Adding in-unit laundry can be an amenity that helps older properties remain competitive with their modern counterparts.
Whether this upgrade is right for your community depends on many factors that influence a potential return on investment.
Laundry Retrofit Considerations
Helping determine your potential ROI
Key Considerations
1. Placement
Is there space for the laundry equipment in your units, including access to remove lint and perform maintenance?
Depending on your unit layouts, your project may require carpentry services to build a new closet or remove kitchen cabinets to make room for the new equipment. Where you locate the laundry is a critical choice: the new equipment will require immediate proximity to an electrical circuit, hot and cold water supply, and drain pipes. Reconfiguring unit layouts to get these utilities to the desired location of your new washers and dryers can significantly impact the cost.
2. Electrical Capacity
Do you need to upgrade your building electrical supply to safely power the new appliances?
Laundry equipment, particularly electric powered dryers, require a lot of electricity. Depending on your building’s original design, you may need to upgrade or perform an electrical “heavy-up” to safely power the new appliances and install 240-volt, 30-amp plugs.
3. Plumbing Capacity
Can your existing plumbing infrastructure, particularly your DWV system, serve extra fixtures?
Sometimes, adding clothes washers requires upsizing your drain pipes, significantly increasing the cost of the project. Other times, code requirements call for adding additional components to your plumbing system, such as backflow preventers or suds relief.
4. Ventilation Requirements
Can you locate the laundry for code-compliant ventilation?
Unless you select ventless dryers, you’ll need a way to vent dryer air. In some buildings, you may also need to consider how to supply what’s called “make-up air”, which compensates for air that can be pulled out of the building during dryer venting and is critical to ensure proper air pressure.
5. ROI Analysis
Will adding in-unit laundry produce a good return on your investment?
While adding in-unit laundry is beneficial in many buildings, you need to decide if it’s right for yours. We can help you model out the costs and benefits.
We’ll address the requirements and costs of practical, physical considerations like location, electrical capacity, and plumbing capacity, so that you can put it in context of your rental market and regulatory environment. For example, you’ll determine how much more you can charge for rent, and whether adding this amenity allows you to “jump the curve” of any local rent control. Together, we can help you decide if installing in-unit laundry will payoff based on your goals and ownership strategy.
Learn more about laundry retrofit considerations.
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