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I am going to make a low platform for my washer/dryer. Its sole purpose is to provide a level surface; my basement floor is scary uneven.

I'm envisioning something like this:

platform

The leveling feet are similar to this:

feet

The model is assuming 4x4's, although I would use 2x4's if they're strong enough. I'll put plywood on the top for more strength. I'll hollow out some depressions for the appliance feet to nest into...

I want to use four leveling feet instead of six, but I don't want to center to sag. How can I calculate if the center feet are required?

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If you're thinking of placing them side-by-side on that platform, I'd use the 2x4s and six leveling feet. There is twice the load at the middle that there is at each end, half the washer weight (including significant water weight when running) and half the dryer weight. Even if it took the load initially, there is vibration and potentially moisture at work and sooner or later you're likely to get visible sagging. If you add the extra pair of leveling feet in the middle, it will stay right where you set it indefinitely. You can use the money you save on the wood to pay for the feet :)

Also, make sure the feet are attached firmly to the 2x4, perhaps with a tee-nut on the top and a fender washer on the bottom, so they don't wallow-out their hole with the side-to-side vibration forces. You'll want to keep them screwed in as far as possible within your leveling constraints, to minimize the bending moment on the threaded shafts and the stress it places on the hole it's in.

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  • Yeah, I was trying to cheap out and only use four feet, but I like your cost analysis! Also, that's a good idea about stabilizing the feet. I was originally intending to just use a t-nut on the bottom and lock it by snugging the included nut up against it. Good to see you on varying stacks :) – bitsmack Aug 24 '17 at 3:02
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    @bitsmack If you want to save on feet make the centre ones from offcuts of wood! Projected cost $0.00 :-) – Graphus Aug 24 '17 at 7:58
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There are various online calculators you can use to determine how much a given span will sag. This is the one of the more popular ones:

http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

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    If you use the six footed solution there is no need to worry about sage - all of the loading will occur directly over the feet and there will be no beam action (sagging) to consider. – Ast Pace Aug 24 '17 at 6:01

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