it).

I'll come tomorrow for New Years eve. Whatcha got to drink?