[Railroader]

Personally, I'm an "other" kind of guy. It's nice that Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards has a lot under one roof, but it's usually mid-level stuff. I don't like to buy mid-level unless I have to. Usually I'll go to a speciality shop and buy a higher quality item.

My impressions of each place:
Home Depot: The best of the three, but service is not consistent, product is mid-level but higher quality items can sometimes be ordered but you they rarely have the higher level items displayed. Their customer base seems like the more serious DIYer and smaller subcontractors.

Lowes: The TLC trading spaces crowd shops here. Usually built next to an existing Home Depot. 'Nuph said.

Menards: The Wal-Mart of big box DIY retailers. My cheapo dad would shop here if it were closer. These are the true mom-n-pop killers

"Other": I have a Gilroy's hardware which is the next best thing to mom-n-pop hardware store. I buy my lumber from Johnson's Workbench. I usually buy my plumbing supplies from a mom-n-pop plumbing supply called Crest.

[The Godfather]

I go to Home Depot for almost all the small stuff. For big important purchases, I shop around and get the best deal. Last month I bought $2500 worth of laminate floor in a specialty laminate store. I am installing it myself (no money left).

What's funny is that in Compusa, Circuit City and Best Buy I am always shooing off the salespeople. In Home Depot, I can't find enough help to find the stuff I need.

[budster101]

2,500 worth of ack, Laminate flooring? How much? Sounds like....

5,000 square feet...

[iMOTOR]

I was just at Home Depot today. The aisles are so narrow, the prices suck, it's always a mess at Home Depot, yet people pile into that place like there's a hurricane coming. I don't get it.


Lowes has better prices, is clean, and you don't have to squeeze past people in every aisle, yet Lowes is never as busy as Home Depot.

Home Depot reminds me a lot of BestBuy, every time I drive past them, their parking lots are always jam packed. People are such sheep.

[budster101]

It's been my experience that the people at Home Depot are morons. They must work at Best Buy part-time as well.

Lowes is a lot better. Very knoweldgeable people, and friendly. At least the few I went to in Floridia.

[cjrivera]

Lowe's. Like everyone else mentioned, compared to Home Depot, Lowe's is much cleaner, well lit aisles, wider aisles, much more knowledgable staff, and the prices are very similar to Home Depot.

For many little hardware items, I'll go the one of the local mom and pop owned Hardware stores in town and support the local businesses.

[Lateralus]

Lowe's, since I work there.

[residentEvil]

Lowes, all the way.

[suvsr4terrorists]

Farm & Fleet, 4 ever.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by suvsr4terrorists

Farm & Fleet, 4 ever.

Not in Michigan. They all went bankrupt and were bought by TSC Tractor Supply Company.

[suvsr4terrorists]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Not in Michigan. They all went bankrupt and were bought by TSC Tractor Supply Company.

That sucks. I find they have the cheapest tires and greatest selection of anything you want in actual metal, not plastic with rounded edges. Stuff that actually lasts. It does smell like tires quite a bit though.

[MaxPower2k3]

home depot, since it's <5 minutes away. nearest lowe's is 20 minutes.

[discotronic]

I have always found Home Depot to have the cleanest aisles, most knowledgeable staff and I always find what I want in stock. Lowes doesn't even come close. This is personal experience however.

[mdc]

I hardly ever have the need for a one of these stores, but in the very few times i have, i have gone to home depot since it is the nearest one to my house. the staff have always been very helpful.

my dad came to visit me last week and he has been doing some stuff around my apartment for me. he is a big fan of home depot.

[Ozmodiar]

Lowes, since it's my last name.

[rickey939]

I live within a mile of all (3) of these. They are located right next to the 4-store strip mall that has Subway, Quizno's, and Jimmy Johns in it. Across the street is Wal-Mart and behind that is Target (Meijer's is about 50% constructed 2 blocks down).

Go suburbs!

[sek929]

Other, being Mahoney's building supply in Mattapoisett.

Lowes and the Depot have awful lumber, but come in great in a pinch for paint, plumbing, and all those other little random things only a huge box could fit in one store.

Besides that we get all our specialty woods (Ipe, Cedar, Mahogany) at Liberty Cedar in N. Kingstown RI.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

I go to Home Depot for almost all the small stuff. For big important purchases, I shop around and get the best deal. Last month I bought $2500 worth of laminate floor in a specialty laminate store. I am installing it myself (no money left).

What's funny is that in Compusa, Circuit City and Best Buy I am always shooing off the salespeople. In Home Depot, I can't find enough help to find the stuff I need.

I worked at Home Depot for several months before quitting. I was a Millwork assistant, selling people windows and doors and the like.

The rest of the Depot was a wasteland for help, so many times I would have to help people find screws and nails (not my Dept.) when they could have easily just looked for a few minutes, read the boxes, and found the size they wanted, but thats the story of the public. I was more pissed at the kids who signed up for the hardware section and never actually worked near it since they would have to help to many people.

The funniest thing is when people who come to my desk and ask for a price on a replacement window (usually the Fusion Welded Vinyl garbage). I'd ask them what the size of the window was that they were replacing. "Oh, its a standard size window, standard size" that does NOT help.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by rickey939

I live within a mile of all (3) of these. They are located right next to the 4-store strip mall that has Subway, Quizno's, and Jimmy Johns in it. Across the street is Wal-Mart and behind that is Target (Meijer's is about 50% constructed 2 blocks down).

Go suburbs!

"I remember when this used to be all farm fields".

[rickey939]

Originally Posted by Railroader

"I remember when this used to be all farm fields".

"If you build it, they will come."

[Railroader]

Ever see the cribs episode where [dammit, can't think of his name] said, while gesturing to his thousands of acres of wilderness backyard, and says "I remember when this all used to be strip malls and car dealerships"? I think it was the last time I laughed while watching MTV.

[nredman]

my dad says menards has better wood, don't really know if that is true or not...what about fleet farm?

[Briareus]

Lowes for me. There's a Home Depot right across the street from it and I usually end up checking both places for comparison, but the HD is pretty much a mess: darker lighting, narrower aisles, generally less organized looking.

Funny thing is that I hear in other parts of the US the opposite is true.

[Atomic Rooster]

Lola's Compete Plumbing and Pipe Services.

[Ozmodiar]

Originally Posted by Briareus

Funny thing is that I hear in other parts of the US the opposite is true.

Yeah. There aren't a lot (or even any?) Lowes stores up here, so I always go to Home Depot. In fact, I went there today to get some stuff right after my first post in this thread, and I was thinking about what everyone was saying about the Depot. My experience was pretty much the opposite of everyone else's, in that it was well-lit, the aisles were wide and marginally clear of debris, and the workers were, for the most part, friendly.

I think HD originated in Wisconsin, though, so that may have something to do with it.

[dampeoples]

I like Lowe's for the tool selection

[Eriamjh]

I use both Lowe's and HD. Lowe's doesn't rent tools. Sometimes, Lowe's is out of stock. Both are about the same distance (3 miles) from the house.

[Rev-O]

Only have Lowe's and Home Depot here, and throw 'em both in a bag and beat 'em with a stick. I usually go to Lowes because it is one mile closer than Home Depot. Both have the same selection of basic tools, but the Rockler Woodworking store is way cooler for wood stuff. And for plumbing and electric I tend to use wholesalers through my work.

Lowe's and Home Depot are a necessary evil, I suppose.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Briareus

Lowes for me. There's a Home Depot right across the street from it and I usually end up checking both places for comparison, but the HD is pretty much a mess: darker lighting, narrower aisles, generally less organized looking.

Funny thing is that I hear in other parts of the US the opposite is true.

There are two Home Depots on the same road about 12 miles apart from each other near me. One is dark, messy, absent staff, and poorly organized. The other is the exact opposite. Clean, well lit, well organized, and VERY helpful staff. Local managers have a lot of influence I guess.

All Lowes seem very clean, but I can never find anyone who knows much about anything. They know where things are on the shelves, but know nearly nothing about the product.