Saturday, March 17, 2018

Laundry Room Update

I haven't been posting as much as usual, because I have been busy with a "project".

In a previous posting, I mentioned how these "wet walls" can end up really wet, if you use those stupid laundry room boxes as drains.  When you end up with a wall full of wet insulation, you have no choice but to repair it, as your house is a valuable commodity, and if you want to sell it later on (which you will do, like it or not) it needs to be in serviceable condition.  You can't just let things like this fester.   It is not acceptable.

It is a funny thing, when we sold our house in Virginia to be bulldozed, we had to leave it in habitable condition.  The developer was borrowing money from the bank (of course - developers rarely use their own money!) and the bank insisted on a habitable property - one that could be re-sold or rented out, even if it was slated for demolition.

New plumbing installed.  Note the sample of the epoxy speckle-paint installed.  Eventually, the whole garage floor will be painted this way - in two coats.  The drain was snaked and jetted and new 2" pipe installed.  It drains fast now!  I also added a total of eight water-hammer shock absorbers.  Note the crazy plumbing extension for the hot water heater!  Why did they feel they needed to move it?


The moldy sheet rock and insulation removed and new Styrofoam insulation installed.  A little chlorine bleach killed off all the mold.  A messy, disgusting job removing it.   The new cabinet for the hot water heater is test-fitted.  New laundry sink.  The old one is going outside Mark's studio.


The new washer and dryer temporarily installed in the old location, as Mark needed to do laundry. Yes, I hated to buy these fancy machines, but since they use less water, it helps with the drain problem.  The cost has come down some - and top-loaders have gone up in price!  I snagged these the day Trump announced the tariffs, so I paid the old, pre-tariff price.



New mold-resistant sheetrock installed, and IKEA cabinets test-fitted.  The lower cabinet was an order mistake.  Note the industrial pebble-finish FRP on the wall behind the sink.  It looks like a real laundromat!  The dryer vent has been blocked off and a new water supply (but no drain!) for the washer installed in the wall.  Access panels are provided for all the drain cleanouts.

The FRP walls installed, with most of the cabinets (sans doors).  The hot water heater cabinet painted but not the door, yet).  New dryer vent and new dryer plug installed.  The wire for the hot water heater had a floating ground (!!!).

What's left?  Finish sheetrocking the ceiling, paint the floor, build a small wall at the end of the cabinets to house the built-in ironing board, move the appliances back in place, and assemble the new laundry cart.  And then the rest of the garage ceiling and floor need to be done.

Then we just need to add a coin-op box, and we could call it a laundromat!

UPDATE:  I have uploaded a video of the (almost) finished project: