building a laundry chute

marklevinson1 · 2005-06-16T16:37:06+00:00

Hi,I am looking to construct a laundry chute in our closet. I wasoriginally going to use large diameter pvc pipe but found itprohibitively expensive. I also looked into sheet metal ducting but itdidn't seem stable enough and too many places for clothes to snag. So Iam going to build it out of 2 x 4's and drywall. It will be about 12"square. I was going to place a side hinged door with a handle on thewall outside the closet for access. And I may or may not place a metalor plastic plate on the ceiling down in the basement attached withspring hinges to cover the hole from the chute. The hole in the ceilingwill end up around 2 feet from the wall with the clothes dropping intoa large basket sitting on a cart with casters I will also be building.I was wondering if I could get away with using 1 x 3's instead of the 2x 4's. Also if anyone could take a look at my proposed plans andcomment/advise that would be greatly appreciated!

Jun 16, 2005 25 Replies

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HerHusband 21 years ago

Mike,

I was thankful we didn't have to install a sprinkler system, but otherwise the requirements were very easy to implement. Most of it used scraps for blocking and whatnot anyway, so there was virtually no cost involved. In the overall house building process, the few requirements for fire safety were simple, and it's nice to know it's done properly.

Complying with seismic and ventilation requirements was a bigger hassle than the fire safety issues, though in retrospect, even those were fairly simple to implement. And again, I'm glad it's built that way now...

Anthony

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Prometheus 21 years ago

is simply a door hinged at the bottom that is mounted directly to the wall. The clothes drop down the 6" gap between the drywall on either side of the wall, and the chute is lined with hardboard. The sucker isn't even straight (there is a 2" lip at the bottom where it enters the basement because of a floor joist) and it works fine- what you've got drawn up is a Cadillac by comparison.

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Phisherman 21 years ago

I'd recommend building it from MDF and lining it with galvanized metal, making sure all seams are smooth. The edges can be soldered. Or, you can line the tube with vinyl flooring. Drywall won't hold up to wet towels.

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JRYezierski 21 years ago

May have missed other replys so........ Use a SonaTube thats large enough for your needs.I put one in my house

20+years ago. No problems with moisture as every thing just ends up in the basement..... ohhohh/// laundry room. :)

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Philip Lewis 21 years ago

here's an "unanswer". don't install a chute, install a drain. That way you put the washer/dryer near the stream of clothes... where it belongs.

If we ever convert our back bedroom (2nd floor) to a dressing room, that's the plan... the "all things clothes" room. ;)

fwiw, our clothes chute growing up was wood.... perhaps plywood.

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Larry Jaques 21 years ago

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 19:58:01 -0400, the opaque "JRYezierski" spake:

Yeah, SonoTubes are only SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS EACH.

-------------------------------------------- -- I'm in touch with my Inner Curmudgeon. --

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