Who to call for this job?

[JGrout]

The point being that one does not have to be a GC to do remodel work. 

Knowing  when to ask for more help is the difference.

I do not expect a HO to know when that is the case but I do. 

I have a good relationship with several GC's who know when to send the work my way and I do the same for them. 

It is win/win for all of us

[daveferg]

I agree with MikeBob on all counts. This is NO job for a handyman.

Not only should you do you need plumbing and a floor drain, but electrical and maybe gas for the dryer.

Also, I would want floor structure checked. A washer in the spin cycle can put out a lot of vibration/force.

[crokett™]

I agree with MikeBob on all counts.  This is NO job for a handyman.  

That depends on the handyman. I'd have no problems doing what the OP wants to do. It would just take me longer than somebody who could work at the project full-time.

[Stwood_]

StWood,
It looks like a thing any "handy man" can do!!!????

Again, yer blowing it out of proportion, just wanting to argue.


I didn't say just *any*

Go back to yer corner.

[meackerman]

I'd have no problem taking the job on at my own house, course I have two long time general contractors in the family that I can call for any problems I encounter...one of which lives across my driveway from me.

[Cooler]

I just had a new washer machine installed last Saturday.  I bought it from Sears and they delivered and installed it.  Since I purchased it on a Sears card they hauled off the old machine for free (otherwise it is $25.00).

Where did you buy the machine?

The installation required turning off the water supply valves, unplugging the old machine and removing it.

They then installed new braided hoses, plugged in the machine and ran the water dump hose to the sink. Job done. Ten minutes.

Removing the old machine and returning it to the truck took as much time as the install.

[crokett™]

Cooler, I don't think the OP has washer and dryer currently where he wants one. He needs to get power,water,etc to the location.

[Cooler]

Cooler, I don't think the OP has  washer and dryer currently where he wants one.  He needs to get power,water,etc to the location.

Then he will have to call a plumber for the water supply and an electrician for the electrical.

My washer runs on 110; but the dryer has a special plug so I guess it is 220.  In either case it is not something I would mess with.

My plumber must drive a Mercedes; he costs an arm and a leg.

My electrician probably drives a Yugo; it never even pays for me to do the work myself.

[Mr_Mike]

It is not rocket science, well maybe it is

Well, since you called...
I'll add my own opinions.

Lets go back to first principles. This is going to be expensive unless its a DIY job. Real expensive.

I would first challenge the "need" for an upstairs laundry. Why so? Is someone infirm? Do you wish to reallocate the existing space? You can outsource laundry for a very long time for the price of doing this well. One could even probably have a power lift installed on the stairs for less than the price of doing this well.

Then, there is the issue of location. Is there a place that the washer/dryer could go that is near plumbing? Electrical and gas aren't too bad, but plumbing is a nightmare in terms of proper location. Ideally, one would repurpose a hall closet that backs up to a hall bath and have a soil stack nearby. One could also use stacked front loaders and install in an existing bath closet. You lose the storage space though. An improper location would incur huge costs in running drain plumbing, if it can be run at all.

I really would wish to consider what other solutions might be a better solution than relocating the existing facilities. Sometimes answering the question proposed is not the correct solution, rather understanding why the question was asked in the first place is more important.

[Snipe Hunter]

When house shopping last year, my wife and I looked at over 40 houses. We had a few requirements: Rancher, laundry on same level as the cloths/bedrooms, big master bedroom and master bath and in our price range. Our agent told us flat out that that house doesn't exist in the areas where we were looking. She also said everybody else was looking for the same thing also. She was right. We could get that but it would have been 125 10 150k more than we wanted to spend.

We needed three bedrooms so we found a 4 bedroom in a decent neighborhood, in our price range. The 4th bedroom was unusually long and large. I cut a third of it off and put in a laundry room next to the bathroom. We absolutely love having the laundry room on the same level as our laundry. A very nice laundry room and enlarged hall bath, nicely finished, tiled with all new fixtures and plumbing cost is about 11k. I'm convinced out house value went up 25k minimum because of it.The 4th bedroom is still bigger than the other two guest rooms.

We're knocking down two more walls and expanding the master bedroom and master bath into another bedroom. So, it will wind up being a three bedroom but it will have two of the most sought after features in a home. Laundry room on the bedroom level and large master and master bath. We do intend to do other work downstairs in the kitchen but one project at a time.

We sure don't miss climbing two flights of stairs to do laundry