House in Progress Diary

Not sure if this will be helpful, but the laundry chute door I have (from my brother's 1925 demolished bungalow) measures 7 10/16" wide x 15 1/4" high. I suppose the actual chute could be larger than those dimensions.

marie

I just tore a garage down for an acquantence this weekend. There was a laundry chute on each side of this 1920s style double unit. The metal lined chute was inserted between the joists in the wall and as such were only about 4 inches wide by the inside width of the joists. I'm sure that when the house was built, some floor joists were double hung to accomodate the chute. We don't want to find that you cut through a main support and you have to quit the website because the house imploded! Either way, I suggest you get hold of some flexible nylon tent pole rods that screw together to use as a pokey stick when things get stuck!

Here's an idea: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/ adding/article/0,16417,199015,00.html

I had one in my house as a kid. It was only as wide as a standard 2x4 wall (by about 12"). However, it was only from the first floor to the basement, and you usually had to stuff the things all the way through.

our chute is about 13" wide and 5.5" deep, and runs from the second floor to the basement. it's rectangular in shape, and fits nicely between the wall studs and floor joists. there is an access door in the wall of the second floor hallway, and another in the kitchen on the first floor---very handy locations. it clogs up from time to time, but not as much as you'd expect with 5 people's laundry. we keep a broom handle in the closet to use as a stuffer.

it's also large enough to accomodate assorted beanie babies, escaping from captivity on ropes made of toilet paper. in case you were wondering...

Our is pretty wide and deep. 7 h x 15 w x 20 deep. It was built into the house and it is hidden in a built-in cabinet next to the tub. Nothing ever gets stuck. It is lined with metal (duct). We have friends that basically built a laundry shute in through their pantry from the second floor to the basement. I didn't see what went through the floors but what was in the pantry was that cylindrical hard cardboard that you see at home improvement stores.

We had one in our 1929 house in Michigan. It was rectangular and sometimes clothes would get caught on the parts where the duct work came together. But that's part of the fun of a laundry shoot. It's GOT to be big enough to stick your head down it and look at your spouse in the basement! That's the other part of the fun.

All the chutes I have seen in homes have been rectangular. It seems that you would recess it into the wall (4") and it would have to extend into the room as 4" is not deep enough. I would suggest at least 10" of depth. In between studs would give 141/2" width which should take anything but the very bulkiest of clothing. Are your studs 16" on center? I have seen some older homes that were 18 & 20". Good luck... POPS"30"

Wow, lots of helpful information! To answer a question, yes, our studs are 16" on center. I hadn't considered running it down a wall, so that's interesting. We have two adjoining closets on the first floor so I expected to use some of that space.

Yes, by all means install a laundry chute! I would never live in another house without one!

Yes, it will work within a stud bay.

Some intallation tips:

DO NOT use screws to attach sections. Stack your sheet metal sections, inserting higher sections INTO lower ones, and support with straps and tape if necessary.

You don't want things hanging up on the inside that catch on things as they go down.

You can also hide a laundry chute within a cabinet.

Don't forget one for your kitchen.

My 1925 bungalow has a very basic laundry chute -- it's just a trap door in the floor of a 1st floor closet. The trap door is made of the same oak flooring as the rest of the house. It had the remnants of a leather strap when I un-nailed it and got it back to working order. Great fun to look down into the basement! At some point I'll add a chute or a large laundry bag below it, but for now I have two large plastic storage bins placed underneath.

My childhood home (1940s split-level) had a chute in the linen closet. It was clearly made of ductwork and emptied into a custom-made wooden bin on wheels. It was about 12" square and had a matching lid that had a doorknob mounted in the center for a handle.

My grandmother's house had a very narrow chute built into the bathroom wall. It was also ductwork -- but at 4" by 10", you had to feed a bedsheet carefully through it. It was a straight drop, though, so if you tried to cram too much through at once, a broom handle would unclog it.