Renovating my townhouse in San Diego

Denver, CO · Member since 2020 · 69 posts · 89 votes

Hey everyone -- I have a ~1000 sqft townhouse (on 2 levels) here in San Diego, and I'm looking to do some updates and modernize the place. The necessities are floors (LVP), windows and paint for the interior. Bonus would be refacing the cabinets if the pricing makes sense

I priced out part of the job with HD, windows were somewhat reasonable at $8500 but I was surprised by the cabinet refacing -- Just short of $20k. That struck me as high for this type of job, does anyone have experience there?

I would love to connect with a GC in San Diego with a wide skillset, any good contacts? Thanks in advance!

James

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Twana RasoulBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Hi @James Heller I am fully renovating 2 of my units on a 4plex I have in Golden Hill...feel free to reach out and send me a private message if you need assistance and contacts....You can get cabinets and prefab quartz countertops pretty inexpensive and refacing is usually more expensive, I've found.

Your refacing number is quite high and you should be able to get new cabinets and countertops for half of that price if not less than half. :)

Are you making your place a long term rental or short term? I'm likely making those 2 units into midterm furnished rentals, I'm used to only having LTRs for myself but will see how it goes :)

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Ben Capone
Member since 2021 · 49 posts · 26 votes
4y
James - I just finished a complete renovation on a 1100 sf condo (one story though) in San Diego. I used granite factory direct in miramar for kitchen cabinets and countertops. I got out of there at about a 1/4 of what HD was quoting.
Shoot me a message if you need some more details. Happy to help in any way I can.
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
4y
Quote from @James Heller:

Hey everyone -- I have a ~1000 sqft townhouse (on 2 levels) here in San Diego, and I'm looking to do some updates and modernize the place. The necessities are floors (LVP), windows and paint for the interior. Bonus would be refacing the cabinets if the pricing makes sense
I priced out part of the job with HD, windows were somewhat reasonable at $8500 but I was surprised by the cabinet refacing -- Just short of $20k. That struck me as high for this type of job, does anyone have experience there?
I would love to connect with a GC in San Diego with a wide skillset, any good contacts? Thanks in advance!
James

You do not state if this is for a rental or owner occupied.

Look at prefab granite for the counters. The quality of work on prefab is not great, but easily sufficient for rentals. If I owner occupied in b area or below I would consider this as an option. Do not use prefab in B+ or above class (and maybe not b class if owner occupying)
For cabinets look at better cabinets and granite or h cabinets.
Good luck

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James Heller
OP
Denver, CO · Member since 2020 · 69 posts · 89 votes
4y
Quote from @Dan H.:

Quote from @James Heller:

Hey everyone -- I have a ~1000 sqft townhouse (on 2 levels) here in San Diego, and I'm looking to do some updates and modernize the place. The necessities are floors (LVP), windows and paint for the interior. Bonus would be refacing the cabinets if the pricing makes sense
I priced out part of the job with HD, windows were somewhat reasonable at $8500 but I was surprised by the cabinet refacing -- Just short of $20k. That struck me as high for this type of job, does anyone have experience there?
I would love to connect with a GC in San Diego with a wide skillset, any good contacts? Thanks in advance!
James

You do not state if this is for a rental or owner occupied.

Look at prefab granite for the counters. The quality of work on prefab is not great, but easily sufficient for rentals. If I owner occupied in b area or below I would consider this as an option. Do not use prefab in B+ or above class (and maybe not b class if owner occupying)
For cabinets look at better cabinets and granite or h cabinets.
Good luck

Yes, great point Dan. The townhouse is a rental. It is in North Park, developing fairly quickly but nothing I would call 'luxury'.

@Ben Capone Thanks for that reference!
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Twana RasoulBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Hi @James Heller I am fully renovating 2 of my units on a 4plex I have in Golden Hill...feel free to reach out and send me a private message if you need assistance and contacts....You can get cabinets and prefab quartz countertops pretty inexpensive and refacing is usually more expensive, I've found.
Your refacing number is quite high and you should be able to get new cabinets and countertops for half of that price if not less than half. :)
Are you making your place a long term rental or short term? I'm likely making those 2 units into midterm furnished rentals, I'm used to only having LTRs for myself but will see how it goes :)
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Wesley I.
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2019 · 286 posts · 135 votes
4y
@James Heller
$20k is high for refacing. Better cabinets on market st off the 805, solid wood with soft close hardware. Not sure about lead times now, I worked with them pre covid.
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Mark Frattini
Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 338 posts · 176 votes
4y

@James Heller
For rental grade cabinets check out H cabinets in Miramar.
Call San Diego Flooring Pros or La Mesa Flooring for LVP.
Ecotech Windows & Doors for windows.
If you just need a GC let me know. 👍
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Morgan Scott
Member since 2022 · 17 posts · 10 votes
4y
James, from a contractor's perspective I don't typically recommend re-facing cabinets. I've done it, but it is extremely labor intensive, and as a result - expensive. By the time you spend the labor on re-facing, you can often demo, and install new cabinets for about the same amount of money. Not to mention you typically will have higher quality cabinets with plywood box construction and new hardware at the end. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
4y
Quote from @Mark Frattini:

@James Heller
For rental grade cabinets check out H cabinets in Miramar.
Call San Diego Flooring Pros or La Mesa Flooring for LVP.
Ecotech Windows & Doors for windows.
If you just need a GC let me know. 👍

Tenants are real rough on LVP (actually all flooring). The next slab foundation I have that needs new flooring I plan on doing concrete staining. I have a friend who has concrete stain in his multimillion dollar home and it looks good and is virtually indestructible. If using LVP, the snap and fit is a pain to swap in new sections. Glue down is easy to swap in new sections.
Good luck
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Alex U.
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 94 posts · 32 votes
1y
Quote from @Dan H.:

Quote from @Mark Frattini:

@James Heller
For rental grade cabinets check out H cabinets in Miramar.
Call San Diego Flooring Pros or La Mesa Flooring for LVP.
Ecotech Windows & Doors for windows.
If you just need a GC let me know. 👍

Tenants are real rough on LVP (actually all flooring). The next slab foundation I have that needs new flooring I plan on doing concrete staining. I have a friend who has concrete stain in his multimillion dollar home and it looks good and is virtually indestructible. If using LVP, the snap and fit is a pain to swap in new sections. Glue down is easy to swap in new sections.
Good luck

Can you recommend anyone for staining concrete floors?
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