The Basement Project: The Laundry Room
The laundry room was not the most attractive room in the world. Originally the same dark paneling as the rest of the basement, it was my first painting project within a month or so of moving into the house. The walls and cabinets were primed and painted white to help brighten up the space
The wall behind the laundry tub was tiled, but there was a hole behind the sink that exposed the block foundation, and that simply looked ugly. The double laundry tub was a waste. Only one side ever got used, the other side was a magnet for clutter (such as paint brushes, drywall knives and anything else that was washed in the tub. Despite being a large room, there was not even a space to fold the laundry.
The first step was to cover the broken tile wall. Construction-grade plywood was fastened directly to the existing tile wall using tapcons long enough to anchor into the block. A sheet of Barker tile board was adhered to the plywood with the adhesive recommended by the tile board manufacturer. Tile boards are available in sheets measuring 5 feet by five feet, which, as luck would have it, was slightly larger than what I needed. A row of the old tile is still visible above the new board, but it actually didn't look too bad.
The double tub was removed and a single tub installed in its place. The washing machine was moved over. The plumbing was rerouted so the taps for the washing machine were located together, closer to the machine. A new faucet was also installed. I hired a professional to do all the plumbing work which I consider to be money well-spent.
As a result of moving the washing machine over, enough room was created to store an extra table and chairs on that side of the room. The table is not only out of the way until it is needed elsewhere in the house, it also provides a large surface for folding clothes.
The existing floor was peel and stick tile which cleaned up well enough that it did not have to be replaced.
Doing the laundry is always a tedious chore, but having the additional space in a brightly lit room makes it a little less painful.