why are new designs like this

Hi perhaps someone can explain modern design to me? Why do they always put the laundry /bathroom next to the bedrooms. I have a bathroom next to my bed room and when ever some comes in late they wake me up and you don't want to put a load of washing on at 6:00 with your two year old sleeping just through the wall. I apreciate the convenience of having these rooms near bedrooms but on the other side of the passage please. I find the same thing with bedrooms that come directly off family rooms. I much prefer the idea of a sleeping wing away from living areas.

Granted I have only been looking at the home builers like simmonds, metricon, etc and space is not an issue for me (live in the country) but can you enlighten me to their reasoning, is it cost efficient, to fit on city blocks or just what the rest of the home building world wants.

There is very often few other places that the Laundry can go. Generally they will be located near other plumbed services -- such as the bathroom or kitchen. They also need to be located on an external wall. Most people don't want them next to the lounge,living or kitchen, which leaves..... THE BEDROOMS!! A better solution would be to place off an attached garage -- but the cost of plumbing is what generally rules this out.

I agree. I guess a better alternative is as said before, beside an attached garage and powder room (toilet), bathroom or shower. Therefore all plumbing needs are on that side of the home. A double storey home seems an advantage under the circumstances

ya hi how r u all welll ia also have my bathroom just infront of my room ok but my kitchen is downstairs and the living room is on the other side of the house but really y is da bathroom beside the kichen like wat would u do about the smell n bdw noone wil eat

Hi there,

I guess the best way to get out of it is designing your own home, then you can put wet areas where you want them. Smaller homes are pushed for space, so again as said, all the plumbing needs to be as close to each other for a cost effect reason.

Have you tried asking if you are able to modify their floor plans?

Hm...

It’s believed to be a good idea to place the laundry as close a possible to the main source of dirty closing – bedroom. But you also suppose to have an acoustics sorted out. And then you have the laundry as a buffer between two bedrooms – suppose to improve privacy.

My laundry is next to my bedroom and I don’t hear anything.
The new washing machines have a Silent regime anyway.

May be you just need a new washing mashine?

I guess the thing is - where else do you put them? And most urban people (which at a guess would account for most of the new homes) are unable to have a ranch/homestead style house where there are rooms either side of the passage. I know in our plan, the family room is on one side of the passage (which is also how you get to the passage), and the bedrooms come off either end with the bathroom and laundry between them.
One of my pet hates is plans where the laundry is through the kitchen - why anyone would want to drag their dirty clothes through the kitchen is beyond me.
I have a 2 year old, and there's no way I'm getting up at 6am to put on a load of washing! And really, the bathroom is only for "the kids" so if the master and ensuite are at the opposite end of the house, getting up and having a shower early (or late) isn't going to disturb them.
I will say that when I was growing up the gas hot water unit was on the outside of the wall where the head of my bed was, and it would disturb me if someone used the hot water while I was asleep.

Ray.

Something different I did see in a small unit in Perth (Ascot Quays Apartments) is that they had the laundry in a cupboard! It was inside (not outside) but a very innovative space saving feature, but of course it's a unit where you don't go out to hang it up to dry.

I entertained the idea for a bit, purpose built cupboard out the back on the verandah against the house with your washer / dryer & laundry tub. Just shut the doors when you're done! I think this is best for places like Darwin though, can't really see myself wanting to get out there to put the washing on early in the morning in mid winter

The place we're looking at building is more of a farmhouse style place. But still the laundry is next to the bathroom in the wing with the bedrooms, so one of the bedrooms will be directly next to it. However I can't forsee myslef doing the washing that early in the morning (kids are awake by half six as it is!) and later on when they grow up well you probably will need an incentive to get them out of bed anyway!

I would rather have the laundry next to the bedroom than the toilet - the toilet is something that gets use during the night!

I do agree on this one though, bathroom & laundry seem to require a bit of thought if you don't want them near any bedrooms or kitchen, very hard to do.

When thinking of the design of our house the laundry was always the deciding factor for me. I'm have a bit of OCD in that area and was obsessed about the laundry. We are having a double garage and then directly behind that is the laundry and then directly behind that is the ensuite/BIR and then the Master Bedroom. This way I can walk out straight from the laundry and have the clothes line down the side, without taking up any space from the backyard.

My design has the laundry as part of the kitchen. the cupboards continue further than would otherwise be the case to accomodate a cupboard laundry.

I think this is great since you can hear the beep when the washing machine is done and while in the kitchen/living area can take care of the laundry between other activity.

I'm aiming for 600 mm wide drying room (simply vented to the outside) + 1200 mm wide area for sink, washing machine and dryer. May change it to one 1800 mm area that includes some rails for drying.

Our washing machine is a direct drive and after the spin cycle the clothes are not too wet. Just hang them up on some coathanders and they're dry in 2 to 4 hours.

I like the idea of the laundry near to the activity hub of the house. Nobody wants to go to some remove location to do the laundry.

I guess some of it depends where people keep their dirty washing, I don't have teenagers yet so it's in a basket in the bathroom:)

For me doing the laundry is a case of putting it on & forget about it for an hour (or two on the longer cycle). Hang out & collect whenver suits. And do this every few days. I generally dump it on our queen size bed so that it encourages me to fold it all up before bed time - as you may have figured I don't iron :

I guess things may change when the kids get older though.

I don't think there is a 'wrong' location for a laundry. Each family will have different preferences and requirements to suit their individual needs.
We've just finished a design with an 'outdoor' laundry [& toilet] separated from the main floor area by a breezeway. Works really well.
For 'normal' homes, acoustic wall insulation works a treat for both laundries & toilets !

I have noticed that quite a few new homes here in Perth have the laundry running off the back of the garage and then the kitchen behind that. so to walk in from Parking the car you go through to the kitchen from the laundry.
I like the idea It is practical.

Hi abbee,

This was one of my biggest gripes when we started looking at houses!!! I totally agree with you about not having a laundry or bathroom/toilet next to a bedroom. Currently my laundry backs onto my 10yo's room and she is my heaviest sleeper but the WM still wakes her up. I don't put any washing on now until she is awake.

I really don't like rooms off rooms either, we really liked the Monterey by H3nl3y but didn't like how the laundry was off the meals. Even if you moved the door it would then be facing the kitchen.

Builder said they try to keep all the plumbing to the same side of the house if possible.

We've ended up going for a two storey PD home, so I'll be okay with the laundry and are having soundscreen batts put into the bedroom/bathroom walls - hope this will help!

Toni

and while we are on this subject, why do builders put the alfresco's on the same side of the house as the garage (well PD does) when they know that you can have the garage closer to the boundary......????? We are going to have 5.1m from side boundary to garage because we want the yard space on the alfresco side!

Just a tip with pd double story houses you really need in floor batts to stop the sound travelling up through the floor. My parents built with pd and the sound transference is really bad.