Today's work-saving washers and dryers save more work if they are located near the hamper, rinsing tub, storage cabinets and other laundry facilities of the home. This laundry is laid out in a 7' by 10' 8" basement area with all appliances and storage units within a few steps of each other. 
  
Space for a washer and dryer is located conveniently between the wash counter and hamper cabinet. The 7'-long wash counter along the back wall and the cabinets on the back and left walls have combined storage space of 90 cubic feet for soaps, bleaches, bottles, brushes, clothespins, racks, etc.

A laundry chute terminates in the hamper cabinet, and is connected through the ceiling to the room above the laundry, in this case a kitchen, to save steps in dispatching soiled clothes. There is ample room in front of the hamper cabinet for a folding ironing board.

Along the right wall of the laundry room is a storage unit with almost 56 cubic feet of space for summer storage of blankets and winter clothes, The cabinets and shelves of the model laundry are made of 3/4" pine plywood, and the sliding doors, piano-hinge doors and wash-counter top are warp resisting Novoply. The tops and front edges of the wash counter and hamper cabinet, and the back splashes, are covered with plastic laminate. The plastic laminate used in this project is pink Micarta, 101 matching the pink coloring of the cabinets.    

In deciding on a location for your laundry, try to place the wash counter near existing water and drain pipes, to keep the plumbing bill down. You will need to install electrical outlets in the early part of your wall construction, as noted in the step-by-step instructions. Check with your electrician to see if heavy-duty outlets will be necessary for any of the 101 appliances you plan to install.

Since this is a basement room, cover walls with vinyl plastic sheeting, to make them damp-proof. Stapler is used to fasten sheeting to studs and crosspieces.

Cut and mount 4' plywood panels to inside of walls, making necessary cutouts if they cover windows. Nakora V Plank paneling was used here,  with 1 1/2" No. 16 brads. Countersink brads and fill holes with matching putty. The paneling serves not only as an attractive wall area but as backing for cabinets.

To conserve space in the laundry, the author used a Weldwood pocket-type sliding door, which matched the plywood wall paneling. This type of door is pre-made by various companies in several different sizes, and can be obtained complete with necessary hardware, glue and instructions.

To build major storage unit, which occupies en-" tire right-hand side of laundry, first make a base frame. From 3/4" plywood, cut one strip, 4" by 8' to be used as front piece of base frame, and one strip, 6" by 8', to serve as back piece (and which is 2" wider than front piece because it will serve as mounting strip for base frame). Cut three crosspieces, 4" by 10", and attach with glue and 6d nails to back and front pieces, as shown above.

From 3/4" plywood, cut a storage unit bottom, 14" by 8', and attach to back piece of base frame with glue and nails, keeping flush with top edge of front piece. Mount base frame unit to wall, driving 2 1/2" screws into studs. Make sure entire unit is plumb.

Fig. B. Front view of major storage unit.103

Cut one panel for each side of major storage unit from 3/4" plywood, 14" wide by 82" high. Make 3/4"-by- 1¼ notches in top and bottom of back edges of left side panel, to accommodate mounting strips of top and bottom horizontal pieces. Also, make a 3/4"-by-1 1/4" notch in top front edge of left side panel to accommodate top front piece (see photos 13 and 14). Attach solid wood cleats to outside of side panels and then attach to wall, nailing through cleats into studs.

Place storage unit top piece in position in notches of side panels, and attach flush against wall, using 1 1/2" screws through mounting strip into studs. Top piece extends 2' beyond left side panel and joins near wall of laundry.

From 3/4" plywood cut a horizontal partition, 14" wide by 8' long, which will divide the top and bottom cabinets. This partition is made the same way as the storage unit top piece (see photo 11), except that front strip of horizontal partition is 2" wide and its top edge should be mounted flush with top surface of horizontal partition. Attach to wall at desired height, using 11/2 " screws through mounting strip into studs, and 6d nails through side panels.

From 3/4" plywood, cut two 14"-wide vertical partitions, to be mounted above and below horizontal partition. Make 3/4"'-by-11/4" notches in top and bottom of front edges of partitions to accommodate front strips of horizontal pieces. From 3/4" plywood, cut two 2" mounting strips long enough to fit between the horizontal partitions. Center and attach mounting strips to back edges of vertical partitions; then mount vertical partitions to back wall, using glue and screws through mounting strips.<

Cut from 3/4" plywood a 14"-by-2' shelf, which will be mounted between left side panel of major storage unit and rear wall of laundry (see photo 16). Cut a 1 1/4"-by-2' front strip, and mount to bottom surface of shelf, flush with front edge, with glue and 6d finishing nails. Then, cut a 2"-by-2' back mounting strip, and, again using glue and 6d finishing nails, center and mount to back edge of shelf.

Using nails through side panel and screws through back mounting strip, mount shelf between left side panel and rear wall at desired height.

To mount sliding doors in the major storage unit, the author used metal sliding tracks, Stanley No. 2800. Many types of sliding devices, made by various manufacturers, can be obtained at hardware stores, complete with installation instructions. Or if you wish, you may simply place doors in grooves (see chapter on built-in kitchen, photo No. 7).

The author used Novoply for all cabinet doors in the laundry to minimize warpage. Cut eight cabinet doors to size, depending on spacing of your vertical and horizontal partitions, and test for proper fit. The author mounted sliding door mechanisms as follows: hangers, which were part of the sliding track assembly used here, were mounted to tops of doors.

To provide finger grips for doors, the author used metal flush door pulls, Stanley No. 2694. To install flush pulls, holes were drilled in desired location on doors and cleaned out with chisel.

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