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I have a washer/dryer combo in a tight alcove (see photo). Those were set long time ago and they currently use standard feet. What I would like to do is to put them on appliance rollers for easier manipulation (plus they have gradually moved toward the opening and now the door doesn't close).

The challenge is that there is no way for me to access the sides or the back of the thing. Most of the appliance lifters have a short "lip" that makes the appliance tilt forward whereas I need to tilt it backward or even sideways.

What is the best way to tackle this problem (besides wiggling it out of the alcove and doing everything outside?

washer dryer stack in alcove

Triplefault
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Alexander L. Belikoff
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    Your objective has no problem. "I would like to put them on appliance rollers for easier manipulation" - why? Hip-check the thing back to where it belongs. Being on rollers isn't going to help it not 'walk'. – Mazura Jan 07 '24 at 19:23
  • I would put a big cushion on the front of the washer and then with my back on the cushion brace with my feet against something opposite and push it all back - no tipping needed. – Solar Mike Jan 07 '24 at 19:43

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I don't doubt it was put in washer first, with the washer connections made, then the dryer connections were made, then the dryer was stacked on top of the washer and slid in. You should be able to reverse the process to remove the units and put the washer on wheels.

If the stack has moved forward such that the door no longer closes, there should be more space at the back than there was before. You should be able to tilt them back, hopefully without sliding the dryer further back off the washer top. You may need to string a moving strap around the whole stack sideways, to "stick" the stack together so the dryer doesn't move, and leaning the dryer back leans the whole stack.

Lean the stack back so you can stick shim strips of wood under the front of the washer so it rests on the strips. Then lean the stack forward so you can stick longer shim sticks toward the back. Then the stack will sit entirely on shim sticks. Repeat the lean-back-insert-strip-lean-forward-insert-strip procedure until you get the height necessary to get the rollers under.

Or take the dryer down, move it out of the way, then you can manipulate the washer easier to get the rollers under it.

There are videos available on the internet that a web-search will find, which may give you more ideas: 'how to get a washer dryer stack out of an alcove'

Triplefault
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