ᐅ Planning utility room / laundry room – technical drawings unknown
Created on: 14 Apr 2021 09:14
S
squier23
Hello everyone,
we are building with a developer and using fairly fixed floor plans, but we are trying to make the most of it. We are building without a basement, so the utility room (HAR) also has to serve as the laundry room. We imagine having one of those currently quite popular laundry room layouts, with the washing machine and dryer side by side, a work surface above them, and cupboards above and next to that—basically like a dedicated laundry area (you probably know what I mean). Since the carport is right next to the utility room, it would be ideal to use it as a mudroom as well. There is already a window planned there, which I would like to simply extend into a (balcony) door.
Now the construction company says that the entire room is filled with technical equipment and there is barely enough space for a washing machine. They say the window cannot be enlarged because there are some pipes running beneath it. However, there are no detailed plans available yet that they could send me. So far, I only have the attached general selection plan, from which I have cut out the dimensions.
The equipment in the room includes the local heating transfer station (which is supposed to be space-efficient, right?) and a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (which should be mounted on the wall near the ceiling, I thought?). The photovoltaic inverter and battery storage are located in the attic. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t even room for a utility sink and am very frustrated about missing the chance to have a mudroom. What kind of pipes are supposed to run there? The utility room is on the ground floor next to the carport, with the living room directly adjacent along the upper wall of the plan. Should I just accept these details or is it worth pushing for more information?
Thank you very much for any opinion, even if it’s just to reassure me that I can trust the construction company on this.
we are building with a developer and using fairly fixed floor plans, but we are trying to make the most of it. We are building without a basement, so the utility room (HAR) also has to serve as the laundry room. We imagine having one of those currently quite popular laundry room layouts, with the washing machine and dryer side by side, a work surface above them, and cupboards above and next to that—basically like a dedicated laundry area (you probably know what I mean). Since the carport is right next to the utility room, it would be ideal to use it as a mudroom as well. There is already a window planned there, which I would like to simply extend into a (balcony) door.
Now the construction company says that the entire room is filled with technical equipment and there is barely enough space for a washing machine. They say the window cannot be enlarged because there are some pipes running beneath it. However, there are no detailed plans available yet that they could send me. So far, I only have the attached general selection plan, from which I have cut out the dimensions.
The equipment in the room includes the local heating transfer station (which is supposed to be space-efficient, right?) and a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (which should be mounted on the wall near the ceiling, I thought?). The photovoltaic inverter and battery storage are located in the attic. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t even room for a utility sink and am very frustrated about missing the chance to have a mudroom. What kind of pipes are supposed to run there? The utility room is on the ground floor next to the carport, with the living room directly adjacent along the upper wall of the plan. Should I just accept these details or is it worth pushing for more information?
Thank you very much for any opinion, even if it’s just to reassure me that I can trust the construction company on this.
What is that boxed-in structure on the exterior wall? The mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery? It could also be mounted on the ceiling.
What else will be installed there? What about the hot water storage tank?
Your room measures just over 7 sqm (75 sq ft)... ours is also 7.5 sqm (81 sq ft), but in an L-shape, with a 300-liter (79-gallon) hot water storage tank and mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery on the wall... the ventilation unit is 60 cm (24 inches) wide and about 40 cm (16 inches) deep... the large ductwork runs under the ceiling.
Along a 3-meter (10 ft) long wall, we have what you want—namely a kitchen unit.
You can forget about that. Exactly: you need the wall space for storage! That is the top priority.
You actually already have your mudroom right behind your front door—that is, your hallway! A technical room is not a hallway, a utility room is not a hallway, the laundry area is not a hallway.
The hallway is exactly what you are now looking for in the utility room and not finding. (Hopefully) your planned coat rack will also be placed there, connecting the outdoor area and the living space.
What else will be installed there? What about the hot water storage tank?
Your room measures just over 7 sqm (75 sq ft)... ours is also 7.5 sqm (81 sq ft), but in an L-shape, with a 300-liter (79-gallon) hot water storage tank and mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery on the wall... the ventilation unit is 60 cm (24 inches) wide and about 40 cm (16 inches) deep... the large ductwork runs under the ceiling.
Along a 3-meter (10 ft) long wall, we have what you want—namely a kitchen unit.
squier23 schrieb:
and I’m really annoyed about missing the chance for a mudroom.
You can forget about that. Exactly: you need the wall space for storage! That is the top priority.
You actually already have your mudroom right behind your front door—that is, your hallway! A technical room is not a hallway, a utility room is not a hallway, the laundry area is not a hallway.
The hallway is exactly what you are now looking for in the utility room and not finding. (Hopefully) your planned coat rack will also be placed there, connecting the outdoor area and the living space.
Tolentino schrieb:
They probably want to place the heating circuit distributor under the window there.Not in a 15cm (6 inches) exterior wall.squier23 schrieb:
There is indeed the transfer station for district heating included (but isn’t that supposed to be space-saving?), and a controlled mechanical ventilation system (which should be installed on the wall near the ceiling, right?). The photovoltaic inverter and storage are in the attic.Well, then there’s also the heating secondary side, possibly a buffer tank, definitely an expansion vessel, the already mentioned heating circuit distributor, the mechanical ventilation with sound attenuator, distribution box, inspection shafts, the electrical main connection box, your electrical cabinet, network, cable/TV, all service entries... I see less than 8m² (86 sq ft). I would rather consider omitting the window to gain wall space.Another point I would consider is a technical room separated from the living area by an 8cm (3 inches) drywall partition...
Thank you so far! Regarding the questions:
The budget seems to be fine. We have an awkward wall projection in the kitchen, and to find out if it can be shortened, the structural engineer would need to be asked—at a cost.
Current status of the construction site: still before the base slab. To my knowledge, only the intermediate floors come as fully cast parts.
We have both an upper floor and an attic (OG and DG). Floor buildup unknown. The construction specification says: “About 18cm (7 inches) of EPS thermal insulation will be applied on the base slab; running water pipes for heating and potable water will be installed in EPS molded parts.” Does that help?
The box extends floor to ceiling and contains the mechanical ventilation system and also the pipes going to the other floors. Unfortunately, I don’t know what else will be installed there.
Interesting point about the passageway and the door behind the car… but that should work. The door would be just behind the carport, right at the rear of the vehicle.
The conduit pipes for LAN all end up in the attic next to the photovoltaics storage, where I will handle the network distribution. No coax, only CAT7.
The wall to the living room is 15cm (6 inch) solid sand-lime brick; only the one to the hallway is 8cm (3 inch) drywall, as far as I understand.
vonBYnachSH schrieb:
I’d say: with enough money, almost anything is possible. How far along is the construction? If nothing has started yet, there should definitely still be options, or are these already fully cast parts that you are building with?
The budget seems to be fine. We have an awkward wall projection in the kitchen, and to find out if it can be shortened, the structural engineer would need to be asked—at a cost.
Current status of the construction site: still before the base slab. To my knowledge, only the intermediate floors come as fully cast parts.
Tolentino schrieb:
It could also be that they want to run water pipes over there, just along the wall because there’s already too many pipes in the floor due to the underfloor heating manifold (HKV). Do you know the floor buildup height? Do you have an upper floor (OG)?
We have both an upper floor and an attic (OG and DG). Floor buildup unknown. The construction specification says: “About 18cm (7 inches) of EPS thermal insulation will be applied on the base slab; running water pipes for heating and potable water will be installed in EPS molded parts.” Does that help?
ypg schrieb:
What is the boxed-in structure on the exterior wall? The mechanical ventilation system? That could also be mounted on the ceiling. What else will be installed? What about the water storage tank?
The box extends floor to ceiling and contains the mechanical ventilation system and also the pipes going to the other floors. Unfortunately, I don’t know what else will be installed there.
hanse987 schrieb:
If you turn the utility room into a passageway, you'll lose a lot of usable space.
If cars are parked in the carport, can you still access the utility room door properly?
Don’t forget that workspace needs to be considered around the appliances as well.
What’s missing from your utility room layout is space for the media distribution for LAN, possibly coax for TV, and the related connections.
Interesting point about the passageway and the door behind the car… but that should work. The door would be just behind the carport, right at the rear of the vehicle.
The conduit pipes for LAN all end up in the attic next to the photovoltaics storage, where I will handle the network distribution. No coax, only CAT7.
MayrCh schrieb:
Not in a 15cm (6 inch) exterior wall.
Well, then there’s also the secondary side of the heating system, possibly the buffer tank, definitely the expansion vessel, the already mentioned underfloor heating manifold (HKV), mechanical ventilation with silencer, distribution box, inspection shafts, the electrical main connection box, your electrical cabinet, network, cable/TV, all service entry points... I’m seeing less than 8m² (86 sq ft). I would rather consider skipping the window to gain wall space.
Another consideration would be a utility room separated from the living area by 8cm (3 inch) drywall partition walls…
The wall to the living room is 15cm (6 inch) solid sand-lime brick; only the one to the hallway is 8cm (3 inch) drywall, as far as I understand.
squier23 schrieb:
... The empty conduits for LAN all end in the attic next to the photovoltaic storage, where I will set up the network distribution. No coax, only CAT7...Are those just empty conduits, or does the electrician pull cables in right away? If not, will you do it yourself? Then good luck pulling the cables later 😀 If the attic is an unheated roof space, placing the LAN distribution there is not ideal (because of weather conditions and convenience), otherwise it’s “just” a matter of convenience. There are definitely plenty of threads about LAN wiring, just make sure to plan enough outlets 🙂.
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