Hi,
I'm trying to figure out the best position for a washer and dryer in what will be my new laundry room. I'm near Buffalo,NY.
From a traffic flow and layout perspective, the best location for the machines will be against a west-facing outside wall. I understand that issues with freezing pipes could potentially cause problems. The framing of this house is 2x4 based.
The machines currently are against a south-facing wall inside of a closet in the kitchen area. We've only lived there since May, so haven't seen what might have happened over the winters to these pipes, but I see no obvious signs of breakage.
My question is: Are there current practices used that would make plumbing for the washer in this wall relatively safe? The options I know about are:
1) Put pipe as close to inside sheetrock as possible, and put as much insulation as possible between pipes and house sheething
I don't know if this is considered relatively safe
2) Build a secondary wall against the existing insulated outer wall in which to place the plumbing.
I'd like to avoid this, if possible to retain the space and for appearance purposes.
3) I don't know much about this one, but I read somewher that Pex piping is more freeze resistant than copper. Any ideas on this one?
The other concern I have is concerning the location of our main electric service panel in the basement. If we put the machines where we are thinking about, they'll be almost above this panel. Is this code-compliant? Surely others put sinks, tubs, etc. above their main panels. I know that immediately above this panel, two stories up, is a large bathtub.
I appreciate any feedback, and thanks for taking the time to read this!
-Brad
I'm trying to figure out the best position for a washer and dryer in what will be my new laundry room. I'm near Buffalo,NY.
From a traffic flow and layout perspective, the best location for the machines will be against a west-facing outside wall. I understand that issues with freezing pipes could potentially cause problems. The framing of this house is 2x4 based.
The machines currently are against a south-facing wall inside of a closet in the kitchen area. We've only lived there since May, so haven't seen what might have happened over the winters to these pipes, but I see no obvious signs of breakage.
My question is: Are there current practices used that would make plumbing for the washer in this wall relatively safe? The options I know about are:
1) Put pipe as close to inside sheetrock as possible, and put as much insulation as possible between pipes and house sheething
I don't know if this is considered relatively safe
2) Build a secondary wall against the existing insulated outer wall in which to place the plumbing.
I'd like to avoid this, if possible to retain the space and for appearance purposes.
3) I don't know much about this one, but I read somewher that Pex piping is more freeze resistant than copper. Any ideas on this one?
The other concern I have is concerning the location of our main electric service panel in the basement. If we put the machines where we are thinking about, they'll be almost above this panel. Is this code-compliant? Surely others put sinks, tubs, etc. above their main panels. I know that immediately above this panel, two stories up, is a large bathtub.
I appreciate any feedback, and thanks for taking the time to read this!
-Brad
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