Does anyone have a utility in an outbuilding?

Comments (12)

lisalovesquilts38
5 years ago
Many years ago my parents had a house with an outdoor utility room. It was part of outbuildings across the backyard and included a workshop. It was cold but it had light and water. We also kept an additional freezer out there. On the plus side, no noise and you could do laundry in the middle of the night if you liked! Plenty of space for folding and sorting so you could have piles of laundry if you were busy and no one could see it! The only real downside was it was cold and if it rained it was not such a nice walk across the yard. (This was is in Scotland). We never had any problems in the winter with burst pipes despite the lack of heating out there - solid walls I guess and lagging.

In the US plenty of people have washers and dryers in their garage. Doesn't take up much space, no noise in the house and it's generally attached to the house.

If your garage is attached to your house is there any way you could get a door put in via the kitchen or hall?
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Sonia
5 years ago
My brother has his tumble dryer in a small outhouse as his kitchen is pretty small. He also has another fridge freezer out there. It’s a council house so he can’t extend. It suits them and it smells lovely in there! I think it’s a very good idea If it gives you a bigger kitchen. I agree with Lisa above that knocking a doorway through would be a good option and wouldn’t be too pricey.
Mags D
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks Forzaitalia. The garage is detached so couldn't knock a door through unfortunately. Thanks for your comment. I quite like the idea of a nice smelling garage!
Sarah
5 years ago
Hi handev, I had thought about putting a tumble dryer in my garage, which also has no internal access. I would also love to take it further with a utility as you are considering. I wondered what type of tumble dryer model you'd be going for... condenser or vented? When I was looking into it, I read so many conflicting views and got so confused, I put the whole idea off.
obobble
5 years ago
We used to have the tumble dryer in the garage pre extension. It was only a few paces, but miserable when it rained. Also consider what the effect might be on the energy efficiency of the dryer if it is drawing on really cold air in the winter. I also found more stuff needed ironing as it was difficult to catch the dryer just as it finished so as to remove and fold/hang stuff promptly to avoid crinkles.
Mags D
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi Sarah. We have a condenser dryer. TBH I don't really know the pros and cons of either!
Mags D
Original Author
5 years ago
Obobble that's a good point. Although everything needs ironing as I'm always playing catch up with the tumble and never take it out in time! Thanks for your comments. If I could possibly find another cubbyhole to stack the washer and dryer inside it would be preferable. The trouble is I'm used to a utility now. Maybe I'll just need to be more efficient with the laundry ♀️
Sarah Large
4 years ago
I had the same idea recently but decided against it after a trial run. You’ll probably laugh at this but I decided to make it a rule that every time I did the laundry(despite not having the utility yet) I would walk to and from the garage. Within a couple of weeks I realised it wasn’t practical. It was cold, miserable and dark half the time I was doing the laundry and it put me off doing it at all. I’m revising my kitchen plans instead.
Marina
4 years ago
My washing machine is in the garage along with a spare fridge and freezer and the dog´s food. A different senario to you as I live in Spain where Winters aren´t too cold however when it rains here it really rains. I just keep a raincoat for those days and the dog and I do a quick dash. I would definitely opt for having more space in the kitchen.
Sue S
4 years ago
I have the central heating boiler and a second fridge-freezer in the garage. It is attached but not possible to put a door to house without major re-routing of pipework. Just "nipping out" to the freezer is horrible in the cold and dark and rain, even though it is only a few steps away.

Is there any possibility of a covered walkway to the garage?
Ellie
4 years ago
We renovated recently and made the decision to put washing machine in garage, and so glad we did. It freed up space in kitchen and we don't need to listen to it soon! We would have had to compromise if we wanted the washer in the actual kitchen. We only use it once a week. It's in garage with a chest freezer.

United Kingdom

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Does anyone have a utility in an outbuilding?

Mags D
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lisalovesquilts38

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Does anyone have a utility in an outbuilding?

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