Can I put washing machine and dryer in a broom unit?

[Floridasunset]

We've had an offer accepted on a house and I'm starting to dream about the kitchen we will get put in. We won't have a utility room so I would like a tall cupboard with the washing machine and dryer in with some shelving with the doors matching the rest of the kitchen. But the integrated washing machine cupboards I've seen are base units. So could I do it in a broom unit? Can you move the shelve heights? And will they hold the weight?

Does anyone have a cupboard like this? I have no idea as I've only ever had kitchens that were already there when we moved in.
I will try and attach pictures of what I'm after

Thanks

condenser tumble driers emit a certain amount of steam, depending how good they are, so unless it is a vented model with a steam-hose going outside, I think the cabinet will get damp and mouldy, or perhaps you could have an extractor fan at the top,.

Washing machines steam a bit, especially on hot washes.

It is essential that you have the middle shelf fixed to the sides with screwed brackets, not just resting on pegs. Tall units without a fixed stiffening shelf or two can bulge and the shelves slide off the pegs and fall down. But you can also get a Stacking Kit to go on top of the washer, that the drier stands on. The Bosch ones, to go with their own make, have retaining screws and lip to prevent the drier falling off. Other makes may also do that, I don't know.

p.s.

there are places that will make kitchen units in the dimensions and colour of your choice, for example Benjamin James, they've probably done this kind of thing before. Kitchen showrooms can also order them, I suspect they are all made in just a few factories.

Find out the dimensions of matching doors and panels that you can get so the unit is the height to match. Remember the legs.

here's an example

I think I’d buy a stacking kit and install the appliances and then get your joiner to build a cabinet round about it IYSWIM with end panels and then fix a door.

That way you will be able to use non intergrated appliances like in the photos as they are much cheaper, and you can only get a vented integrated tumble dryer ( for some reason ).

You also need to watch the depth of your appliances if you want them to fit into a run of units. We have just installed a free standing TD in our new kitchen ( not stacked ) and fitted a door so it looks integrated . But we used a 650mm deep worktop to give enough depth.

I wouldn’t want a top or a plinth to increase ventilation . Also most appliances have a filter down at the bottom that you need to pull out to clean, which would be blocked by a plinth.

You see I’m looking at that photo and wondering how the weight of two appliances plus water and clothes can possibly be sitting on the bottom of a kitchen unit.

And where the is condenser pipe in that photos ? I assume it’s above the top but I thought it had to go out horizontally .

IME, condenser dryers work best when there is good air circulation around them, particularly once the fluff free newness wears off and they have to work a bit harder. Mine has a hissy fit if it's too close to the wall and you definitely need clean air flow at the front, so would have to use it with the door open.

Thank you piglet. I hadn't considered the steam and the cupboard getting damp.
And thank you for the link too

I have a condenser dryer in a cupboard - it's fine. But it's in a cupboard with quite a lot of space front and back and there is a biggish hole in the back (previous owner had vented dryer). Much more environmentally friendly - I use the water in the garden.

I keep the door shut when the dryer is going and there's no mould and my dryer has been working perfectly for nearly 10 years

Thanks Kristina and Pick. Lots to think about. The position I was thinking of putting it in the kitchen wouldn't work if I had to have the door open when it was in use.

If i was to have a joiner build a cupboard around them like Kristina suggests maybe I could have a sliding door that I.could leave open without it blocking the way in to the kitchen.
The doors just wouldn't match the rest of the cabinets

Thanks Orchid that's good to know

if you use a floor-standing appliance, it is likely to be about 600mm wide so a 600mm door won't be wide enough. The next common size is 800mm, using two at 400mm. That's OK if you allow for the ironing board or something in the side of the enclosure.

It would be safer to have the the dryer stacked on top of the washer with a safety bracket and do away with the shelf entirely

I should add that the units are custom built

We put ours in a cupboard we had built to square off a room when we had a bathroom installed. It works fine, you just need a solid shelf to put the top one on so there's minimal vibration. The door is always open when the tumbler (condenser) is on and there's no damp or mould issue.

Rather than a stacking kit, I got a piece of kitchen worktop from Freecycle and we used that to put the tumble dryer on once it was properly fixed to the walls. Super solid and there was some room at the side for washing powder etc. Then have a biggish cupboard with an extractor built round it?

Would you consider a washer /dryer so only one appliance and the dryer part uses the plumbing of the washing machine. You could store a washing basket in the cupboard and put some rails across the top of the cupboard to dry items that don't need tumbling. Maybe insert a small metal grid into the door or side of the cupboard for extra ventilation too.

I have a Miele washer dryer which is efficient and long lasting but wasn't cheap.

Thank you for all of your advice and ideas everyone. I think I'm going to get a cupboard built around them

This is mine. It’s a bespoke cupboard in my laundry room. Not a good pic but you can see the idea. The WM is on the floor, then the TD on a shelf with a cupboard above for laundry liquid etc.

I wouldn’t have doors but both these machines are plumbed into the drainage system together with the adjacent sink. There is no condensation but these are top end machines.