Back in October my husband and I decided to finally build a washer and dryer platform (pedestal) for our front loading washer and dryer. When we initially go them we decided against purchasing the matching pedestals that came with them because they didn’t quite fit into the space we had and we didn’t want to move the cabinets above them up. So we decided we would plan to build our own. A year later, we finally got around to it.
And then I decided to finally repaint the laundry room with a cleaner feeling, fresh coat of paint. Want to see what the laundry room looked like before? You can see the before pictures on this older Laundry Room post. We made a few more changes in here that I will share with you later.
Before
After
Here is how we made our pedestal. You can make one similar to ours but remember to make sure to get your measurements and adjust them for your particular washer and dryer and room constraints. We used the following items:
Three 8 foot long 2 x 10’s
One 4 foot x 8 foot piece of 3/4 inch plywood
Decorative molding
1/4 inch MDF board cut into 2 inch strips
2 pieces of decorative corner molding (located in the molding aisle at Lowe’s)
First we measured the width and depth of our washer and dryer and then added two inches to each length so the completed pedestal would have one inch of excess on the front and each side of the machines.
We wanted our pedestal to be a height of 12 inches so we used 2×10’s as our main construction. We made a rectangle with the 2×10’s and then added two more cross beams close to middle to support the middle of the pedestal. We tried to place these so that they sat under the feet of our washer and dryer to add additional support.
We drilled pilot holes for the screws so that the wood would not split at the ends. We used screws to make the rectangle and then to attach the two middle supports.
To attach the plywood top which you will have cut to fit your rectangle exactly, take some wood glue (we love Gorilla Wood Glue) and add it to all the tops of your base.
We used some finishing nails around the top edges of the frame where the cross support beams were and along the sides and front to provide a tight fit and seal for the glue to hold it all together.
Then we cut and attached some 2 inch strips of MDF board around the front and sides to add a little bit of interest and style to the platform.
I forgot to take a picture of it in the building process, but you can see where we added it in the pictures below. We also added some decorative corner molding to the two front sides and a 2 inch strip of MDF down the front center of the pedestal too.
Use wood putty and painter’s caulk to fill any and all seams and nail holes. Let the putty dry and then completely sand all edges and surfaces until smooth. We primed it with Kilz Primer and then finally painted it with two coats of our favorite white semi-gloss paint.
The hard part was maneuvering it into place because it was such a beast. But we managed. Then to get the washer and dryer onto it without damaging it, we placed the washer and dryer onto a towel on top of the pedestal. This allowed us to push them back without scratching the top. Then we simply tilted the machines and pulled the towel out from under it. We decided against adding some storage space in our pedestal simply because we are fortunate enough to have a room with plenty of storage. So adding drawers or cubby holes could be an option if you need more storage space. Phew! I hope I explained that well enough for you to understand. Please leave a comment if you need further clarification and I will be happy to try and answer your questions.
(*Hubs looking good in his painting/work clothes…same reason I am NOT pictured…ha ha!) It turned out pretty nicely don’t you think? And…it is a solid piece of furniture. I have to admit…I was a bit worried about the amount of weight it would be required to hold and withstand….but it is completely solid. And the machines don’t move at all when they are both running.
I can’t wait to share the other small changes we made to this room and will share the full reveal here soon! Okay…Now I have a question for you…we are debating whether or not to keep the cabinets black or to paint them white? What do you think?
Linking up here: Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom
