Concealing a non-integrated washing machine

[blainey]

Hi everyone
I want to conceal my washing machine when I redo my kitchen and was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions how I could do this. My idea was to use an 800mm base unit, take out the base, attach the sides to plinths and then make the worktop slightly wider so the w/m can sit back from the unit door. I don't think I can do it wth a 600mm unit because the door would be slightly too narrow. Has anyone done what I want to attempt?
Thanks
Alison

 

[Scrit]

You'll need a minimum of 700mm wide carcass, assuming you can get 350mm wide doors in the style you want, otherwise you'll have to go for an 800mm wide carcass with two 400mm wide doors. As you have correctly surmised if you attach a couple of strips of 18mm MFC (melamine-faced chipboard) to the ends of the adjoining carcasses it should be possible to hang the doors. Just make sure that you edge band them with the iron-on tape on all the exposed edges to prevent moisture damaging them over time.

The depth of the washing machine will present you with the greatest problems. A non-integrated washer is generally designed so it will sit in a area with a 600mm square footprint and have the front flush or slightly protruding the unit doors. A standard carcass is about 570mm deep and the door adds another 18mm to that with a 2mm hinge offset = 590mm. You also allow a 5 to 10mm worktop overhang at the front. The plinth is generally set back 30 to 50mm from the front edge of the carcass and is also 18mm thick. This gives a space from the wall to the back of the plinth of 570 - (30 to 50 + 18) = 522 to 502mm. If your washing machine is 600mm deep you'll need to pull your base carcasses 80 to 100 mm out from the wall and the worktop will need to be about 700mm wide in order to get the plinth to run across the front of the washing machine in line with the other units. The worktop will therefore need to be a piece of wider breakfast bar top (double post-formed, i.e. two rounded edges) with one edge sawn off down it's length.

Having a much wider worktop is a solution I generally advise customers against as it can look a bit odd.

Scrit

 

[blainey]

not quite as easy as I had hoped then! The kitchen is really narrow too so a wide worktop may be a bit of a problem.

 

[Scrit]

Sorry that there aren't any other solutions, I've been going through this process with a customer recently so I understand where you are coming from. I'd suggest either finding an alternative location for it (in a previous house our washer and drier lived in the bathroom), leaving the front visible in a 600mm wide gap so that when/if it expires you can replace it with an integrated appliance (just remember to get a door/drawer front:600 w x 577/140 high for that day), or replacing with an integrated now.

Scrit

 

[blainey]

Hi there
I've decided to replace the machine with an integrated one while we are going to the bother of replacing the kitchen.