Laundry room / boot room sinks and taps

[CMOTDibbler]

In my extension I have a long, thin room which runs alongside the kitchen which is going to house the washing machine, tumble dryer, ironing board etc as well as storage for the vacuum cleaner and other bits. No food prep, no food storage in there.
I dithered about a sink for in there (kitchen will have a double belfast), but it does need somewhere to empty mop buckets, wash out chicken feeders - anything dirty (has a door to the garden so would be first port of call).

At the moment I think it will be a butler sink - wide and narrow - with a tap with a pull out spray head on a long hose so its easy to wash things off or fill a bucket on the floor.

But I am wondering if there is anything I'm missing - should I have a low level tap for buckets. Or a cleaners sink? I don't have to make final decisions, but the first fix plumbing is finishing next week and its an awful lot easier to put things in now.

We have this setup and it works quite well.

Don’t get wooden work surfaces given your intended use of the room. They might look nice but they’re not hard wearing enough for lots of cleaning.

Chose hard wearing floors that don’t need regular re-sealing (so, not flagstones!).

Most utility rooms are not designed with cabinets for mops or mop buckets because people just shove kitchen cabinets in them, so think about your storage in terms of what needs to go inside them. I wish our long narrow cupboards were one cupboard that didn’t have the fuse box taking up part of the bottom half. And mop buckets won’t fit inside a lot of cupboards if they have fixed shelves.

I wish ours had built in seating-come-boot storage come built in washing basket. If we owned the house I would get this made.

Get a really robust dish drainer. You will end up washing freezer compartments and fridge shelves etc in there if you are anything like me. My two can hold almost anything. Can upload pics if you like.

Also, I feel my LL made a mistake not putting plug points at a lower level. Dragging cables for a charging stream mop or hoover around a microwave and various detergents is just a nuisance.

Might you want your plumbing to split off under the sink to have an outside tap whilst you have someone doing pipework?

Thank you - I hadn't thought about draining stuff in there. The floor will be Karndean, and the builders are going to make custom cabinets for in there as there wasn't anything suitable from kitchen suppliers so the world is my oyster. Which is harder in some ways!
The plan includes a hanging pole so things get hung up straight from the tumble dryer or once ironed, and shelving that laundry baskets will slot in so it gets folded once in from the line/ out of tumble dryer and ready to go up.
They have put in an external cold and hot tap (for dog washing purposes) and outside plug sockets so the lawnmower can just be plugged in.

Pictures would be great

Here you go. Both TK Maxx. Drip trays go in the DW.

Are you getting the overhanging Belfast sink worktop with grooves?

Have you thought about ventilation if damp washing will be hanging in there?

This one is great for balancing big things to dry.

Those look great. I would prefer not to have overhanging grooves, so the drip trays would work out well. I found a wide but narrow front to back sink (described as a laboratory sink weirdly) that will fit nicely.
There will be a cupboard with a grill in the top under the hanging area which the dehumidifier will go in with the dehumidifier directly draining so it can be just left on.

I was going to suggest a hanging pole but you're already there on that.
If a big enough room I'd love one of those cupboard clothes driers as can put delicates in it that can't tumble dry. If you might dry washing in there eg on airer in winter I'd have a cupboard space specifically for a dehumidifier as that will massively speed things up.
In last house where I had a utility, we also put the water softener in there, but whether you need one depends on how hard your water is. It's a game changer with our hard water

How exciting! We are crawling through PP hell at the moment but hope to start our house soon. I am spending hours mentally kitting out the rooms, have even got DH to make a 3D cardboard model so I can play about with room layouts etc.

Our laundry room is also long and narrow, with washer and dryer occupying one end wall - I am having them raised up for easier access. Will definitely have a pole above. I considered a Sheila Maid but the room is quite narrow for loading. One feature I am planning is a fold down rack over the sink, so I can drip dry delicates. Double sink so I can wash and rinse. I saw a lovely Kohler one but it's such a ridiculous price I've talked myself out of it!

I am intrigued by a drying cupboard.

What are you going to use the sink for? I wish I had one that was at the same height as a kitchen sink, but you might prefer a lower one. Do not get a woden worktop.

Get a cupboard that is tall enough for things like the ironing board.

Don't have open shelves. They're dust magnets.

OP, in case you change your mind back, Belfast sinks need the overhang otherwise water escapes down the sides and back.

Check your bucket will fit the sink. Check your bucket will fit under the taps such that it can be removed from the sink without the tap getting in the way when the bucket has filled.

Utility rooms need more planning than kitchens, I think!

have you thought about where laundry baskets/ ironing baskets will go, if you feel that you need space for these? I always have three baskets in the go in my utility - one for washing that is being taken out of the machine/going to the washing line, one for things waiting to be ironed, and one for things waiting to be put away. They’re cumbersome, but they do stack. You can also get collapsible ones.

Does yours need to house sports kits? Wellies? Just thinking about the size and shape storage you might need.

Check your bucket will fit the sink. Check your bucket will fit under the taps such that it can be removed from the sink without the tap getting in the way when the bucket has filled.
This.
If I had an utility room I'd want a big sink in it.

Unfortunatly, as the room is narrow (1.5m) and the doors are at one end, window at the other I'm a bit restricted in the depth of anything along the long wall. But the hose/spray tap thing is long enough to fill a bucket sitting on the floor.
Laundry baskets will have their own shelving unit so they can just be slotted in, and there will be a tall cupboard at the window end before the sink for the hanging pole to attach to, and which the vacuum cleaner etc can go in.

No sports stuff or wellies to live in this area. Food bin for the dog and chicken feed and a cupboard in which dog 'stuff' will live though

It sounds great, @CMOTDibbler . If the sink and cupboards are all along one wall, you'll probably have to go by the size of the sink. Shallow sinks are a bugbear of mine.

Fortunately I found a deep, narrow, but wide sink so it shouldn't be too splashy. Its not an ideal room, but having all the laundry out of the existing utility room meant that could be a pantry and keeps the laundry out of sight and we couldn't go any further out on that side of the house so it is what it is.

I look forward to seeing the photos.

We're planning a boot room at the back of our house that's currently 1.8 x 3.5m. The corridor next to is quite narrow so I was wondering about reducing the size to 1.5 x 3.5 to allow for a wider coridoor, but would that make for an unusably narrow space? This is boots and coats only, no laundry etc

An alternative if your worksurface is limited : we have an undermount sink in a Corian style solid worksurface . The cutout for the sink has been kept and turned into a lid for the sink. The tap can be swivelled so it’s out of the way against the wall. This means I can use the sink as extra workspace eg when folding or sorting/spraying laundry.

Butler sink is probably preferable if you regularly use your sink for dirty stuff. Ours is mainly used for rinsing swim gear and soaking laundry.

I considered a Sheila Maid but the room is quite narrow for loading.

Ours is also narrow but I have a sheila maid, somehow I manage to squeeze next to it for loading, if you aren’t large it is doable! Wouldn’t be without it.