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Appliance-brand pedestals are a couple hundred dollars each and give you one shallow drawer. This build raises both machines to a comfortable height on what is honestly just two miniature floor systems: a 2x4 joist frame decked in 3/4" plywood up top, 4x4 posts, and a second 'floor' at the bottom that doubles as a laundry-basket shelf. Base cap moulding around the posts turns structure into furniture.
Respect what this thing has to carry. A washer full of water and spinning laundry is heavy AND alive — the source builder's machine 'stomps out of the laundry room' on overload, which is why the corner angle brackets in step 3 exist. They're cheap insurance against a load that actively shakes its platform. Build the top floor with all its center joists; the bottom floor can skip them because baskets don't weigh what water does.
Step 7's bracing options are there for the same reason — if the finished pedestal shimmies with your particular machine, skin the back in plywood scraps (glued and screwed to posts and framing, it becomes a shear wall) or screw the frame to the wall studs. Do the wall attachment anyway if small kids live in the house.
Use a level during assembly and shim the floor contact if your laundry room slab slopes (they usually do, toward the drain). A washer on an unlevel pedestal walks; a washer on a level one stays put. MDF is fine if the pedestal will be painted and the laundry room stays dry; plywood shrugs off the occasional overflow better.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Plywood or MDF, 3/4", 4x8 sheetDecking both floors. Plywood survives laundry-room water events better; MDF paints smoother. | 2 each |
| 2x4, 8 ftJoists and rims for both floors. | 5 each |
| 4x4 post, 4 ftThe four legs. Two 2x4s glued and screwed face-to-face substitute — add one 2x4 to the list. | 1 each |
| Base cap moulding, 6 ftWraps the posts — the 'farmhouse furniture' part. Optional but it's what sells the look. | 1 each |
| Angle bracketsCorner insurance against a machine that shakes on spin cycle. | 4 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, 3" | 60 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, 2" | 30 each |
| Brad nails, 1" | 50 each |
| Wood glue | 8 oz |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Joists2x4All of them in the top floor; the bottom floor can skip its center joists — baskets are light. | 10 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 25" |
| Floor rims2x4Two per floor. 60" fits a standard washer + dryer pair — measure your machines plus an inch of breathing room. | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 60" |
| Decking3/4" plywood or MDF | 2 | 3/4" × 28" × 60" |
| Posts4x4Or laminate pairs of 2x4s. 11" puts the drum at a no-stoop height; adjust to your back. | 4 | 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 11" |
| MouldingBase cap mouldingCut to fit around each post, mitered at the corners. | 4 | 3/4" × 1 1/4" × 12" |
Buy 10 boards at 8 ft.
1 board
6 boards
2 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Build two mini floor systems from the 2x4s with glue and 3" screws (or 1-1/2" pocket holes with 2-1/2" pocket screws): rims front and back, joists between. The TOP floor gets every joist — it carries two running machines. The bottom floor can skip its center joists; laundry baskets don't earn them.
Square each frame by matching diagonals before the glue sets.
Glue and screw the 3/4" decking to each frame. Glue matters here — a glued deck turns the frame into a torsion box, and torsional stiffness is exactly what fights a shaking washer.
Screw an angle bracket into each inside corner of the top floor with the 2" screws. The source builder added these because an overloaded machine literally walks — the brackets are cheap and this is the step where they're easy. Don't skip them because your current washer is polite; your next one may not be.
Flip the top floor deck-down and screw a 4x4 post into each corner through the framing with 3" screws. Pilot-drill and add a few screws driven at an angle into the post from the frame faces — angled screws resist the racking that straight-down screws allow.
Set the post assembly onto the bottom floor and screw UP through the bottom deck into each post — at least three 3" screws per leg.
Now level the whole pedestal in place and shim any floor gap; laundry slabs slope toward the drain, and the machine's feet can only correct so much.
Miter the base cap moulding around each post with 1" brads — the ten-minute step that turns framing lumber into furniture. Sand and paint.
Set the machines, run a spin cycle with a full load, and watch. Any shimmy: skin the back in 3/4" scrap (glue + 3" screws every 4" into posts and framing — it becomes a shear panel) and/or screw the frame to wall studs. With kids in the house, do the stud attachment regardless.
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