Stacking a washing machine and tumble dryer

[Cvn]

On day 14,639 of rain, DH and I have decided to buy a tumble dryer. The problem is, we have literally nowhere to put one. DH is thinking we could build a sort of frame around the washing machine and put the tumble dryer on top.
I see online that you can buy stacking kits, or buy washers and dryers that are designed to be stacked, but we already have our washing machine and don't want to replace it atm. My PILs had theirs "stacked" for years, in that the washing machine was on the floor in the kitchen and the dryer just sat on the kitchen counter above it! I was always worried the dryer was going to vibrate off the counter and come crashing down to the floor but tbf it never did 🤷🏼‍♀️
We're thinking of building something like this but without the doors. Has anyone done this or know of any reason it wouldn't work?

Wouldn’t bother building anything you can get universal stacking kits to fix any washer to any dryer

unless you already have a counter you can place the dryer on go with the stacking kit.

We stacked our tumble dryer on top of our washing machine without a worktop between them and had it like that for a few years until we moved to a bigger house but I do think we put a mat or something similar down instead, mainly to absorb the vibration, there was never any problems. I like your cupboard idea, it looks very neat and tidy, presumably it will be well vented for the tumble dryer?

We have a frame around ours without doors. It works well, and frees up floor space.

We had ours stacked for years using a stacking kit, but when we needed to replace one we couldn’t stack them for some reason (different brands/sizes?).

DH built a shelf using kitchen worktop for the tumble dryer to sit above the washer in an otherwise awkward cupboard sized gap. It just needs to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the dryer - but a stacking kit is probably easier if you can!

We are really bad but we don't even use a stacking kit ...

Doesn't seem to bother the washer or dryer. Neither have to be replaced at a frequent rate. Current tumble dryer is about 20 years old and washer about 3 (previous washer was about 15 years old)

I some times toy with getting a proper stacking frame but never get one.

Our dryer is stacked on top of the washer, just plonked on top, we've had no issues at all.

Just highlighting want someone else said I wouldn’t put dryer in a cupboard

there was a phone in on Jeremy vine about dryer fires a lot set on fire after they have finished take ages to cool down internally

I never knew the importance of letting it run the 10 minutes cooling at the end
if you stop it before it does that shut the door heat builds and with lint and fluff set on fire

We stacked for a while in the garage and bought the tray kit from Argos (£50ish)

Great if you need the space

I ended up un-stacking as I preferred having the space on top of both machines to fold laundry

The tumble would occasionally moved by the WM, just pushed it back; only a few cm, never at risk of falling off

Oh wow it seems like I was really overthinking it! For some reason I thought the stacking kits were only for use with washers and dryers that were intended to be stacked. That'd definitely easier and cheaper than building a wooden one ourselves!

@PrincessFluffyPants and @rwalker Thank you for the tips about venting and fire risk! I didn't know that about running the 10 minutes of cool at the end!

We did this for years as well. Never had a problem. Washing machines are sturdy, tumble dryers are quite light.

Our tumble dryer has been sitting on top of the washing machine for 15 years (not the same one - washing machine has been the same for 11 years, tumble dryer changed about 5 years ago). I keep meaning to get a stacking kit, and then never get around to it.

The tumble dryer must move a tiny bit, as every few months I twist it slightly to realign with the front of the washing machine, but it's not something you'd notice.