Lowe's treated me well imo.....way better than HD ever did!

[MarPar]

I go to Ace first for most of the little things. I pay a little more, but they are usually owned and operated by local people. Then Menards is my second choice.

 

[turbo t]

Have had bad experience with HD in the past, my father-in-law had a large commercial excavating company and did work for HD on a new store, When it came time to pay up to their contractors they tried to bleed everyone dry. Didn't work out to good for them as it was built in a union state and when they were sued they tried to get the court case moved to Chicago where they thought they could beat the charges. Judge was having none of that and it cost them millions. So with that being said we hardly ever shopped at HD again. Now on to Lowes, we have shopped there almost exclusively since. But be forewarned we just went through a nightmare with them as we purchased a new washer and dryer and took their deal to remove the old units and install the new, Here's where it gets good, the delivery team showed up in a big Lowes truck and did their deal, said we need to run a load to remove test water out of the washer, He hits the start button and walks out the door, 18 minutes later our kitchen has water running through it and ruins our flooring. He never unhooked the drain from the back of the washer and put in the house drain DUH. We call Lowes immediately to be told that these delivery people are sub-contractors and don't actually work for Lowes, even though they were in LOWES truck and uniforms. So, 3 months of fighting back and forth with them. Our home is still a wreck, and we just received our payment from Maersk [the people who handle the contract for deliveries for Lowes] So from here on out we will go to MENARDS and spend our $. Local Mgr. was good guy, but his hands were tied as once you purchase it, they're pretty much out of it. So once again service and responsibility for employee's screw ups the consumer is left with no help from them. Thank goodness we put it on an AMEX card as they immediately went after them to make things right. Buyer Beware.

 

[Budnicks]

I go to Ace first for most of the little things. I pay a little more, but they are usually owned and operated by local people. Then Menards is my second choice.

Yeah here
True Value (down in Sonora)
Sonora Lumber is True Value Hardware IIRC, same deal as Twain Harte Lumber
old family owned
or
1st I check Ace, up a few miles in Twain Harte, same family owned since conception
Twain Harte Lumber privately owned, is associated with Ace Hardware (IIRC)
'They gives you good wood' they have great paint products too
one stop shopping, some stuff they can't or don't carry
& the isles in the store are extremely tight too, it's old

If I have to go down 12-15 to miles Sonora, Lowes
or drive 50+ miles to Oakdale, for Home Depot, I prefer not too...

 

[Krooser]

My small town has two independent lumber yards.

I have a favorite... One is an Ace Hardware franchise but the owner and I had a disagreement years ago and I seldom set foot in his store.

The other us a local three store operation. Friendly people, the same or lower prices on lumber than Lowe's, HD or Manures.

Two of my sons live here and would rather travel 20 miles to Menards than two miles to our local store... that 11% "rebate" has them hooked.

I gave up on Menards years ago when I couldn't find a 2x4 that didn't feature the extra cost 90* bend...

And Menards has a freight brokerage deal that offers to have you haul their freight for less than the cost of diesel fuel...no thanks.

 

[Armyvet25]

We have a Menards here, way better pricing, product availability, and decent service compared to other 2.

 

[Cranky]

We have a Menards here, way better pricing, product availability, and decent service compared to other 2.

Nothing at all close to me here....

 

[RJ Squirrel]

I took a couple steel studs and added a “handrail” to the top of my 8 foot stepladder to reach the 12 foot ceiling in my shop, OSHA would have a snit about it, but it works good having something to hold on to when on the second step from the top.
Hey remember Eagle Hardware stores? They were great until Lowes bought them out.

 

[Cranky]

I took a couple steel studs and added a “handrail” to the top of my 8 foot stepladder to reach the 12 foot ceiling in my shop, OSHA would have a snit about it, but it works good having something to hold on to when on the second step from the top.
Hey remember Eagle Hardware stores? They were great until Lowes bought them out.

Don't recall Eagle Hardware. IIRC, ACE was the first chain store and everything else was mom an pop stores. The oldest was Chapman Hardware. Funny that my sister and her husband bought that one in the 70's. Tuckers was another and had two stores and was the last private owned store still standing. One of their stores was here in early 60's and lasted until around 2000 iirc. Miss them because of their nut and bolt selection. You could buy 1 or 100. Have a McCoys that's probably 5 minutes away if that long and they are a pretty good store too.

 

[Coronet_Arch]

The important thing to remember about modern ladders is that they have a date stamp on them. An old ladder can look fine and next thing you know you are on the ground. It happened to a friend of mines dad. He was in the hospital and rehab for awhile. He had to shut down his remodeling business for awhile.

The general guidance is a ladder should be replaced any time it is damaged. Ladders should be replaced after 10 to 20 years of use depending on usage.

When I was working as an architect on some commercial projects the certian general contractors had no ladder policies on their job sites. The sub contractors hated those jobs.

 

[not so famous bob]

I only go to Home Deplore if Lowes doesn't have it.
HD is where the morons and the ....um er..... "contractors" seem to shop.
And notoriously hang out in some places.
I've almost had my door taken off in the parking lot.
And I've seen a pick up truck parked in a space close to the store with small metal conduit sticking out of the bed in the drive isle.
Just about where someone's windshield would be driving past it.
HD was the first to lock up all the copper wire near me.
Then Lowe's started
Theft is not isolated but that sort of says something.

And for past service?
Lowes.

I didn't read many of these posts , but , home depot gives military a 10% discount , Lowes only 5% , and Lowes started charging for using their credit card ... screwem ...

 

[RJ Squirrel]

The Ace Hardware store close to me really upped their game recently, the actual hardware section is twice the size and in its own big room. I needed some flange bushings recently, they not only had them, but the right diameter and length. I went to the HoDepo first and their hardware employee did not know what I was talking about.

 

[MarPar]

The Ace Hardware store close to me really upped their game recently, the actual hardware section is twice the size and in its own big room. I needed some flange bushings recently, they not only had them, but the right diameter and length. I went to the HoDepo first and their hardware employee did not know what I was talking about.

Ace is great for those kind of items

 

[Davefinan]

A word of advice/warning - do not leave fibreglass ladders or step-ladders outside.

They will go bad on you in no time at all.....and fibres will get into your skin. I see guys over here every day with them on the roof of their vehicles.....the sun loves stuff like that here.
I keep mine inside and only take it to jobs when required. All my other ladders are aluminium.....the worst they get is a powdery film on them....and recently I discovered the ropes will fray to nothing and break.

Rope is cheap....ladders not so much.

I don't know about you other Tradies ....but I like to keep my tools clean and lubed where necessary. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a Tradie with rusty tools, and rotting ladders.

The tradesmen with the rusty tools are the slackers.

 

[Davefinan]

HD is not nearly as good on returns as Lowes. I was behind a guy in line at customer service for about ten minutes while they argued about the guy returning a 5 dollar utility knife. In the end they told him to contact the manufacturer. Lowes is generally no questions asked.

 

[kiwigtx]

The tradesmen with the rusty tools are the slackers.

A tradesman with a rusty looking tool may have been in the wrong playground......just saying.

 

[Greg Ducato]

We have both a Lowes and a Home Depot in town, the Home Depot is closer and has a good selection for the most part. I like some of the qualities of the Lowes store better but what turns me away from them (Lowes) is that they are self checkout only and the lines and wait are usually long.
I recently started going to Sutherlands the next town over. Amazing selection for a smaller store, very helpful folks and outstanding service. Well worth the extra 5 minute drive.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I didn't read many of these posts , but , home depot gives military a 10% discount , Lowes only 5% , and Lowes started charging for using their credit card ... screwem ...

Lowes gives 10%...

 

[not so famous bob]

not here bu

Lowes gives 10%...

not here they don't !!!

 

[themechanic]

not here bu

not here they don't !!!

10% on cash or credit, 5% if you use the Lowes card.

Both Lowes and Home Depot give a 10% discount to qualified Veterans. They also have Veterans parking area.

Ace does not.

 

[Hey-O]

Home Depot lost me when I found myself standing in line with 6 customers while 4 employees are sitting in the Pro area, by their registers playing on their phones. I asked if they could help out or if they think a PRO has spent more money than me! I walked over and told them to either check me out or put my s**t back on the shelf. When called out, they jump like their jobs depended on it, because it does!!!!!!! No one has to kiss my ***, but my money is green anywhere, and just for the record, I am a PRO......