All Forum Posts by: Frank Szymanski

Looking for all types of work including but not limited to:
- Full rehabs, plumbers, electricians, roofers, drywall, painters, flooring, general handyman, A/C work...etc.

Thanks in advance!

Frank

1 Vote

Houston, Texas

@Kim Balduzzi

Let me know how it looks I’d love to see it. Still contemplating dark stain versus painting.

Thanks!

0 Votes

@Dawn P.

Wow Dawn that looks great!

Question, how did you get rid of the raised surfaces on your older cabinet faces? Also, how much grain do you see through your cabinets, what product did you use?

0 Votes

@John Morgan

Do you see the wood grain through it??

0 Votes

Originally posted by @JD Martin:

Depends on what the ultimate use is. Are you flipping or renting? Where is the property? What is the clientele?

I have long term buy & hold rentals. For me those cabinets would be keepers. At most, in that kitchen, I would:

1. Remove the uppers over the peninsula;

2. Paint the wall ovens white to match the refrigerator (or black & change the fridge, see #3);

3. Change the drop-in cook top to either white or change the refrigerator color;

4. Change the handles;

5. Float a luxury vinyl plank over that flooring.

For everything above you're looking at maximum of a few thousand dollars. With dark cabinets like that black goes better than white, but it depends on whether you're willing/able to change the fridge which appears obnoxiously big for the space anyway but also costs more money to change.

This will be a long term rental in a nice but relatively affordable area of Houston with good schools.

Thank you for the insight. My biggest issue with looking at painted cabinets is you can typically see the wood grain behind it in the light. That's why I may look into the darker colors as you stated or an espresso stained look of sortts.

Either way you guys have given me a ton to think about. Thank you so much!

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Justin Tahilramani:

What is the price point on this rental? Is it an A, B or C class property? If the cabinets are in good shape - I WOULD NOT RIP THEM OUT. Those cabinets are probably built 10x better than anything that you can get in the retail market today (outside of custom). Remove the hardware, fill in the holes, de-grease, light sand, oil based primer, spray cabinets with a quality cabinet paint. Less than $200 in materials if you do it yourself. Under $1k if you pay someone else.

I would recommend replacing the counter tops with new formica counters. Look up "Meet Kevins" youtube video on kitchen cabinet updates. Follow his advice - he knows what he is talking about.

It's a B class neighborhood 3/2 home, ~1500 sqft that should rent for ~$1600/month once updated. Good points on the build quality. I will check out Meet Kevins page now, thanks for the advice!

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Originally posted by @Dan Bryskin:

@Frank Szymanski

It all depends on what are you going for / price point. What you got is 70's oak. You can replace the kitchen, if you go with IKEA and not hang uppers over the L you got may be 2k in the new cabinets. You can get all new faces. You can have kitchen wrapped in plastic. You can remove raised wood from the doors, fill the lines and and repaint - that will give you flat doors. To stain you need to sand / strip the old finish, it is more work then repainting. For paint to stick you should scratch the surface first, use steel wool or something. If you want a nice finish - spray an oil base enamel. IMHO it's a lot of labor to make old cabinets look nice and do a quality durable finish. For us it is more cost effective to just replace cabinets. Good luck.

Thanks for the insight and opinions!

1 Vote

Hello all,

I am looking into an older kitchen cabinet remodel and was wondering if there were any creative people out there that had any ideas. The cabinets are in very good condition for their age and I am looking at updating them by possibly repainting or staining.

They definitely do have an aged look which will be hard to overcome and I've looked up some ideas online but haven't found cabinets with the same shape. I would replace the countertops as well as the appliances/flooring.

Does anyone have any personal ideas of theirs for this kitchen set up? Thinking about removing the cabinets overhead the cook top to open up the space even more.

Thanks in advance, see photos below!

1 Vote

These would be questions for the current tax year*

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Hello all!

General tax question:

1. Can I write off the expenses of a new roof and a driveway repair during a room "house-hack" where it is a primary residence?

2. Can you write off expenses like a new like a new roof/driveway repair job that was done during your primary residency while you were transitioning it to a rental property ? Would these be classified separately as "start-up" expenses?

Thank you in advance!

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Frank Szymanski

Frank Szymanski has started 6 posts and replied 16 times.

Post: Houston Rehab and Handyman Referrals?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Old cabinet refinish / repainting advice?

Post: Tax Depreciation House Hack Question

Post: Tax Depreciation House Hack Question