It would be an extra perk to have a laundry chute in our home. I've checked with the building inspector, and they are aloud, but of course have to be built to code.

Now, if it's going to cost an arm and a leg then it's out of the question. My architect said one of his clients wanted to install one, but it would cost $15,000 about 3 years ago. WHAT???? Maybe if it's lined with diamonds!! All I can picture is this huge home where the chute started at one side and the laundry room at the other. The laundry has to go through one of those contraptions with the clothes rolling down a million chutes. They move through the maze like one of those balls. You know what I mean, where the ball drops into the ferris wheel and then travels around the round track and then drops again into the little parachute, and so on. Is that nuts or is it me? If it costs that much...I'll get a laundry service in that case for cryin' out loud.

Please tell me he was mistaken, and you didn't pay that much. I'd hate to say it, but I'm tempted to "sneak it" if you know what I mean.

I was thinking of a door at the top like the kind you see on a trash can, where it's spring loaded and then something similar at the bottom, but with less tension if that makes sense. The chute will not drop into the laundry room unfortunately, but it will drop into a closet in the hall 2 steps from the laundry room. I planned to put it in the kids bathroom.

Any advice/pictures would be greatly appreciated.

When we remodeled our 65-year-old former lake cottage, we just basically boxed in a chute from our new dressing room to the double cupboards that were located directly over the washing machine. I opened the doors and clothes poured out! After the first couple times, I remembered to put a basket on the washing machine.

We didn't even put a door on the opening, just framed it. The only problem we ever had was the time the cat got a little too curious and we heard a big thump in the laundry room. I opened the cupboard doors and found a very disgruntled cat on top of a pile of dirty clothes. He only did it once. Oh, yes, and occasionally it got jammed and I had to poke a broom handle down, but that was no big deal.

Your code might require a door on the upper opening but I still can't figure out why it would cost much more than a couple hours framing time.

But, if he was really serious, maybe you should look into installing a dumbwaiter instead. See the link.

Even adding installation costs, the total shouldn't run you more than about 1/3 your builder's quote for a laundry chute. And a dumbwaiter would carry your clean clothes back up the stairs for you.

Seriously, the framework is the expensive part, but not if put in place before the sheetrock. Depending on code, it may be required to be lined with metal. Hold that thought... a friend retrofitted by having a metalworker put in a duct run [just like for heat], after ensuring there were no raw metal edges or snags inside. The total cost was less than $200, including nice door at the top and bottom (I can't imagine not having doors!)

However, vertical shafts are fire issues and what got by around here decades ago, won't fly now. And frankly, laundry rooms are one of the major fire start points in a house (right behind the kitchen) so you don't want an open pathway to your sleeping quarters regardless of what the code says.

He must have been working late the night before or something.

No worries about the cat...now if my english bulldog finds his way down there we've got problems. He'll probably get stuck and look like a chihuahua from the front and a sharpei from the back.;o)

Believe me the building inspectors are super, super strict around here, but I could buy a decent used car for that amount.

I'm going to call him back. He was supposed to call to find out the building code. I'll update when I find out.

These codes do not require fire protection of vertical floor penetrating shafts like laundry chutes and HVAC ducts but such elements are required to be fire-blocked at floors (externally not internally) and where a duct passes through a garage it must be 26 ga. steel and have no openings to the garage. No fire-dampers are required in ducts at floor or wall penetrations by either code.

I would think it would be appropriate to use 26 ga. or thicker steel for the laundry chute, seal around the floor penetrations with approved materials, and enclose the chute with 1/2" drywall (make it 5/8" type X is you like).

As for the openings to and from the chute itself, a 3/4" wood self-closing door at the top should be sufficient to prevent hot gasses from moving from the basement to an upper floor. Adding a metal face and a latch would be even better. I don't know why there would be a requirement for a door at the bottom. Even in a commercial building, a vertical shaft is only required to be protected at the top or bottom but not both as long as it is enclosed by properly designed walls for its full height.

In MA, for issues not specifically prescribed by the building code, a building inspector can accept a compliance alternative from a MA licensed design professional. Wherever you are located, before confronting the building inspector, I would ask the architect to provide a reasonable laundry chute design with an explanation for why it either meets the code or is a reasonable compliance alternative. This proposal should bear the professional's stamp. I've never had a compliance alternative proposal rejected in any state.