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Need advice on apartment laundry reno

Absolute newbie looking for advice.

My apartment laundry is a decent size but not functional due to lack of storage.

Naively I thought “How hard can it be to chuck on a bench and some cabinets?” and quickly realised I have no idea where to begin.

Did a quick mock up with the Kaboodle planner below.

Issues/questions I have:

• The washer plumbing and power point are all above bench level - how difficult is this to move so the hose and wires can be hidden?

• How much more complicated will this renovation be in an apartment? (E.g. strata)

• If I wanted a stone look bench top, how do they get cut out for the sink? Do I need workshop space? (We have a double garage space with power in the basement)

• My idea was to hire professionals to do the installation with flat pack cabinetry - who do I need and who do I call first? Plumber? Electrician?

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

The space

The plan

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Plumbing

Lighting and Electrical

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @raniia. It's fabulous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about renovating your laundry.

A great place to start would be reading through this helpful guide on How to plan a laundry renovation.

If budget isn't a concern, moving the water outlets and powerpoint under the bench will be a relatively simple process for a plumber and electrician. If the walls are concrete, they will have to chase the plumbing and cables through it, requiring the wall to be cut out. It would be a good idea to have access to power above the bench too, for things such as irons.

You'll need to chat with a representative of the Owners Corporate to check any limitations on your plans. You'll then be able to gauge if the reno will be complicated due to restrictions.

Stone benchtops can be cut at the manufacturer from the measurements you provide. If you have the installation done by a benchtop installer, they would quite possibly do the sink cut out on-site.

You'll be getting the plumber and electrician in to complete the work of moving the tap outlets and power point before installing the cabinetry. It would be best to get a couple of quotes from each and ask them if they'd like the other power or water moved first.

If you're are interested in installing the cabinetry yourself, there are plenty of helpful guides on the Bunnings website.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

raniia

Thanks for the feedback @MitchellMc

The walls are concrete which I assume makes it significantly more complicated.

Considering a plan B to leave the location as is and make room at the back of the bench for plumbing and electrical cables. Won’t look as nice but should do the job.

Do I still need a plumber if it’s just replacing the laundry sink and swapping out tapware or will a benchtop/cabinet installer be able to handle this?

Thanks!

EricL

Hello @raniia

It's great that you've received excellent advice from my colleague @MitchellMc. All things considered, if the plumbing locations and tapware stay in the same place, there'll be no need for a plumber. An experienced builder should be able to assemble this for you. If you're using a laminated benchtop with a marble pattern on it, they will be able to cut this on site. The same rule applies if you decide to use a timber benchtop.

Changing the position of the tapware on your laundry tub falls in the same category as moving the laundry taps under the sink. Your cement wall will have to be chiselled out to make a channel for the new pipework to lay in. So the easiest option for you is to leave the plumbing in its current position and re-arrange the position of the dryer and add more cabinets.

I've placed a sketch below for you to have a look at. Please tell us what you think and if you wish to see it in another configuration, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to re-arrange it for you.

If you have any other questions we can help out with, please let us know.

Eric

raniia

Update

The concrete wall threw all my plans out the window. I shifted gears and instead focused on making the space functional and opted to do some very basic DIY.

First was a fresh coat of paint. The laundry was overwhelmingly beige so I went with a light cool grey to brighten the room.

Then I built a bench just out of some pine timber panels (sanded and finished with some satin varnish), a couple of brackets, and some levelling feet. Does the job perfectly and plenty of space to fold laundry.
Also used the off-cut to make a little floating shelf to put a plant on.

Instead of wall mounted cupboards, I got this little shelf/cupboard from Ikea.

Finally, swapped out for some new black tapware.

I didn’t remove the bolts from the old dryer partly because it was more trouble than it’s worth but also in case we want to put it back if we decide to sell. Was able to hang a poster frame on the bolts itself.

I’m super happy with the results and the whole thing only cost around $800 (could have been cheaper but I needed some tools).

Before

After

Jason

Great result @raniia, you should feel justifiably proud of your efforts.

Many thanks for sharing.

Jason

EricL

Hello @raniia

Thank you so much for posting photos of your updated laundry. It looks fantastic and I think it's great the way you've managed to create a work area for yourself above the washer and dryer. The black plumbing fittings were a nice touch and placing that picture above the wall is a great use for the open space.

Again, thank you for sharing your laundry renovation project.

Eric

traxsie

I know this is an old post, however I want to do something similar over my single front loader washing machine. I'm wondering what the thickness of the wood top was?

EricL

Hello @traxsie

If they used standard Specrite 2200 x 600 x 26mm Timber Multi Use Pine Panel, it would be 26mm thick. However, if they used Kaboodle 2400 x 600 x 32mm European Beech Timber Benchtop, it would be 32mm. Either of these benchtops would work with the configuration you currently see in the laundry.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

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