Drawer Slides in Cabinet for Stacking Washer / Dryer

[dlu]

I working up ideas for a bath / laundry room remodel and we'd like to stack the washer & dryer. I'm thinking about putting heavy duty drawer slides in the cabinet, one set for the washer and one for the dryer. It seems like that would make it a lot easer to get them in and out for service or replacement.

I'm wondering what you all think of this, or if there or other / better ways to do it?

If drawer slides seem like a plan, suggestions for the slides would be quite welcome.

 

[tjbnwi]

Between the weight and vibration this is not something I would do.

Put a piece of rubber backed carpet under the washer with the carpet side down. The biggest drawback I see to this is the units will probably slide around.

Last suggestion——Air Sled.

Tom

 

[rmhinden]

I working up ideas for a bath / laundry room remodel and we'd like to stack the washer & dryer. I'm thinking about putting heavy duty drawer slides in the cabinet, one set for the washer and one for the dryer. It seems like that would make it a lot easer to get them in and out for service or replacement.

You would also have to deal with the power, water supply and drain fitting for the washer, and power and vent hose for the dryer.    This could get complicated quickly.

Bob

 

[dlu]

You would also have to deal with the power, water supply and drain fitting for the washer, and power and vent hose for the dryer.    This could get complicated quickly.

The dryer will be a heat pump (ventless) model, so no issue there.

I figure that when you're stacking units is a cabinet you will always have to have some plan for attaching the power and water supply lines. My thought is to put the connections up high in each cabinet section and let the hoses & cords hang down in a loop -- pretty much the same thing that I'd do if they weren't on slides.

 

[tjbnwi]

How I delt with the issue.

Tom

 

[Packard]

It sounds like you are re-inventing the wheel.  Appliance rollers are designed for this application.  You can get the cheap ones from Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon.com etc. 

This is a high quality one (but still cheaper than cobbling one yourself):

Note:  The cheaper ones that I have seen are linear only.  That is, you can pull the appliance out and you can slide it back in.  Just like drawer slides.  The higher quality ones (like the video that I linked) have swivel casters and you can move the appliance any direction.  They also have real casters.  The cheap ones have nylon wheels, typically 2 to 4 wheels per axle.  But since this is going to be a once-every-10-years event, perhaps the higher quality is not called for.

 

[rst]

I sell a local appliance center 6"-8" strips of 3/16" ABS that they put under their delivery's and services.  They supply to the local colleges and get used a lot.  I've used myself to slide fully loaded bookcases.

 

[dlu]

How I delt with the issue.

That's a nice solution -- I really like the ironing board storage. Unfortunately, I won't have access to the sides.

 

[dlu]

It sounds like you are re-inventing the wheel.  Appliance rollers are designed for this application.  You can get the cheap ones from Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon.com etc. 

This is a high quality one (but still cheaper than cobbling one yourself):

Note:  The cheaper ones that I have seen are linear only.  That is, you can pull the appliance out and you can slide it back in.  Just like drawer slides.  The higher quality ones (like the video that I linked) have swivel casters and you can move the appliance any direction.  They also have real casters.  The cheap ones have nylon wheels, typically 2 to 4 wheels per axle.  But since this is going to be a once-every-10-years event, perhaps the higher quality is not called for.

This is an interesting idea. Do the rollers just stay under the appliance?

 

[xedos]

I wonder if you've entirely thought this through.  [unsure]

While you can locate the h2o and power supplies just about anywhere the hoses and wires will reach, the drain is required to be in a very tight window.  This will make things difficult/complicated for rough-in and not exactly smooth for cable/hose management if they are all in different spots. 

2nd - how deep were you planning to make the "cabinet" and how deep were you planning on getting the runners ?  You'll have a bit of a dilemma getting runners shallow enough to fit your cabinet and deep enough  (with enough extension) to be useful once extended. 

Put another way, unless you have over travel runners - your W/D is still gonna be in the way of you accessing the mechanicals.

3- The runners and the cabinet are going have to be very stout to support the loads, dead weight, and more importantly, vibration.  A regular ol cabinet ain't gonna cut it.  I'm sure you can find (or commission) the slides to handle the weight but you'll still have the access issue mentioned above. Are you prepared for the price tag of several hundred dollars a pair that will accompany such slides ?

4. were you planning on having each unit slide separately or together as one unit ?  That will make a big difference in the capacity of the slides necessary. 

5. have you thought about how you're going to lock the units in place so the don't slide out during the washing and particularly the spin cycles ?

6.  Just how often do you service the back of your w/d  or plan to service them ?  Do you normally install/replace your units yourself or do you hire out delivery and install like most people ?

 

[Steve1]

I can understand the desire for readily sliding the units out.    But drawer slides are not the answer.  Both need to be on very rigid surfaces. 

You can possibly do something to pull out the units, but it would have to be more complicated than simple drawer slides.  The units must be on a solid, rigid surface, then for service, you would have to introduce a "lift and slide" system.

I did something like that for my washer / dryer pedestals.  The pedestal sits solid on the floor, but for service, you would pop off the front cover, then crank the two hex features a few turns with the wrench, and that makes the casters move down to the floor and lift the washer or dryer.  The unit would then roll easily.  I had it easier than you do, because I had 15" of height to work with.  I'm not sure how you would do it.

 

[Packard]

It sounds like you are re-inventing the wheel.  Appliance rollers are designed for this application.  You can get the cheap ones from Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon.com etc. 

This is a high quality one (but still cheaper than cobbling one yourself):

Note:  The cheaper ones that I have seen are linear only.  That is, you can pull the appliance out and you can slide it back in.  Just like drawer slides.  The higher quality ones (like the video that I linked) have swivel casters and you can move the appliance any direction.  They also have real casters.  The cheap ones have nylon wheels, typically 2 to 4 wheels per axle.  But since this is going to be a once-every-10-years event, perhaps the higher quality is not called for.

This is an interesting idea. Do the rollers just stay under the appliance?

Yes, they remain under the appliance raising the height anywhere from 2” to 4”.  The enclosure, if you want one, would resemble a refrigerator surround, though I guess you could add cabinet doors. (I would imagine that cabinet doors would get in your way when loading/unloading the wash.)

 

[Packard]

A typical, inexpensive roller:

Note that the wheels are set for slide-in/slide-out directions only.  They do not feature swivel casters.  But they may make for more effortless movement as the wheels are always aligned for sliding out.  Also note that this system is lower in profile.