Re: shared laundry facilities
From: Bob Morrison (morrisontook.enet.dec.com)
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 94 17:25 CDT
On Mon, 12 Sep 1994, RAYGASSER [at] delphi.com wrote:

>Subject: Laundry Facilities in Common House

>Specifically, we will have 30 households at Ecovillage at Ithaca.  Our
>current idea is for 2  washers, and 2 dryers and a tub.  Is this 
>sufficient?  Do you use commercial or residential  -  are they used or 
>...

  I have a lot of experience living in apartment and condo complexes with
laundry rooms. Whether two washers is enough for 30 households depends on
how many people have their own washers and dryers. My guess is that unless
the group has explicitly asked people not to have their own machines, some
will have them. Carrying laundry back and forth to the common house can be
a major hassle during the winter or in bad weather, and some people are not
willing to put up with this.
  My experience in apartment houses where nobody has their own machines and
nobody goes to a laundromat is that two washers and two dryers for a 30-unit
building is not enough. I would say at least three each. I think this formula
would work for cohousing too.
  It's a common practice for people in condo and apartment complexes to use
two or three machines at the same time. It saves them time, but it's an incon-
venience for others who need to use the machines. In some places I have lived,
I have had to bring the laundry to the laundry room, leave it there, and come
back several times before I could use a machine. I think this problem is due
in part to the alienation that exists in most complexes and would be less of
an issue in cohousing.
  I'm glad to hear that (apparently) the majority of coho communities men-
tioned in this newsgroup have, or will have, common laundry facilities. It
seems that major economies of scale can be realized by doing so, and it also
provides an additional opportunity for people to "run into" each other. I
feel that shared laundry facilities are virtually a requirement for me if I 
live in cohousing because I'm by myself and don't do enough laundry to justify 
buying my own machines. When I was pursuing membership in New View, I was 
disappointed to hear that they were not planning to have common laundry 
facilities. The reason cited was that people didn't want to haul laundry 
back and forth and that most were planning to have their own machines.
  I do feel that all cohousing units (except units built for rental only)
should have some space and plumbing/wiring for a washer and dryer in case
future needs change; this also would enhance the resale value.

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.