From REI Academy
Get The Highest Quality Work And Results For The
Lowest Possible Price!
In my long career of being a general contractor turned
investor, it has been my goal to teach people as many ways
as possible to get the highest quality work and results for
the lowest possible price. Bringing up the value of an
investment property and creating equity are two major
factors in building wealth. More profit is lost in the fix
up cost of real estate than any other aspect of investing.
Therefore making a property look its best without losing
your shirt is essential to the rehab business.
One of the most common things I have run across is
kitchens and bathrooms with those old stained cabinets.
To give the house an inexpensive facelift, I use the
following materials and techniques to renew the cabinets to
a fresh new and updated look. You may also use these same
techniques to do stained trim work, stained doors, windows
and paneling. I prefer a white semi-gloss look for updating
older homes and the new look can be done for under $100 if
you do the following steps from my Rehab 101 system.
First step is to remove all the doorknobs or handles
to the cabinets and drawers. Then get a good sponge or
cheesecloth and using white vinegar or distilled vinegar
full strength, clean all surfaces. This step eliminates oil
from cooking over the years and removes any greasy buildup
on the surface.
Step two is to get a sanding sponge and use some
200-grit sandpaper to lightly go over all surfaces. You
are not trying to remove the stain color, you are just
taking the gloss off of all the stained area. Once you are
done with this, take a damp cloth or sponge to remove any
dust from your project.
The next step is to use an oil based primer such as
KILZ or BIN brand and give all surfaces to be painted a good
seal coat. This seals in any oils that will secrete
through paints in time if not primed right. After your
primer dries we will use 100% acrylic latex paint to go over
all cabinets and drawers.
I want to stress that I always suggest good quality
paint, brushes and materials because you have not saved
money or time if you have to do a project twice. O.K.,
with my quality brush and roller nap (3/8 inch nap) I will
cut in the brushed areas and roll the other areas like
normal painting, but here's a great tipI use Sherwin
Williams Pro Classic latex semi-gloss as my finish coat. The
reason I choose to use the Pro Classic is that no matter how
it is applied, brush-roller or spray, it is a self-leveling
paint. What that means is that as it dries, it flattens out
smooth like an oil base paint and leaves a smooth look with
no brush marks.
My color choice is always white, because clean white
cabinets in kitchens and bathrooms make them look brand new
and also make the area look larger. Also since it's
latex, all my clean up is with simple soap and water. Here's
another tipif your ever having to prime a surface or wall
before painting, and your changing the color, have your
primer tinted strength of the color your finish coat will
be tinted. This eliminates an extra coat of paint trying to
cover up white primer. Last, replace all knobs and
handles with fresh new hardware for great results, saving
hundreds over replacing old cabinets.
