Washer/Dryer Pedestal

I recently remodeled our laundry room and needed a place to put our laundry baskets. I found a great design for a pedestal on Instructables and set out to build a similar one specific for my room, first making my own simple drawings of what I was looking for. It had to be wide enough to fit three baskets underneath and strong enough to hold the weight of the very heavy front-loading washer (the old style dryer is much lighter but eventually we'll replace that with a front-loader style too). It also had to have a notch in the back for the water drain pipe. The dimensions I needed were 65" x 35". Unlike the one I found online, I didn't want or need the back to be enclosed as it was deep enough that you couldn't see it without going to ground level and looking back.

(1) 4x8 3/4" sanded plywood

(4) 2x4x8

(2) 4x4 1/4 sanded plywood

(1) 4x4x8 wood post

Nails or wood screws (I used framing nails in my pneumatic nail gun)

Brad nailer

Liquid Nails glue

"L" brackets

Carriage bolts

Forstner bit for sinking carriage bolt head (if you desire)

Lock nuts

Fender washers

(optional) 5" deck screws

Corner trim

Baseboard trim

Wood filler

Sandpaper (220 and 400 grit)

Denatured alcohol

Kilz primer

Latex semi-gloss paint

Measure and cut 3/4" plywood to dimensions needed. In my case, 65" x 35", plus notch the corner 6" x 14" for the drain pipe. Cut 2x4's for the long edges, use Liquid Nails glue and clamp down, then nail with nail gun (or use wood screws if you prefer those).

Measure and cut 2x4's for the middle supports, glue and nail into plywood. Top frame strength is critical so nail the 2x4's on the sides and top through the plywood.

Measure and cut the 4x4 posts. I chose to notch the posts so that the 2x4's of the top frame would sit on the posts instead of just the plywood. It's fine the other way too (no notching) but I wanted max strength handling. Clamp the posts and then drill holes for the carriage bolts on both the front and sides (using the forstner bit first to have the bolt heads sunk in). Remember to offset both bolts so that you they don't run into each other! Remove clamps, add glue to the posts, and insert carriage bolts. Use fender washers with nylon lock nuts and tighten down.

Measure and cut 2x4 for the bottom between the 4x4 posts. This is to brace for lateral stability (sometimes the washing machine will rock back and forth!). These 2x4's should be flush with the bottom of the posts. Install "L" brackets between the 2x4 and 4x4 to hold the 2x4 in place (I also glued the end of the 2x4). OPTIONAL: Being the over-engineering guy that I am I also screwed 5" deck screws into the front and back (through the 4x4 posts into the end of the 2x4) and of course used the forstner bit first to sink the head in. This step is probably overkill but it added a bit more bracing.

Add your choice of trim to the front (and any visible side) - in my case only the front and left side will be seen. I chose a primed 4.25" baseboard trim and I angle cut the end where it meets the side. On the bottom, measure and cut 1/4" plywood and brad nail into place, then add corner trim. On the right side, originally I wasn't going to install 1/4 plywood because that side was going to be against the wall, but if anything fell down there we would never be able to retrieve it. However it just didn't look right, so I added the 1/4 plywood and cut a square out in the middle (picture of that is in a later step).

Using wood filler I filled all of the nail holes and wood imperfections. Once dried I sanded with 220 grit paper then wiped down with a tack cloth and with denatured alcohol to get all of the dust off. Primed with Kilz spray primer, two coats with at least 30 minutes in between.

After priming I found I didn't like the look of the deck screw on the front or the texture of the wood post and realized I should have covered that with the 1/4 plywood. So I ripped the corner trim off, installed the 1/4 plywood, and re-trimmed it. Then, primed the new pieces. Also (not pictured) I changed the rear corner brace from being on end to being flat as I was afraid it would hit the drain pipe in the room.

Light sanding with 400 grit paper and cleaned off with air hose and rag. Added three coats of Latex paint. We chose a color slightly darker than the walls of the laundry room.

Time to move it into the room, and it looks like I measured correctly! It fits perfectly against the wall and at the drain pipe. With the neighbor's help I got the machines onto the top and got everything hooked up. It's very solid and didn't flex or creak when we put the machines on it. It was so satisfying seeing it completed and in place. And, the wife was VERY happy with it!