Which do you find better stocked/helpful?

Coming home I went to the Home Depot around the corner to get a couple of sprinkler nozzles. What little stock there was had different makes mixed in the wrong boxes and 70% of the packaging had been opened. It looked like a gang of ADD 7-year olds had been through there. The customer service desk got all attentive when I said in a loud stage whisper, "I don't want to drag my butt to Lowe's, but if you cannot help me..."

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Release the Kraken

I once heard from somebody in the business that Home Depot wanted their stores to look a little messy, because that portrayed a "working man's environment . . . "

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I prefer HD because they have their appliances, light fixtures, and bath stuff in the back of the store. Lowes has all the big items up front so if you want a pipe fitting you have to walk all the way to the back of the store.

Look at real lumberyards and hardware stores, see where contractors buy their supplies. I'm a contractor and buy from a local yard that has been in business 140 years. People tell me they are more expensive. Buy 20 2x4x8's from each place.
I get them delivered free from the local yard. Box store 6-7 of them have to be returned because of poor quality. Even when you are working on your own project your time has value. Help the little guys stay in business. Look at a bunk of lumber sitting in a box store, looks great, look at it 4 hours after the bands have been cut. It will have started to twist and bend. Rough carpentry is what they call the framing of a house. How can you build a house or project with crooked lumber????. Just my 2 cents.

Menard's #1. I like HD better than Lowes and also think HD is a little cheaper.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Prefer Lowes but when I buy lumber, I go Larson and get straight wood. Larry

I don't much like either buy since our big local hardware and lumber store folded from competition with Lowe's I go to Lowe's since Home Depot is a town a way. Some things like Eastman hatchets can only come from the Depot, but Lowe's advantage is their location in this town.

Not too many places like that in Vegas.

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Release the Kraken

We don't shop at either very often, but probably buy more from Lowes.

Menard's.....

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

My nearest Menard's is in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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Release the Kraken

Don't care which. I use them for avg things like faucets or paint. If I'm doing tiles I go to a specialist store. I don't work with lumber cause the only thing I can do with it is turn it into saw dust and fire place logs.

For some reason I go to HD me often but Lowe's is practically across the street from HD

For me Home Depot is only about 2mi away so for small items it pays for me to go there.I must admit that the area for nuts and bolts is a mess.People throw things back wherever they feel like it.Unless I need some chain cut to length I really don't care if there's someone close by to help me.

The few times I needed help was for a lawnmower and a snowblower.At both Lowe's and Home Depot someone assisted me all the way up to loading the product in my pickup.

I really don't have a problem with either store.

I am not a fan of Home Depot for one simple reason.

Their Handicapped parking is out in the middle of the parking lot. Their "Pro parking" for contractors is right in front of the door.

I am not handicapped, but have seen a guy in a wheelchair fighting his way to the door when a parking spot up front in the Pro parking area would have been much better.

I shop at the local lumber yard.

Wingmaster

I use a Mom and Pop type hardware store as much as possible, but the bulky stuff I'll get from the Depot. Like Bkreutz I find it easier to navigate.

The Lowe's here have appliances and bath stuff in the back and lighting on an aisle just like any other stuff. You do have to ALMOST go to the back for a pipe fitting, though.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

the nearest HD to me is somewhat closer than the nearest Lowe's. For anything major, I usually drive the additional distance to Lowe's. Their selection on many items seems better, sometimes much better, and their prices are usually better. Another point is that it seems much more difficult to find anyone at HD to help you if you need help. If i need something simple, such as a screw or pipe fitting, I go to HD. My wife prefers the HD "Behr" paint brand.

I shop at Lowes because my Ace shut down here. They are OK but their bookkeeping sure needs improvement.

I buy my framing stuff from a local yard. I call them up, and
they deliver it free. They sell a higher grade of lumber than the
big box stores. With free delivery it cost about the same as the
cheap stuff. And the lumber is straight with good edges.
My main problem is electrical supplies. Lowes ran a electrical
contact supply out of business. Problem is they only sell high
volume items. And a lot of the cheaper electrical assesories.
Good quality receptacles, switches, ect can be had there, but
the price is higher than the old contractor supply. They use the
cheap stuff in their flyers and people don't know the difference.
My post from a couple weeks ago on Chinese pipe & fittings will
give you info on that "junk". I buy USA when ever possible.

Lowes is generally higher priced than Home Depot on most any item.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

HD for me.
They have Vet parking spaces next to the disabled spots plus the military discount is at both HD & Lowes.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Lowes will give the vet's a 10% discount.......... not HD.

Plus HD put the A/C parts up last year in August, per the East coast home office advise, when I needed to replace a broken part.

I prefer Lowes in Reno, Nevada.......................they still had A/C parts available and they stock more general items.

HD has been giving veterans discounts for years.
I know as I show my Military ID.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Who stocked the made in China drywall with the sulfur? I recall a story a few years back that after one of hurricanes hit Florida, the drywall used to rebuild gave off sulfur dioxide, mixed with the water from high humidity making acid, and started corroding the wiring and electronics in the houses.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Over the years I have found favorite stores for certain items.
There used to be a little ol HW store that everybody went to if you could not locate what you wanted anywhere else and a local lumber yard--which now does not want local trade---.
Lowe's and HD offer simular but different stuff and I use both.
For tools, I tend to go HD first.
BE VERY CAREFUL AT ANY when buying nuts and bolts-------Very Careful.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Don't like either, but around here, the HD is better stocked and there is more employees to tell you the wrong aisle to find your item.

Let's here it for the Yankees. Menards started in my home town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1964 or 1965.

There was a Help Wanted ad in the local paper every day, "Wanted box car unloaders, apply in person at Menard's Lumber before 9:00 AM." When you open the double doors on a boxcar that is stacked full of lumber, that is a motivating sight. The unloading crew was 3 people, pay was $50 each, and you got paid cash when the railroad car was empty. 75% of the unloaders quit by the fourth board, and I never heard of anyone who did it as a summer job.

I believed the stories and never applied.

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S&WHF 366

I get some items from Menards and Farm and Fleet which are both where I live. The nearest Lowes and Home Depot are 60 miles to the east and west. I also get lumber when I need it from a small lumber yard about a mile from my home and they deliver for free.

I usually go to Home Depot.
I read once that Home Depot is the largest buyer of dimensional lumber in the world.

I dont have a Lowes near us up here but while we lived in SC we had one across the road from the local HD. Found we'd shop both locations when we built our home there, not always based on a price point but more on who had what that we wanted/needed (lighting, doors, etc). But i didnt have any problems with either.

For a brief period of time, I worked as the Human Resources Manager at a local Home Depot. The kindest thing I can say about the place is that it was far better than being unemployed. They have little to no regard for the welfare and wellbeing of their employees, and regard their customers as merely a money source. I tried, on numerous occasions, to make simple suggestions to improve the comfort and safety of employees (anti-fatigue mats for the cashiers to stand on, fluorescent colored safety vests for the lot loaders, etc.) and was told that those things cost money, and if the employees - including myself, didn't like it, we could always quit. After about 6 weeks I did just that.

I shop almost exclusively at Lowe's these days. Perhaps they are just as bad, but it's kind of like eating hot dogs - if you like eating them, you don't really want to know what's in them, or how they are made.

Regards,

Dave

I go to Chaney's. Small town lumber yard that delivers. Plus they got stuff you can't find at the big box stores. For instance when is the last time you walked into a place and bought a 4 pound container of lye to clean your drains? That stuff will blow out a clog quicker than snot. Try buying lye at a big box store! Also good old fashion Brazillian made cane knives-try finding those at Lowe's.

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Forum consigliere

I honestly don't go to either store that much anymore. Over the past 10 -15 years, both stores have steadily reduced the quality of products you can buy there.

Now, for example, I tend to go to local lumber yards for good wood, online for quality tools, local hardware store for hardware, local plumbing supply house for quality equipment and fixtures (have you seen the absolute garbage being sold at Lowes/HD?!!), local equipment dealer for quality mowers/power equipment, etc, etc...

Lowes and Home Depot have devolved to the lowest common denominator in terms of products they sell. I refuse to buy junk products that don't perform well, and you just end up having to buy again... Of course, there a number of exceptions to this (many brand name products that are the same, regardless of where you buy them...), but I honestly don't automatically think of Lowes and/or HD first. Of the two, HDtends to have a little better selection of quality products, but again, it's getting less and less all the time.

These stores prefer to dump the quality manufacturers' product lines, and replace them with their own private label, lesser quality (junk) products. They also force the existing manufacturers to lower their prices to the point that the manufacturer has to lower the quality of their products. Many of them have to make a separate, lower cost/quality line of products just for these mass merchandisers. WalMart started this many years ago, and Lowes, HD, and others have followed along. I guess it's great for the people that don't know any difference, don't care, or just want to save a couple of bucks, but I hate not being able to easily get good quality products anymore. Can you tell that I'm aggravated with this...? .

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NRA Life Member

Lowe's. 10% veteran discount every day. HD, at the manager's pleasure.

Thats not true. Its been the opposite for me at times. Sometimes lowes is only tuesday for military discount. I usually prefer HD but here,it seems like lowes is better.

'' Lowe's or Home Depot
Which do you find better stocked/helpful?''

That depends on what day of the week it is or if it rained/snowed lately. In plain English they both can be good or can be bad.

I live out in the boonies and its a 30 mile drive in any direction to hit those stores. We have a choice of 4 locations and strangely at each location both brands are usually with a mile of each other.

We do have a small old fashioned lumber yard in my little town, and he does carry a decent stock but no way can he compete with the big boxes on what he carries or how much he carries.
With that said the people that work there are all very knowledgeable and go out of their way to help you.

They are more expensive but is it worth it to drive 28 miles past them to spend a few bucks as your time and gas are worth thinking about. Of course you if you need thing they do not carry you got to drive!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

Don't have a local Lowe's or HD, do have Menard's, have bought misc. stuff like light fixtures there. Lumber for my new deck from local lumber yard, free delivery, 30 day open account, easy returns if you happen to get a bad piece.

There is a HD by my daughter's in MN. I look at stuff and then order online if delivery is free. Bought 2 bathroom vanitys that way in the past 2 years. HD is also good for cardboard shipping boxes! I order them online & pickup when I go to daughters.

Hechingers ... ha

I've found selection and pricing to be about the same. H.D. has a warehouse feel to it, I'm sure that is planned.
Lowes feels a little more upscale, to me, and is much easier to get to than the nearest H.D.

Had a few too many bad experiences at Home Depot and now only shop at Lowes. I prefer their Kobalt brand tools too, which are much better quality for price.

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Ephesians 6 (Armor of God)

I agree with this 100%. I trade at professional distributors or hardware stores if at all possible. Time is money and I can usually be in and out of a place like that in half the time it takes at HD/Lowe's. Even if it costs a little more it's worth it to me, but it doesn't always cost more.

One thing you need to understand is the pricing model at the big box stores. The big stuff is almost a loss leader--they clobber you on the little stuff. That's where they make their money.

A couple of weeks ago I was replacing the water heater and doing some other plumbing at my folk's old place. I bought the water heater at HD and the copper and black iron fittings etc. at either the hardware store or a pro plumbing distributor. At HD all the black iron (for the gas) was marked "China". At the hardware store and the plumbing place it was marked "USA" and actually cost less than at HD. Copper pipe and fittings were also considerably cheaper at the supply place than at HD, as was solder, flux, valves, expansion tank, a new PRV (pressure reducer valve) etc.

For example, I used a 48" flex line (for gas) to go from the valve to the WH. That flex line, same exact brand, was $11 (over 50%!) cheaper at the plumbing distributor than at HD.

As far as HD vs. Lowe's if that's all you've got go to the one that seems to be run the best. They are across the street from each other near me. The HD is a mess. The Lowe's is neater, better set up and for that reason easier to get in and out of quickly which is my main goal when I have to go to one of the durned big boxes.

I often order online since either store is 35 miles away. If I order $50 or more from lowes shipping is free and I almost always get my order the next day. However, HDs web site search engine is much better.

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NRA Endowment member

Steve: I've been buying and re-habbing small detached homes here in LV and Henderson for sometime. I shop at both chain stores all over this valley. IMHO, the worst Lowe's in the LV Valley is twice as good as the best Home Depot. I will buy at HD, but only reluctantly. I have found that the quality of service help is so poor that the HD floor people are often a huge waste of my time.

I have also found that when a really good store of either brand starts dropping off in level of service, cleanliness, stock presentation and stock availability it is most often from a 'really good' manager being transferred and a new inexperienced manager taking over. .... I just find out where that 'really good' manager was transferred.

Lowe's 1.5 miles / Home Depot 50 miles

Have shopped at Home Depot for items that Lowe's did not carry. Interesting example:
Cooper Bussmann 20 Amp Plug Type Circuit Breaker-BP/MB-20 - The Home Depot

Nearest Lowe's is 60 miles away, can't comment. Our Home Depot opened about 5 years ago. I swear they must have gone to the Walmart down the street and said "we'll hire your dumbest employees."
Buying lumber there is like buying out of a cull pile. You gotta hand pick every piece. I buy hardware from my local feed/hardware independent. Run a monthly tab with no interest. I can run in and grab what I need and the owner writes it down and I'm out of there. What they don't stock I get at Ace.

Home Depot and Lowes are the Walmarts of home improvement.Dealing with them on a regular basis gets really old....

The LOWE'S in my neck of the woods is way better stocked material & service wise than the Home Depots.

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NULLI SECUNDUS

Neither. Drive by both and go to ACE hardware. Sales folks know their business, and if I only need 2 nuts and bolts, I can buy 2 nuts and bolts, rather than a pack of 10.

David

Lowe's is practically around the corner from my home. Selection is okay on most things. If I buy lumber there (mostly fencing material) I have to take my time and select the ones with the least warping, cupping, splitting, etc.

HD is a bit farther, but still not far - maybe two and a half or three miles. For the most part they have the same junk - maybe different brands. If I need hardware or anything unusual I go to Westlake. It's a small regional chain affiliated with Ace Hardware. Westlake does not stock lumber. For that locally a place called McCoy's is the best and where most pros go. They have three locations in town. None is close to me.

Both about the same, l find my local Lowes a little better organized.

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Semper Fi until I die