CarWashGuy
Active member
Anybody prefer Home Depot over Lowes or vise versa. Not necessarily just for tools, but for anything you would go to either store for. I live 5 minutes from both of them but I find myself going to Home Depot more often.
Home Depot or Lowes?
- Thread starter CarWashGuy
- Start date
I think stuff at Home Depot are cheaper, but if you got any questions, Lowes has people who can really answer you ..
BigK600
Well-known member
Depends on what your shopping for.
rsanter
Well-known member
when I lived in fresno the Home Depot by my house gave me great service
I moved and now I get better service out of the Lowes near me
one thing I will give credit for is the HD still does the free classes on stuff
bob
I moved and now I get better service out of the Lowes near me
one thing I will give credit for is the HD still does the free classes on stuff
bob
Stuey
Well-known member
I tend to prefer Lowes. Not sure why. I'm sure it's at least partially becuase they sell better wood and offer a greater selection of tools.
back2class
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 2,723
Lowes.
When was in the trades HD was better becuase it had more mechanical stuff and less "pretty your home" stuff. But with such poor amount of help I guess they are not even good for tradesmen now.
Lowes is way better to me now! Better stuff and help.
When was in the trades HD was better becuase it had more mechanical stuff and less "pretty your home" stuff. But with such poor amount of help I guess they are not even good for tradesmen now.
Lowes is way better to me now! Better stuff and help.
Merkava_4
Banned
There just so happens to be a Lowes commercial come on the TV as I'm reading this thread. 
Nealcrenshaw
Well-known member
i agree it's hard finding help in HD unless they're really empty.jimmycrackcorn
Well-known member
I prefer Lowes, like other reason mention above. The HD and Lowes are within bocks of each other, the HD around me is beat down, can't find the proper stuff in dawers. I got sick of the looking at the orange too.....
ZRX61
Well-known member
Lowes is just better/cleaner. I always feel like I need a shower after a Home Cheapo visit
Nealcrenshaw
Well-known member
Lowes is highly organize. Highly!!!,
Cleaner too as the others mentioned.
Prices are pretty close.
Cleaner too as the others mentioned.
Prices are pretty close.
Its amazing how there is a certain amount of image marketing at play. Home Depot is more of the walmart, and Lowes is more of a middle of the road store like say Target. More appealing and statistically- probably has clientel of a slightly "higher" social scale.
My deep thoughts before bed
My deep thoughts before bed
Diesel-Mech
Well-known member
Its funny you say that considering that Walmart owns Lowes. Of the big box stores I like Menards the best but Home depot is the only store close so I tend to go there if for what ever reason I cant use a local store.Its amazing how there is a certain amount of image marketing at play. Home Depot is more of the walmart, and Lowes is more of a middle of the road store like say Target. More appealing and statistically- probably has clientel of a slightly "higher" social scale.
My deep thoughts before bed
volvo
Well-known member
.
...Niether.. Usually buy real American made quality cheaper at a real local trade shop.
I spent over three times the cost for china plastic **** tub spigot at Lowe's and HD. Finally ended up at the local plumbing shop for an American made solid brass chromed one for 1/3 less.
They both have their place for somethings...But , cheaper is not always less exspensive....
...Niether.. Usually buy real American made quality cheaper at a real local trade shop.
I spent over three times the cost for china plastic **** tub spigot at Lowe's and HD. Finally ended up at the local plumbing shop for an American made solid brass chromed one for 1/3 less.
They both have their place for somethings...But , cheaper is not always less exspensive....
mkdive
Well-known member
For most hardware HD because its 2 blocks away but for tool shopping lowes, (though I don't buy too many tools from lowes). Wood & building material I get from Ganahl lumber.
Huh? Lowes is publicly traded and Walmart does not have a significant, if any, ownership interest in it.
jerk_chicken
Banned
I like neither. Sometimes out of pricing, I go to HD, as I've see the same **** in Lowes for 3x the price, like Al flexible ductwork. I have noted they put Lowes in slightly better areas, while HD tends to go in areas filled with immigrants of one type or another, thusly making communication a chore.
Luckily, back home we had a couple of hardware stores that sold good stuff and in walking distance. When I go back, I doubt they'll still be there.
There's a big contrast here: I was astounded to see more than half a dozen of these types of chains and they concentrate in areas. Some ****, some are merely ok, but they are the only game in town and they don't really know what's going on. Just kids or others that are unskilled (though they claim they are skilled) and working at a home improvement center.
Luckily, back home we had a couple of hardware stores that sold good stuff and in walking distance. When I go back, I doubt they'll still be there.
There's a big contrast here: I was astounded to see more than half a dozen of these types of chains and they concentrate in areas. Some ****, some are merely ok, but they are the only game in town and they don't really know what's going on. Just kids or others that are unskilled (though they claim they are skilled) and working at a home improvement center.
Diesel-Mech
Well-known member
You are correct, that apparently is a a widely spread misconception that I wasn't helping by repeating it with out verifying.
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Yeah.... I always felt that Lowes was cleaner and better lit.
Bustawrench
Well-known member
Around here, it seems that the HD is more geared towards contractors and handymen and the Lowes is more geared towards homeowners.
I use both, but I find myself in HD more often, maybe it's because until they built the Lowes 3 years ago, HD was the only game in town and I'm just conditioned to go there.
I use both, but I find myself in HD more often, maybe it's because until they built the Lowes 3 years ago, HD was the only game in town and I'm just conditioned to go there.
hades02
Well-known member
I have both by my house side by side. I find that
at my location I can find what I am looking for
easier at HD and there is always someone around
to help. At the lowes near me, I have pushed
the assistance button and literally waited 20 minutes
and no one has shown up. The times when someone
has shown up they weren't knowledgible. Lowes is
much cleaner and my step son likes the Build & Grow
clinics.
at my location I can find what I am looking for
easier at HD and there is always someone around
to help. At the lowes near me, I have pushed
the assistance button and literally waited 20 minutes
and no one has shown up. The times when someone
has shown up they weren't knowledgible. Lowes is
much cleaner and my step son likes the Build & Grow
clinics.
fatfillup
Well-known member
I'm with you but the local stores are all but gone. I love local stores cause someone will help you and answer questions, usually correctly.
I normally go to HD first but invariably go to Lowes to get what i don't find at HD.
In general, I dislike big box stores but I don't think the Mon and Pops will make a comeback. As a population, we like filling our homes with cheap stuff and quality isn't critical on every item we purchase. At least that's what the marketplace is indicating.
For tools, Lowes has a far better slection.
Everything else, they are about equal.
I have a Lowes and a Home Depot within a couple miles of each other. I must live in opposite land. Here, Home Depot is clean and organized. Lowes has product scattered everywhere. They are both fairly new stores. Home Depot has plenty of employees to help, even to the point of being a pest. Everytime I go there I am asked by three or four employees if I need help with anything. In Lowes, you push the button that sends an automated page over the intercom. There have been a couple of times that no one ever showed. After standing there 20 minutes, listening to the page over and over, I got mad and left. Lowes used to have an excellant hardware section. Now they have gone to the little bags with a couple of pieces in them, just like Home Depot.
Home Depot is only about a mile from my house. I go there first becasue of the better service.
Everything else, they are about equal.
I have a Lowes and a Home Depot within a couple miles of each other. I must live in opposite land. Here, Home Depot is clean and organized. Lowes has product scattered everywhere. They are both fairly new stores. Home Depot has plenty of employees to help, even to the point of being a pest. Everytime I go there I am asked by three or four employees if I need help with anything. In Lowes, you push the button that sends an automated page over the intercom. There have been a couple of times that no one ever showed. After standing there 20 minutes, listening to the page over and over, I got mad and left. Lowes used to have an excellant hardware section. Now they have gone to the little bags with a couple of pieces in them, just like Home Depot.
Home Depot is only about a mile from my house. I go there first becasue of the better service.
I worked part time at Lowe's for about 2.5 years, just quit middle of last year. This was in addition to my full time desk job. I have 4 Lowe's and 1 HD within 25-30 minutes from me. Some of them Lowe's are clean and have excellent customer service, some just plain ****. The HD that is close has very poor customer service and the they always have **** piled in the middle of aisles. I do go to Depot for some stuff but I probably buy 95% of my stuff from Lowes and the other 5% comes from Depot. I also worked for a general contractor for almost 4 years and we went to a Lowe's probably 75% of the time for the same reasons...
Lowes seems more like a store for women to me-lots of home decorating stuff, but kinda light on most everything else. As a 'fitter, I notice that HD has a good selection of Ridgid pipewrenches and other related stuff, while Lowes only has Chinese knockoff tools. Lowes also does not have a good-looking hotdog lady at the front door
kartracer23
Well-known member
What I hate about both of them is that they've gone to the self check. Hey-If I'm buying some bread and a 6 pack of beer at the grocery - that's cool. But to try to scan a 2 x 4 or concrete block is a PITA. Last time I had to buy lumber at Lowe's and not a single checkout lane (with a person) was open. I took the liberty of whacking their computer / scanner with every piece of lumber I scanned.
Stuey
Well-known member
kartracer,
usually you can also take your stuff to customer service, and if you still use the self-checkout, there is supposed to be an attendant to supervise that can override the registers and use a handheld scanner.
usually you can also take your stuff to customer service, and if you still use the self-checkout, there is supposed to be an attendant to supervise that can override the registers and use a handheld scanner.
jniolon
Well-known member
I don't like either... they're basically Walmarts for sheet rock or floor tile.. or closet organization systems. I've found that the variety, stock level and expertise are proportional to the income average of the neighborhood. In the crack hoods the are just sorry with **** piled in the isles and the blue or orange vests evaporate when there are bags of sacrete or blocks to load.
In the more affluent areas (the ones close to the malls) they are better stocked and you can actually find someone who understands their product (sometimes).
I tend to use Lowes for personal stuff since it's closer and a pretty good store...at work location I can throw a rock and hit a H.D. but it's in a depressed area and after wasting time looking there we end up somewhere else. Working for an industrial piping contractor we tend to use supply houses and specialty vendors for our needs..but if we only need a handful of hardware or a short length of copper... H.D. is cheaper in travel/time.
I miss hardware stores !! We used to have a couple of really good old hardware/feed/building supply stores in our town... been there forever. I could spend hours on Saturdays wandering through the isles. Real old dusty hardware stores with sweeping compound on the oiled wooden floors !! Not the mega-million dollar "home improvement centers", but places that sell hammers, axes, plow line and hame straps, barbed wire, stovepipe and dampers, nails and fence staples in big ole rotating bins with heavy paper bags you pulled off a nail in the wall and a hanging scale to weigh them In the spring there were tomato plants and onion sets out front. They're getting harder to find, but there still out there in small towns where no Home-Depot dares to tread (weak customer base and all…)
As a boy I remember going with my dad 'to town' to buy fertilizer and seed for this years garden and sweet feed for the cows. I can smell the crushed corn and molasses right now ! Standing on the feed scale to see how much you weigh. Man... It was an adventure. Good memories. I still know of a couple in rural areas. It's a ways from the house but I'm planning a day trip...an excursion with my grandson to teach him about 'stuff'... what tools are and how they are used...maybe buy a new one to add to his set. And hopefully it will be a memory he can pass down to his son with these same tools. We've started his tool collection while he is young, with his own locking toolbox and he has the only key (except for the spare that I have hanging on the back of a shelf).
In the more affluent areas (the ones close to the malls) they are better stocked and you can actually find someone who understands their product (sometimes).
I tend to use Lowes for personal stuff since it's closer and a pretty good store...at work location I can throw a rock and hit a H.D. but it's in a depressed area and after wasting time looking there we end up somewhere else. Working for an industrial piping contractor we tend to use supply houses and specialty vendors for our needs..but if we only need a handful of hardware or a short length of copper... H.D. is cheaper in travel/time.
I miss hardware stores !! We used to have a couple of really good old hardware/feed/building supply stores in our town... been there forever. I could spend hours on Saturdays wandering through the isles. Real old dusty hardware stores with sweeping compound on the oiled wooden floors !! Not the mega-million dollar "home improvement centers", but places that sell hammers, axes, plow line and hame straps, barbed wire, stovepipe and dampers, nails and fence staples in big ole rotating bins with heavy paper bags you pulled off a nail in the wall and a hanging scale to weigh them In the spring there were tomato plants and onion sets out front. They're getting harder to find, but there still out there in small towns where no Home-Depot dares to tread (weak customer base and all…)
As a boy I remember going with my dad 'to town' to buy fertilizer and seed for this years garden and sweet feed for the cows. I can smell the crushed corn and molasses right now ! Standing on the feed scale to see how much you weigh. Man... It was an adventure. Good memories. I still know of a couple in rural areas. It's a ways from the house but I'm planning a day trip...an excursion with my grandson to teach him about 'stuff'... what tools are and how they are used...maybe buy a new one to add to his set. And hopefully it will be a memory he can pass down to his son with these same tools. We've started his tool collection while he is young, with his own locking toolbox and he has the only key (except for the spare that I have hanging on the back of a shelf).
ahaidet
Well-known member
I go to Lowes more mainly because it is more convenient. The Home Depot near me seems to have a better tool selection than the Lowes. That HD has a tool rental and generally seems to be better stocked.
Lowes seems to have better deals: blowout clearance stuff like the Gladiator cabinets of late, and the air compressor deals of years past.
My favorite is a big local store called Hartville Hardware. It used to be a TrueValue, but they got rid of the TrueValue name and went on there own. Their tool department is mind blowing. There is another local only store called Keim Lumber that I want to go to. I hear its supposed to be quite impressive as well in size and quality of stuff they sell.
Lowes seems to have better deals: blowout clearance stuff like the Gladiator cabinets of late, and the air compressor deals of years past.
My favorite is a big local store called Hartville Hardware. It used to be a TrueValue, but they got rid of the TrueValue name and went on there own. Their tool department is mind blowing. There is another local only store called Keim Lumber that I want to go to. I hear its supposed to be quite impressive as well in size and quality of stuff they sell.
Uncle Buck
Banned
I used to work at HD, THEY BLOW! Sticker priced items are usually a bit cheaper than Lowes, but when it comes to sale and clearance stuff, HD cannot hold a candle to LOWES. I cannot stand HD. If you know them from the inside, you get to know how really rotton they are!
T56 Impala
Well-known member
Lowes for me.
That said, Lowes had better watch out. It looks and sounds like HD has got their feet back under them and are very strong in the market once again. Lowes had better take a step forward and adapt to this poor economy.
That said, Lowes had better watch out. It looks and sounds like HD has got their feet back under them and are very strong in the market once again. Lowes had better take a step forward and adapt to this poor economy.
Scotto
Well-known member
I go to both equally, probably because Lowes is closer.
As far as service/help goes, there's a lot more people to help you in Lowes. But they're all idiots who don't know anything about the products or where anything is. I can usually find things in the store faster then the employees. And when you ask them something they usually have a "doh..." look on their face.
HD's employees are few and far between, but when you find one they've always been able to quickly help me, or find someone who can help. To me, this is a lot more valuable.
Home Depot usually has the better price, but it's surprising what Lowes can have. I'll usually check out both stores if I'm looking for something high priced, because often one will be a lot cheap then the other or they'll carry a totally different line of products. Lowes definitely has better clearance items though.
Also, if you need something more "contractor" grade, like a certain fitting or sheetrock, HD is usually the place to go.
As far as service/help goes, there's a lot more people to help you in Lowes. But they're all idiots who don't know anything about the products or where anything is. I can usually find things in the store faster then the employees. And when you ask them something they usually have a "doh..." look on their face.
HD's employees are few and far between, but when you find one they've always been able to quickly help me, or find someone who can help. To me, this is a lot more valuable.
Home Depot usually has the better price, but it's surprising what Lowes can have. I'll usually check out both stores if I'm looking for something high priced, because often one will be a lot cheap then the other or they'll carry a totally different line of products. Lowes definitely has better clearance items though.
Also, if you need something more "contractor" grade, like a certain fitting or sheetrock, HD is usually the place to go.
global72
Well-known member
My local HD is small and does not have many just basic things, 3 miles down the road we have a much larger Lowes. I do not even bother to shop the HD any more.
sammerdog
Banned
Two stop shopping here -
We find ourselves hitting Lowes for the "finishing touches" first - sinks, faucets, counter tops, back splashes, lighting... Pricey, but nice selection and usually in stock. I've had too many mis-fires with special ordering stuff for that nightmare.
Then it's off to Menard's for their selection of plumbing, electrical, lumber, paint, sub-flooring, etc... to prep the room we're re-doing. Menard's is still primarily a mid-west thing, but man, you guys will love it when they come to your area - fittings galore, Decent HVAC stock. A little hit n miss on lumber quality, but if you're in there regularly, the yard guys will pull down fresh bunks for you.
HomeDepot? Yeah there's an unstaffed, dirty, half empty one about a mile from me with a bunch of signs hanging from the ceiling in some foreign language stating plummerro or something to that effect. Been in there once in the last year and a half or so to rent a hammer-drill. It looks like it would make a nice skating rink for teenagers when they go belly up.
We find ourselves hitting Lowes for the "finishing touches" first - sinks, faucets, counter tops, back splashes, lighting... Pricey, but nice selection and usually in stock. I've had too many mis-fires with special ordering stuff for that nightmare.
Then it's off to Menard's for their selection of plumbing, electrical, lumber, paint, sub-flooring, etc... to prep the room we're re-doing. Menard's is still primarily a mid-west thing, but man, you guys will love it when they come to your area - fittings galore, Decent HVAC stock. A little hit n miss on lumber quality, but if you're in there regularly, the yard guys will pull down fresh bunks for you.
HomeDepot? Yeah there's an unstaffed, dirty, half empty one about a mile from me with a bunch of signs hanging from the ceiling in some foreign language stating plummerro or something to that effect. Been in there once in the last year and a half or so to rent a hammer-drill. It looks like it would make a nice skating rink for teenagers when they go belly up.