I got this Idea from Sausha's washer dryer pedestal post. Before then i didnt know people even built pedestals for their washer and dryer. Just purchased new front load washer and dryer and they wanted 250 bucks extra for each pedestal. That is 500 bucks and is absolutely rediculous. So i opted out of those and thought to myself maybe I can build something instead. So I began my search online and stumbled across this post which seems to be the most popular pedestal build on the web. I think sausha's build is fantastic and absolutely beautiful though I went another way with mine.
I tend to like to overbuild things. Especially in this case, seeing as the washer weighs a beastly 200 pounds by itself. I figured with clothes and water it would be about 235 pounds just for the washer. I noticed that with the aluminum drawer pedestals that you can purchse with the washer and dryer the support is only where the legs from the washer and dryer will sit. That was all I needed to get on my way. Purchased some regular old douglas fir 2x4's, 4x4's, and a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4 inch plywood. I opted to use fence post brackets to tie everything together because I didnt feel like driller pocket holes in each 2x4 when you were not going to see them once its all said and done. The fence brackets are not structural so they lack ridgidity untill you tie everything together with the legs, slats, and top. Cut the top from the 3/4 plywood sheet and used the left over plywood to cover the front and the sides. I left the back open as it is not seen anyway.
Total size of the pedestal is 56" wide x 31" deep x 12 3/4 inches tall, but you can build it as wide, deep or as tall as you need it. When i was done putting it together. I tested it by jumping up and down on it and I weigh 230 pounds. So this thing is quite strong. I finished it up by covering the edges where the plywood meet with Edge moulding and the bottom with baseboard to match my laundry room. I used Behr premium plus ultra paint on most of it and, behr alkyd paint for the baseboards. Gave the top a couple coats of General Finishes High Performance Polyurethane. Which isnt neccessary but I opted to do so because of the weight of the washer and dryer and the General Finishes High performance dries harder than most other polys that I have used. I only used it on the top though.
Taking into account that I used the paint and baseboards left over from renovating my laundry room. This project cost about 150 bucks. 200 if you have to purchase the paint and moulding. Quite easy to do and though I made the cutes I needed with my table saw. This can be done with a circular saw and a drill. No exotic tools are needed. Will post finished pictures when my washing machine and dryer are delivered on friday and they are sitting on top of the pedestal.
Polyurethane