Another advantage of a self build construction is that you can make things exactly how you want them. Of course you need to be careful because this can make costs spiral! We already knew we had a problem with our high spin speed Siemens washing machine, which we have had to move from our existing small log house to the shed which has a concrete floor.
The washing machine will sit in this corner where we have already made a big concrete base for it which will have sufficient mass to damp out the vibration it would otherwise transmit if it sat on floor joists like the rest of the house. To separate this bit of tiling from the rest of the floor an expansion strip of aluminium is set in and a clean break made between the tiling under the washing machine and the tiling of the main floor of the utility room. You can have the strip made from aluminium or brass, so as most of our door handles, electrical switches etc will be chrome or stainless, aluminium was the most appropriate colour for us.
