AIBU to think UK houses and flats are badly designed when it comes to doing laundry?

[YellowBalloonsandOrangeBaboons]

Inspired by moving into an otherwise lovely flat, built in the 90s, which has no utility room (obviously), no space for a tumble dryer, no garden, and a rule for the whole development which prohibits drying washing on balconies. It's got me thinking about all the houses and flats I have lived in in the UK - at least 7, of very different sizes and types, and in different areas - and I have come to the conclusion that architects are spectacularly crap at designing properties as they never routinely seem to take account of something as basic as washing and drying clothes. The only one I have ever lived in that had a purpose-built utility room was built in an extension. Another was old and huge and had a room converted into a second kitchen-cum-utility room. Everywhere else, drying washing has been a monumental, daily pain in the arse.

I just don't get it. It's not a secret that UK weather is generally cold and wet for a good part of the year, meaning that even if you're lucky enough to have a private garden you can't really dry washing there for half the year. Hanging washing all over the house means excess clutter, looks terrible, and creates dreadful problems with damp unless it's hot enough to have the windows open. Now that increasing numbers of flats are being built with no gardens, the problem will surely only get worse. I get even more confused by new builds without gardens that have multiple en suite bathrooms but still no utility room. Why isn't designing somewhere purpose-built to dry your clothes considered a basic in architecture, in much the same way as designing places to eat, sleep and shower? It's rare to design a new flat without at least a second loo now, for example, so it's not like it's just a space consideration. AIBU?

I'd be fascinated to know whether other countries (especially ones without acres of space per property) share this problem, or whether there are any more modern solutions out there.

We are not overpopulated. Three times as much land is given over to golf courses in the UK, than houses.

@Monopolyiscrap

We are not overpopulated. Three times as much land is given over to golf courses in the UK, than houses.

Bullshit- unless you can provide actual evidence

@Lockdownbear Mark Thomas book, he has all the references.
The stats do not include gardens, just houses.
And more than double the space houses take up is taken up be grouse moors in the UK.
The Mark Thomas book is a good read. He uses stats and evidence to expose a lot of British myths.

Agreed . . And hoover / general storage place not considered!

@deadlanguage

Laundry chutes seem like a disaster waiting to happen to me - what do you do if something gets stuck?

also with rubbish chutes that is a possibility, esp the way some people behave, putting oil down sinks, and all sorts down toilets: irresponsible. but also chutes fell into disfavour because of the risk of fire spread, they can act like a chimney through a building.

[quote Monopolyiscrap]@Lockdownbear Mark Thomas book, he has all the references.
The stats do not include gardens, just houses.
And more than double the space houses take up is taken up be grouse moors in the UK.
The Mark Thomas book is a good read. He uses stats and evidence to expose a lot of British myths.[/quote]
Also as you said the government figure (1.1%?) for housing didn't include gardens, driveways, roads, etc and I think the figure claimed was double, not three times. Even then its been questioned over whether the land taken up by golf courses was accurate.

Maybe our houses could our houses be a bit bigger. Overpopulation though is another issue. 75% of the land in England is used for agricultural and we already have to import a large percentage of our food which isn't ideal.

[quote Monopolyiscrap]@Lockdownbear Mark Thomas book, he has all the references.
The stats do not include gardens, just houses.
And more than double the space houses take up is taken up be grouse moors in the UK.
The Mark Thomas book is a good read. He uses stats and evidence to expose a lot of British myths.[/quote]
The issue is that the region where most people have to live in order to find employment is overdeveloped. I live in a former rural area in the south, which is fast becoming a suburb, with huge housing estates of tiny houses.

Expanses of grouse moor in northern England or the Cairngorms are irrelevant to the debate.

I'm in a council flat & have a room that is 6 foot square that houses my tumble dryer but has no plumbing for a washer so I have to drag all my wet washing to the other end of the flat to dry it. Being disabled it isn't easy & there is no way to extend t he plumbing. The only other options are to not have a dishwasher or use the drying yard which is horrible & on the front of the building.

I did not quote any figure as I can't remember it.
Grouse moors are terrible for the environment, so very revelant.

I agree that grouse moors are bad for the environment overall, and not a good use of land. In ecological terms, they're basically a desert - plenty could be done to improve their value as a habitat.

However, the alternative uses for grouse moors don't include residential housing, for the most part.

Housing design is goverened by standards and guidance (some of which is optional) and economics.

Also people are very set in their ways as to what they expect to see in a house. Because the current fashion is large open plan kitchens, bifolds, ensuites etc that's what is in the floor plans. Hardly anyone will pay extra or give something up for an environmental improvement.

This is a random 3 bedroom house "ideal for young family". No space for a dryer, drying rack or even a back door from kitchen to garden. But two bathrooms upstairs.

oops, the downstairs here

I live in ex communist country and all my friends have washing machines and dryers in bathroom, one on top of the other. I also have it. It is tiny bathroom, but when they build flats they always leave place for a washing machine.

But I understand it is illegal to do that in UK.

@NotMeNoNo Never seen that design.

Interestingly all my family and friends with new houses have some sort of back door so they can go from the kitchen to the garden.

In fact I've been with a family member and a friend when they were looking at new build houses in different estates. The only time the kitchen didn't have access to the garden was when the kitchen was in the front of the house and too small to have any form of dining area.

@kavalkada

I live in ex communist country and all my friends have washing machines and dryers in bathroom, one on top of the other. I also have it. It is tiny bathroom, but when they build flats they always leave place for a washing machine.

But I understand it is illegal to do that in UK.

it's not entirely illegal to have washing machines in the bathroom in the uk. it needs to be hard wired or encased in a cupboard.

but I live in forrin now as well and here the washer is either in a hallway cupboard or in the bathroom.
bathrooms here have power outlets as well, sometimes even close to the sink.

But I understand it is illegal to do that in UK.

@kavalkada it isn't. While there is a minimum distance needed between sockets and taps, you can wire your washing machine in the same way you would wire in an electric shower. In other words you can't just plug it into a plug socket it would need to be permanently wired in by an electrician.

www.idealhome.co.uk/news/washing-machine-in-the-bathroom-228443

@Monopolyiscrap

I did not quote any figure as I can't remember it. Grouse moors are terrible for the environment, so very revelant.

They aren’t relevant to house building as they are not in areas of housing pressure. Building 100,000s of homes isn’t going to happen on a grouse moor or in the cairngorms. It is happening right now in my formerly rural county.

@kavalkada

I live in ex communist country and all my friends have washing machines and dryers in bathroom, one on top of the other. I also have it. It is tiny bathroom, but when they build flats they always leave place for a washing machine.

But I understand it is illegal to do that in UK.

If you can get a washing machine in your 'tiny' bathroom it's really not that small and likely to be much larger than many UK bathrooms.

Our bathroom is slightly more than double the size of the bath, ie there is the bath, toilet and sink and space for a very small cupboard. We simply couldn't get a washing machine in there unless either the sink and toilet is removed or the bath swapped for a shower cubicle, and even then, it would be a hell of a squeeze.

@RedWingBoots its a Taylor Wimpey development in the Midlands. I looked at all the houses and you have to go to £375k and four bedrooms before the homes have a utility room, although some of the 3 bed layouts are better than that one.

Dd had a friend over recently...

'Wow, why is your washing machine in the kitchen.'

'Where is the utility?'

'The wardrobe is funny in the lounge?' (It was a drying rack)

'Why is your hoover in the kitchen?'

We built a tiny extension so we could have a small utility room. Best money I have spent.

BarbaraofSeville, trust me, it is small. It is 2x2 metres (a little bit more then 6 feet 7 inches on each wall if my calculator is right). That is 4m2.

I would take a photo, but it is pretty messy at the moment.

There is shower 1.20 x 0.8 metres and on that wall there is a hole 0.7 x 7 metres for a washing machine.

But it probably depends on the country. Most of people in my country live in apartments and they are usually small. But all bathrooms come with a place for washing machine. I used to live in a studio and it was the same. My friends who moved to Germany tell me it is pretty much the same there.

If you can get a washing machine in your 'tiny' bathroom it's really not that small and likely to be much larger than many UK bathrooms.
Not necessarily. We have a washing machine but not a full size shower or sink!

I agree.

What I find really odd though is why when you have a perfectly good balcony you cannot hang out washing on an airier!

When I lived abroad that's what we did - we all survived

The number one selling point for houses (especially new ones) is the number of rooms. In particular, the number of bedrooms, followed by the number of bathrooms. So, if for example, you can create an extra bedroom by not having to extra laundry/storage space you will always increase the value of the property.