Utility planning - could this work?

[JamMakingWannaBe]

I'm wondering if I've solved the problem of fitting both a wm/td AND a toilet into a long narrow space but I need a sanity check.
The room is 2.5m x 1.3m. I'm in Scotland so I need 0.8m x 1.1m activity space infront of the toilet and there is highly unlikely to be any wriggle room on this.
Could I stack the appliances on a plinth and have the toilet infront?
Could this actually work in practice?
TIA

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but do you not risk pulling all your clean washing out and random socks landing in the toilet?

I wouldn’t - one unbalanced load of towels and your washing machine will leap into your toilet! Also aren’t you going to need to stand on the toilet seat to empty the washing machine?

Can you have them stacked to the side of the toilet, or isn’t there space?

We are a "lid down" household and I'm thinking the loo seat would be the perfect place to put the laundry basket!

Wouldn't it look better to just stack one machine on the other and leave the toilet air space free for nice shelving or something?

I spent way too long wondering what Scottish people do in the bathroom that requires a special "activity space" in front of the toilet! But I assume that's a building control thing or similar 😂

Er... I would not want laundry in the same room as a toilet, full stop, especially a small room and right on top of it. What if a sock fell onto the loo brush or something 😬

I've just had this debate on another laundry-related thread, but do you definitely need a separate tumble drier, as opposed to a washer drier?

Also, wouldn't the appliances be a bit too heavy to be on a platform like that? Would the platform hold them, or what if they fell on you while you were on the loo!!!

According to another well known forum, the bathroom Building Regs in Scotland are to ensure there is sufficient room infront of the loo to accommodate the big dicks of our menfolk! Who knew?

Wow! Who knew indeed. Might explain the kilts too 😂

I think the machines would be too heavy. Washing machines are very heavy on their own so I think they'd come crashing down, although I do think it's a good space saving idea if you can figure out how to make it work.

I agree with this. Is there any reason the drier can't stack on top of the washer next to the toilet?

can you rotate the toilet by 90deg so it goes against the wall?

but surely just stacking the washer and dryer is the obvious option?

Can you have electrical items this close to water? Generally you need sockets to be a certain distance from water, assuming there's a sink for handwashing in there too?
I'd also stack to the left of your loo, if you can get away with plugs in there, can't imagine having the worry of a vibrating washing machine crashing down on me whilst having a pee.

I’ve seen lots of utility rooms with washing machines on a plinth that look great but realistically I think they have to be very, very sturdy and I wouldn’t fancy having to lift a washing machine onto one.

I’m not familiar with the Scottish requirements and whether a sink can be in the activity space but on the assumption that it can (and forgive the very crude drawings) could you rotate and stack the washing machine and tumble drier behind the toilet with a small wall (either half or full height) and make it work with a short projection toilet? We’ve been looking at 250mm deep cabinets for plumbing/cistern plus a 500mm toilet so it might fit with your room size

I can see this would be very tight for manoeuvring things into position and connecting them up so could you swap them to the other side and accept the dead space which is essentially what your plinth idea does - at least you would be able to put a cupboard/shelves on the top part so it isn’t completely wasted. You can buy fittings to stack a washing machine and tumble drier that have a built in shelf you pull out instead of relying on the toilet seat.

Or:

Is there any way to move the washing machine/tumble drier stack to the other end of the room if plumbing would be possible
Knock through from the other side of one of the side walls and create a cupboard to house a stacked washing machine/tumble drier?

None of this might be possible with your house and budget but it might spark some different thoughts for you to discuss with someone who can tell you what’s workable.

I thought you had to have a sep room/doors between bathroom area and washing machine in Scotland due to electric risks ?

Could you have WC where it is and a gap then WM and TD on floor at end of room but turn them 45 degrees

Not sure about Scotland but in England you can have washing machine/electrics in a room with a loo and a basin, just not a shower or bath. The definition of "wet room" draws the line there. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to have the washing machine in the kitchen and most of us do.

Stack dryer on top of washing machine. There are gasket kits to stop the dryer from moving around. The wiring can be sorted to meet the regulations, plus it's a toilet rather than a bath or shower.

Put a stud wall to the side of where the machines will go. Fit a compact toilet.

Why do you think both machines need to go on such a high plinth, higher than the toilet?

washer on floor on left hand side, tumble dryer stacked above it. Toilet on right hand side as per pic.
have you seen those toilets with a sink above the cistern? That would work well.

Only if there's enough space to reach the basin on the cistern - if it's tight that doesn't work.

Do you have a floor plan of the room? If you change the door to open outwards or get a sliding door- you'll save 1m2 within the room.

I would think the machines need to be on the opposite side of the room to a toilet/sink- if its even allowed at all? Have you checked with an electrician? We recently renovated and I know there are certain 'zones'. I thought an electric socket (other than a shaver socket) needed to be 3m away from any water source.

You can always make a shelf strong enough. You're not going to buy one off the shelf (so to speak) but you could definitely build one from suitably strong timbers and fixtures, if the side walls are plasterboard, you may have to give some support off the floor as well for the front corners. And a front rail might be advisable to help stop it walking off!

Washing machines are ridiculously heavy, I don't think that would work. Agree with others, can you not stack the tumble drier on top of the washing machine? Although with the dimensions you've given I can't see how a toilet would fit at all?

It would be a right pain to get a washer up there as they are really heavy and it is a tight space. You might even have to remove the toilet to get it in. How would you get 2 people around to lift it into place ?

Servicing it would be hard work as well as a lot of connections are round the back, and the toilet would get in the way of getting to them. So it would be great while it worked and not so great when it didn't.

I can't add to my other post further up.
My mum had a wooden plinth made for her washing machine to raise it up. It was solidly made- but the machine still vibrated so much, the wall became cracked and it was incredibly loud. It also nearly vibrated itself off the plinth several times.
She then bought noise/vibration pads that each foot sat on, which improved things, but still wasn't great. Also a small, wooden bit was added to stop the machine sliding off the plinth. I'd be worried about similar problems happening with your plinth.

If it was me and I wasn't planning on moving any time soon, I'd just ignore the building regs and put them next to each other on the long wall.

Just put the washing machine on left hand side next to toilet, and tumble dryer on a shelf on top of washing machine. Secure them both so they don't jump about (tumble dryer not as likely to jump about as washing machine).