With spring coming up Tuesday comes spring cleaning, and almost every house could use a little polish to get it sparkling again. Whether for your own sanity or in preparation for selling your home, there are myriad ways to revitalize your space on a budget. » Continued on the next page
“Resurfacing, refacing, pressure washing are all extremely inexpensive compared to putting in a new kitchen,” said Eric Benjamin, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Sandy Springs, of the options available to homeowners who want to refresh their home without breaking the bank.
Benjamin recommends making sure any investment of your money is money well spent.
“Talk to your Realtor and get their advice about what to do,” Benjamin said. Because when it comes to getting your home ready to sell, “that first impression is so important.”
Kitchen cabinet refacing
Homeowners interested in saving money and getting a dramatically refreshed kitchen often choose kitchen cabinet refacing. Martin Jimenez, owner of Cabinet Transformations in Peachtree City, said the price range for cabinet resurfacing can be 40-60 percent below the cost of new cabinets. Cabinet refacing generally involves removing old cabinet and drawer facing, crown and shoe molding and drawer boxes. Those surfaces as well as the existing cabinet boxes are then replaced with new wood, laminate or veneer products. How extensive the refacing will be depends only on the homeowner. Refacing companies like Cabinet Transformations and Kitchen Fronts of Georgia in Chamblee can swap out dated styles and colors with more stylish options.
Price range: Brad Zuber, manager at Kitchen Fronts of Georgia, said his company’s work runs in the $3,500-$6,000 range. Adding countertops increases the cost.
New trends: More homeowners are choosing lighter colored wood and glazed cabinets instead of white, said Zuber. Jimenez has seen a trend catching on in Atlanta for high-gloss cabinet finishes for an industrial look. And during the refacing process many homeowners are taking the opportunity to add improvements such as a kitchen island, new cabinet lighting, tilt-out or roll-out shelves, spice racks, lazy susans, wine racks, wine refrigerators and pull-out garbage and recycling bins.
Floor refinishing
Dean Howell, the owner of MODA Floors and Interiors on the west side, offers two options for hardwood floor refinishing, depending upon the needs of his clients. The least invasive is a buffing and recoating process that will not change the color of the floor or remove deeper scratches. During the buffing process the top layer of dirt, debris and polyurethane is removed from the wood and then the surface is recoated with a glossy layer of water-based polyurethane.
For homeowners whose floors contain deep scratches or damage, or who want to refinish their floors in the increasingly popular darker colors, a more thorough refinishing is in order. Howell recommends homeowners make sure whoever does their floors adheres to industry standards.
“There is a very wide variance in terms of craftsmanship and professionalism in this process,” Howell said.
A true professional will have dust-containing equipment with a vacuum to curtail a significant amount of the resulting wood dust. Most floor refinishers will also sand the floor three times and finish with a quality stain and sealant. Price range: For buffing and recoating: $1.50 a square foot. For sanding, staining and sealing: $2.50-$3.50 a square foot, depending upon repairs needed.
Pressure washing
April showers may bring May flowers, but in Georgia they also bring mold, mildew, red clay splatters and other unsightly residues that cling to your home. When scrub brushes and bleaches aren’t cutting it, a simple but lifesaving solution is a licensed, insured pressure washer who can address the kind of built-up grime, moss, mold and unsightly stains that make a once-sparkling white picket fence and driveway look like a biological crime scene.
“If the side of your house is really green, it will look like new,” said Matt Marston, owner of Impact Pressure Washing in Fayetteville.
Price range: A one-story ranch runs from $165 to$185; a two-story $185-$250; a two-story with basement runs up to $300.
Cleaning natural stone
Bathrooms and kitchens take a great deal of abuse. Luckily, there are companies in Atlanta that cater to homeowners who want to refresh and resurface anything from a chipped granite countertop to a lackluster marble floor. Brittany Brown, the marketing manager at Cleaner Image Marble and Surface Restoration in Newnan, said her primary focus is saving clients the cost of replacement by restoring floors, countertops, showers, tub surrounds and even statues made from granite, marble, tile and concrete to their former luster.
“I’ve had people tell us it looks better than when they had it put down,” Brown said.
The process involves a four-part process of cleaning; grinding to get rid of scratches and stains; polishing and sealing. Price range: $150-$2,000 according to square footage and surface.
Refinishing tubs and sinks
One of the first places to show wear and tear are bathrooms where discolored or crumbling grout and dull, chipped tubs contribute to a sense — especially disastrous for home-sellers — that a home is in poor repair or hopelessly outdated.
Stuart Green, owner of Encore Surfacing in Sandy Springs, specializes in refreshing surfaces, through tub and tile restoration. He often helps customers preparing to put their home on the market.
“On older tubs, you can’t clean them. No matter what you do, you will never get that high gloss back. And when I resurface it, it makes it look like new,” Green said of a process that involves spraying a highly scratch-resistant acrylic polyurethane coating onto bathtubs and tile.
Price range: $325-$425 for resurfacing/reglazing a tub with caulking, depending upon if it has been done before.
Life span: Warranties generally cover five years against chipping, peeling, cracking and loss of gloss, though Green said resurfacing can last far longer.
Regrouting or cleaning tile
The least expensive option for stained or uneven grout is an intense cleaning, said Green of Encore Surfacing. Grout Doctor, which has offices in Roswell and McDonough, can clean and seal grout, and for an additional price, can freshen dingy grout by staining it before sealing.
“Women are absolutely our best customers,” said Grout Doctor vice president James C. Sneyd, noting “75 percent of our calls come from women.”
Price range: Encore Surfacing charges $275 and up for grout cleaning. Grout Doctor fees run from $1.60 to $1.65 per square foot for cleaning and sealing; about $2.20 for cleaning, staining and sealing; shower regrouting ranges from $300 to $400 depending upon the size of the shower.
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