Cohousing-L Mailing List: Common Laundry Question

[Thomas Lofft (tlofft]

One of the questions related to the common laundry vs. multiple private 
laundries is about how seriously the developing community wants to make housing 
more affordable; When one looks at the housing cost budget, building a laundry 
in every home is an expense with trade offs. Similarly, and in a related 
manner, so is a conventional tank storage water heater. A typical laundry takes 
perhaps 4' x 5' minimum in an alcove or closet laundry off a hallway, or even 
in a kitchen. That's 20 square feet or more, at an average full building cost 
of perhaps $150/square foot, or $3,000, plus appliances. In the alternative, 
the same area could provide a lavatory or reduce the construction cost $3,000 
or more. A standard tank storage water heater takes at least 2.5' x 2.5', 
usually more in a larger utility room, say 6.25 to 8 square feet, or about 
$1,200 construction cost. Yes, every aspect of the house costs money, whether 
it's the roof over the porch or the porch itself. More affordable homes mean 
smaller homes or less expensive materials, or both.  Providing a common house 
laundry provides a facility that can have higher quality, more reliable 
machines and more of them at quite a lower cost than a separate laundry in each 
home/unit. A laundry with two, three or more machines means a typical household 
can load all their laundry in two or more machines at the same time and be done 
more quickly.  Especially if they use them during the low demand or overnight 
hours. Providing a common laundry area with multiple machines may also make it 
more practical to install propane gas dryers in lieu of electric, with lower 
operating costs, depending upon local utility rates. Installing propane (or 
natural gas, if available) may also facilitate selecting a tankless water 
heater, reducing the space needed for a conventional tank storage water heater, 
and at much lower operating cost than an electrically heated storage tank. Just 
considering a few more of the multiple variables.  Tom LofftLiberty Village, MD 
Patti wrote:
Often hook ups are required in each unit because it would be difficult to get 
bank financing without them. 
 
Besides the fact that simply owning less machines per community decreases 
carbon footprint,  there is a huge savings per household when resources are 
pooled to buy top of the line, energy efficient, commercial grade machines to 
share.  
 
Patti
Jamaica Plain Cohousing
Boston
 
On Nov 15, 2012, at 7:12 PM, "Richard L. Kohlhaas" <rlkohl [at] earthlink.net> 
wrote:
 
> 
> At Casa Verde, we were advised by our developer (Wonderland Hill) to have 
> washer/dryer hook-ups in every unit, as well as the common house, so we did.
> 
> There is one washer and dryer in the common house, although there are 
> hook-ups for 
> another pair.  Only 4 or 5 households use them now, so one set is adequate.
> 
> I have often wondered about the cohousing dogma about common laundry 
> facilities.  
> Certainly they are needed for at least some households with very small units 
> , but 
> many think that everyone really should use them.  There is certainly no 
> energy 
> savings; the same amount of fuel and water will be used whether common or 
> individual.  There is probably little or no savings in capital costs:  with 
> more use 
> per machine, repairs and eventual replacement costs will be higher for a 
> common 
> machine (and they cost more to begin with).
> 
> ------------------------------------
> Dick Kohlhaas rlkohl [at] earthlink.net  Thanks for writing,

TOM