How to Green Your Green - Kitchen and Bath Cabinets #6

October 5, 2016

How to Green your Green? #6

Kitchen Cabinets and Bathroom Vanities

Making your property “green” can help you make more money when you rent and when you sell. When I first joined Bigger Pockets, I indicated that I would like to bring sustainable principles to my rental properties. Some Bigger Pockets members saw it as a good idea.

Both of these items may be a minor point in the larger scheme of things. After all, the kitchen cabinets may just need to be re-faced (doors and drawer fronts taken off and replaced) or perhaps painted following the recommendations in Blog #3.)

It wasn’t long ago that you couldn’t buy reasonably priced cabinets made from recycled wood, but now you should be able to. Unless the existing cabinets are broken, sagging and in general disrepair, or very old, try to re-face them to spare the expense of replacing them. Installing cabinets in the kitchen is time-consuming and generally requires someone that is experienced to do it or it might turn out to be a disaster.

Let’s face it, cabinets don’t have to withstand 100 mile per hour winds or be tossed across the room or stand up to the scrutiny of Architectural Digest magazine. They should function (drawers on metal slides, doors on hinges that open at least 90 degrees and hardware securely fastened and shelves that can be kept in place), but many of the bells and whistles of premium kitchen cabinets like 120 degree hinges, dove-tailed box drawers and fancy door edges aren’t necessary in order to work.

Concentrate on the materials. No vinyl or standard plastic laminate finishes (get low VOC – volatile organic compounds), no high VOC paint, no plastic laminate that looks like wood, etc.

If the cabinets are made from plastic laminate that looks like wood, it’s a good bet the entire cabinet is poorly made. It has been my experience that imitation wood veneer cabinets are not going to be low VOC, which could make your tenant sick over time as the volatile compounds off-gas over a period of time.

Cabinets can be a big expense and I suggest you deal with a kitchen outfitter that can offer design help. There are many nuances to getting kitchen layouts right, not the least of which is proper measurement. Most kitchen cabinets come in 6” increments starting from 12” wide (anything less is a bit impractical), but there are a gazillion options, filler panels, interior configurations, etc. So, don’t be afraid to ask. To make life easy on yourself, the cabinets should be easily cleaned (wiped down), plain front doors and drawers.

Bathroom vanities may be a luxury in your rental, but if you decide to put them in, use the same guidelines used for the kitchen.

We will look at: ROOFING AND INSULATION AND SIDING in the future.