Lowe's vs. Home Depot

[jbhtexas]

For the guys talking about Harbor Freight I pick up one of their 44" US General tool boxes about a year ago. I can't say enough good things about it. The US General tool box organizing stuff is good too.

Harbor Freight for me at least has kind of taken the place of Sears for mechanics type tools. Now I'd never buy anything that ran off electricity there but for tool boxes and hand tools they're great. I've got a few of their ICON sockets and they've been really good and I really like their Doyle brand pliers. You just have to do your research on what you're getting when you go in there. For example that yellow Daytona floor jack is a rebranded Snap-On for half the money and those Doyle pliers are rebranded Mac for the most part. The ICON stuff for the most part is on par with Gearwrench or Tekton.

Ditto for me on Harbor Freight. I've bought numerous wrenches, jacks, pliers, cutters, etc. from them and never had a problem.

They also have a sweet multiprocess welder that does MIG, TIG, and stick welding at 120/240V; it gets great reviews and has a great price. If I had more welding projects, I'd venture a risk on that thing for the price they have it.

Also, since paint came up...Benjamin Moore. We've been using it for over 10 years on our smaller projects. On our last two larger projects where contractors were involved, we bought Moore paint, and the contractors commented that they prefer Moore paint, but often get stuck using other paint because the main contractor specs cheap paint.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I filed two late spring and never received them. Between the two rebates it ended up being just over $30 that I never got back. I've filled out tons of them so I know that it was done correctly and I always double check.

Yeah, I’m starting to get worried that these will never arrive. I spent $1000 on new flooring so I planned to get that back and use it on other things. I’ve read online that you can re-submit the rebates but if you didn’t take a photo of your original rebate receipts, it’s hard to get them approved.

 

[HFCS]

It's crazy to me that Lowes and Home Depot are 100x bigger than my local independent store, but if I need to find some screw, nut or bolt they are guaranteed not to have it and the little mom and pops store has it every single time.

 

[HFCS]

Ditto for me on Harbor Freight. I've bought numerous wrenches, jacks, pliers, cutters, etc. from them and never had a problem.

They also have a sweet multiprocess welder that does MIG, TIG, and stick welding at 120/240V; it gets great reviews and has a great price. If I had more welding projects, I'd venture a risk on that thing for the price they have it.

Also, since paint came up...Benjamin Moore. We've been using it for over 10 years on our smaller projects. On our last two larger projects where contractors were involved, we bought Moore paint, and the contractors commented that they prefer Moore paint, but often get stuck using other paint because the main contractor specs cheap paint.

I recently probably saved $100 on painting supplies with Harbor Freightn to repaint a whole house vs Home Depot. Saved about $40 on drop cloths and plastic coverings alone vs Home Depot. Some of it was the same brand. Went high end on paint and brushes, harbor freight for all other supplies.

 

[VeloClone]

The flip side of this is that between instructions on YouTube and cheap parts from Amazon, I’ve done washer, dryer, and dishwasher repairs that, 20 years ago, would have been replaced.

Agreed. I have fixed both our dryer and range twice and washer and refrigerator once. Always a different problem so it isn't like I was repairing something I had already repaired. I have also replaced the disposal twice. I was never terribly handy, but the internet has really been a godsend in diagnosing the likely problem and finding the replacement part number for older appliances. They tend to change them so you can't always just go by the manual. The internet has also helped to find lost manuals for old appliances and instructions for doing the work.

I would caution on buying replacement parts on-line. I have bought a lot on there, but have also steered away from some of the cheaper ones based on the reviews. Some I will get on-line and some I will get from Dey Distributing. For some things I am willing to pay a little more if it might save me having to do the work all over again in a couple of years because I saved $20 getting a cheap part.

 

[dosry5]

Yeah, so far so good, and I wash a lot of clothes. From talking to people in the repair business it sounds like everything new you buy is a POS and you will be lucky for it to last 10 years. I have had this for 9 months, and so far no quirks, and the clothes seem to get clean.

says the people who want you to keep your older machine that they get to keep servicing.....

 

[SCyclone]

Agreed. I have fixed both our dryer and range twice and washer and refrigerator once. Always a different problem so it isn't like I was repairing something I had already repaired. I have also replaced the disposal twice. I was never terribly handy, but the internet has really been a godsend in diagnosing the likely problem and finding the replacement part number for older appliances. They tend to change them so you can't always just go by the manual. The internet has also helped to find lost manuals for old appliances and instructions for doing the work.

I would caution on buying replacement parts on-line. I have bought a lot on there, but have also steered away from some of the cheaper ones based on the reviews. Some I will get on-line and some I will get from Dey Distributing. For some things I am willing to pay a little more if it might save me having to do the work all over again in a couple of years because I saved $20 getting a cheap part.

I wish you lived in my neighborhood.

 

[VeloClone]

I wish you lived in my neighborhood.

Did you see the phrase immediately after what you bolded? I'm not a handy guy, but I'm learning.

 

[Clonefan94]

Not sure if Lowe's is still this way, but a design firm I worked for about 10 years ago, had a client that made shelving. It was our client's job to produce the signage for their bays. Lowe's really liked what we did, so they came to us to help them streamline the look of all their bays and come up with the design specs to send to all of their vendors. In a meeting with their marketing director, he told us that, at least at that time, their focus was on attracting female customers and that's how they designed their stores, etc. In a lot of ways, it has worked. Lowe's is always my wife's first choice if she has to go to one of the big box stores. And because of that, I usually get what I need when we are there.

It's definitely not my first choice, I do prefer Menard's for most of the stuff I buy, since most is lumber and stuff like that. I prefer their set up, of placing the order, then being able to drive my truck into the yard and putting it right into my truck.

Home Depot and Lowe's are tied for me, at least in my area. Neither of them ever seem to have what I need all in one shot.

 

[wxman1]

Does this apply to the name brand tools?

There is an extensive exclusion list.

https://parago-emails.s3.amazonaws.com/thd/11PercentOffer09262019.pdf

 

[throwittoblythe]

There is an extensive exclusion list.

https://parago-emails.s3.amazonaws.com/thd/11PercentOffer09262019.pdf

1100 pages!

 

[TitanClone]

I generally agree with this, except for the table saw. I have the miter saw, table saw, recip saw, impact driver, and many others. All are generally good, but the table saw is not good for anything requiring accuracy.

Good to know, I was planning on buying the table saw soon. The 10" miter saw works great and add a 6 amp battery to the collection gives all of the tools a big boost.

 

[JP4CY]

Just ask for Bobbi when you go to HD. Bobbi is a trans female but man she really knows her stuff and was enormous help to me when I decided to cut a hole in my kitchen wall and install a huge window. Best thing I've ever done to my house.

Bobbi has helped me a lot over the years and is very nice and helpful. She should be management IMO.

 

[JP4CY]

Good to know, I was planning on buying the table saw soon. The 10" miter saw works great and add a 6 amp battery to the collection gives all of the tools a big boost.

Ridgid has always had a moderately priced nice table saw.
Wait till Black Friday.

 

[LancelotClone]

One thing that might sway some of your opinions towards Home Depot is the fact that they match the Menards 11% rebate on in store purchases. You just need to have both a Menards and Home Depot in your area, which covers most of the midwest. It's also a much better rebate process than Menards, you do it online, nothing to mail in, and you get a gift card after only about a month. https://www.homedepotrebates11percent.com/#/home

I use the rebate matching on a regular basis. Only watch out is if you order the item online HD won't give you the rebate.

 

[CyCloned]

says the people who want you to keep your older machine that they get to keep servicing.....

The guy just sold her the parts and gave her some tips. She went to the internet to see how to change the parts. Don't think the guy got rich on the deal. I think it was a belt and a pulley on a dryer, so pretty easy fix.

 

[dosry5]

The guy just sold her the parts and gave her some tips. She went to the internet to see how to change the parts. Don't think the guy got rich on the deal. I think it was a belt and a pulley on a dryer, so pretty easy fix.

We have a washer/dryer set that’s 15 years old. Maytag. Keeps breaking down and Greens Appliance keeps coming out 3-4 times a year and keeps insisting to my wife that she shouldn’t get new ones, that ours are made so much better and we should keep them. So for the last few years we’ve have them maybe $300 a year or more. Cheaper than a new set I guess.....but if you factor in taking time off work, efficiency, etc, maybe not

 

[throwittoblythe]

Good to know, I was planning on buying the table saw soon. The 10" miter saw works great and add a 6 amp battery to the collection gives all of the tools a big boost.

Agreed. I bought basically the whole line: 10" miter saw, table saw, reciprocating saw, impact driver, drill, oscillating saw, and hedge trimmer. They are pretty good quality for the beginner/typical DIYer. I've had them for going on 10 years without issue. However, that table saw has next to no accuracy as it comes from the manufacturer. It's probably fine if I built my own fence, but I want to get into serious furniture building, which requires a lot of accuracy. So, I upgraded to the dewalt 12" miter saw and plan to buy a sawstop table saw.