I lived with my side-by-side washer combination for over three years, never happy with it. My husband would tell our friends how I was constantly moving the washer to the left 2 feet then back to the right two feet, because that was the only space I had to play with. Even though I could fold on top of them, the washer and dryer were simply taking up too much room. My butt would hit the wall when I went to take clothes out of the washer. And there was no place to sort dirty clothes or store laundry baskets so the whole place was a mess. (You can read about the first renovation here.)
Hubby had asked me over if I wanted him to stack the washer and dryer, but I always said no. I’d never had a stacked washer/dryer, so I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. OMG I should have done it years ago. There was so much space in there!
My new layout had to have the following:
- A place to fold
- A place to sort dirty laundry
- A place to store laundry baskets
- A place to store laundry supplies
After much thought, I decided to wall off the washer/dryer, creating deep shelves above. This also gave me space to put a counter for folding, which would rest on a laundry basket shelf. Here are some of my sketches:
I went with 3/4″ B-C grade plywood and had all the pieces cut at Lowe’s, but I will forever regret not getting cabinet-grade plywood. I tried to save some money buying “Plywood Project Panels.” Lesson learned. Buy cabinet-grade when making cabinets. I would have saved a lot of time sanding and it would have looked better in the end. Oh well. Live and learn.Here is my cut list:
(2) 35″ x 31″
(1) 14.5″ x 31″
(1) 16″ x 31″
(1) 95″ x 31″
When I get wood cut at one of the big box stores, I never just give the guy my cut list. I sketch out exactly how I want the piece of plywood sliced up, then explain it to him one cut at a time. That way there’s no waste. I brought my smallest assistant with me to get the wood.
Let’s review… This is what they washer and dryer looked like side-by-side.
And then stacked.
This is the piece of wood that will act as the partition wall.
All of the wood was sanded outside, then painted inside.
Then sanded again outside. 
Then it was time to put together the shelf above the dryer. These are the four pieces.
I positioned the unit on its side so I could screw in the left side piece. First I pre-drilled the holes.
After screwing in the left side to the top and bottom pieces, this is what I had. 
To add the center divider, I measured 17.5″ across the bottom, middle and top.
Here is the shelf in place.
Here it is screwed in. It got screwed into studs in the ceiling and on the left wall. I totally needed hubby’s help with this. The shelf is a beast. I couldn’t even lift it into place by myself.
Next we attached the divider. I used a countersink bit…and then puttied the holes.
Next it was time to add the trim. I glued first and then used the air compressor and finishing nails to attach the trim.
Hubby must have thought that camera was on auto focus. It wasn’t. 🙂 
Trim makes a huge difference.
I filled in the remaining holes with this wood putty…
and gave it another coat of paint. This is the “final” product.
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Here’s the complete list of posts that led up to this reveal:
1: Initial Renovation
2: Shelf Over Stacked Washer/Dryer << You are here
3: Wallpaper Tips
4: Laundry Basket Shelf and Counter Top
5: Wall Shelves
6: W-A-S-H Letters
7: Paddles as Drying Racks
8: Final Reveal
Your “smallest assistant” is super cute! When do we get to see the finished laundry room?
Ana
Wow… You are quiet a Wonder Woman! I am so impressed! I have been dragging my feet about re modeling, swapping the bath with laundry room / visa versa. Had a couple of bids…no way!!
Seeing what you have done has really inspired me. I thank you for that. I have always been a DIY kind of gal but with age I’ve gotten ‘cold feet’, not as daring as I used to be.
You have changed all that! I can’t thank you enough. I am going to adopt some of your ideas and plan.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful blog.
Elisabeth
Thanks Elisabeth! I’m sure you’re a smart girl too, so of course you can handle a remodel. You’ll definitely need a plumber if you’re planning to move the bathroom, but just because you hire a plumber doesn’t mean you need a contractor to do the whole project. Good luck!!! And please let me know how it goes.
Thanks for sharing! I was wondering if you had to buy any special equipment or something to keep the dryer and washer in place one on top of the other? If you didn’t, do they hold up in place well? Trying to convince my wife to stack them because that’s the only way to make our laundry room look bigger. Thanks!
My dryer came with the mounting bracket. Luckily I saved it because, as I mentioned, for the first few years we used them side by side. I would check your installation guide (online maybe) and see if you can find out how to order one. Good luck!
Thanks for the post! Question about the side panel, is it only secured into the top shelf or is it someway secured into the floor to stop it from shifting?
It is secured all the way down the wall but not along the floor. I will try to take a picture and update the post. Thanks for stopping by.
How do you remove the stacked washer/dryer for servicing? It doesn’t seem like you can tip it back much onto an appliance dolly because the shelf would be in the way. I am trying to do something similar, but don’t know how much “head space” to give the stacked units.
That is a great question Anne! It would not be easy to remove the units. Luckily these have been going strong for 9+ years. The do pull forward, so they would have to be pulled forward first (like a refrigerator) and then tipped to the side.