Lowe's closing 50 stores !

[ultrarunner]

Terry, my wife says I have too many bolts, nuts washers. I'm gonna show her your picture.

I bought the inventory from a closing auto dealership. Then I bought the inventory from a closing old time hardware store. I got a lot of sizes and types I'll never use.

Guessing 25 different sizes of carriage bolts. Not sure what an automotive type like me will ever do with those....

This old Rockford Bolt Cabinet is my pride and joy... bought it from a NAPA auto parts store going out of business when I was 16... he also had a brass fitting cabinet but it was a stretch for me to buy the cabinet at $2 and hour...

Nothing like having what you need and needing what you have.

 

[Big Barn]

No 3/4 bolts? Just use two 3/8 instead.

Math is fun, and has practical applications.



Bruce

Uh, Bruce. Three bolts and I didn’t even need a BFH!

 

[prichard]

I was visiting a friend who was trying to get me to take a bunch of stainless bolts. Problem was they're all hex socket head. I have no idea what I'd ever use them for. Standard hex head I would have brought 100 pounds home.

 

[ovrszd]

I was visiting a friend who was trying to get me to take a bunch of stainless bolts. Problem was they're all hex socket head. I have no idea what I'd ever use them for. Standard hex head I would have brought 100 pounds home.

I never turn down free hardware. Yeah, I'm a hoarder.

I don't like stainless bolts for most uses. They are brittle, especially the threads.

 

[bcp]

Uh, Bruce. Three bolts and I didn稚 even need a BFH!

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No fair. You can't have a bolt head on both sides of a nut!



Bruce

 

[Deere Dude]

We ain't got Menards here.
I do like the fact you pick your own lumber. When you get it delivered from a lumberyard, you never know what you will get.

I was a firm Menards believer for 40 years for most building supplies. At the time building our last house the nearest Menards was 45 miles away, difficult but doable. It seemed I would stop almost every week to get something as I was in town anyway. A new Home Depot went in a mile away from it and my kids were bragging about how great HD was.

I needed to get a big (subjective) trailer of wood so I priced Menards and it was a certain price. to accomodate the kids I drove over to HD and checked their prices and it was almost the same because of the competition factor. I decided to get all my 2x and plywood at HD.

When I looked closer, I would have to load it on a cart, push it to a register, pay for it then go outside, drive to the front door and remove it from their fancy carts and load on the trailer. BS to that.

I drove across to Menards, paid for it, drove into their big yard right next to the piles and started throwing wood on. Then drive ahead to the next selection. After it is strapped down you exit through a checkout station where they check the count. It seems much easier especially when I hand pick much of the wood I get.

One thing I noticed, I never had a mistaken price on checking out in 40+ years, and I check always.

The nearest Menards to me now is a 4 hour trip so I am slowly acclimating to Lowes which the Mil. discount helps take the edge off.

 

[Diggin It]

When I looked closer, I would have to load it on a cart, push it to a register, pay for it then go outside, drive to the front door and remove it from their fancy carts and load on the trailer. BS to that.

I drove across to Menards, paid for it, drove into their big yard right next to the piles and started throwing wood on. Then drive ahead to the next selection. After it is strapped down you exit through a checkout station where they check the count. It seems much easier especially when I hand pick much of the wood I get.

Might depend on the quantities involved, but I'd rather inspect and select indoors out of the weather (cold, hot, rainy), then simply load and go.

 

[prichard]

I remember a place called Scotties in FL. Drive through indoor lumber yard. That was nice. They've been gone 30+ years.

 

[/pine]

I remember a place called Scotties in FL. Drive through indoor lumber yard. That was nice. They've been gone 30+ years.

Scotties was great for lumber and general building supplies... they eventually got overwhelmed by Home Depot's buying power and could not compete with such a big competitor...another (in the SE anyway) was 'Builder's Square' that I think was part of K-mart before the Sears merger...

 

[Dftodd]

Might depend on the quantities involved, but I'd rather inspect and select indoors out of the weather (cold, hot, rainy), then simply load and go.

Ran into that issue at lumber 1. Wouldn't have been an issue if I could have driven through the warehouse where I could pick and choose. But they were packed full of vehicles so they sent me to their back yard and ran the load out to me. Had a few pieces of molding that were cracked at the ends so I had to double check and plan my cuts.

 

[Diggin It]

At one time (in another life), I had a Home Depot, Builder's Square (more than one as I recall) a Home Quarters (green signs instead of orange) and another off-name local big box variation all within 5 miles of each other. PLUS several full service traditional lumberyards, hardware stores and electrical supply houses.


No, they didn't all survive. Some were gone within just a few years of opening.

 

[tjkubota93]

When I was small, we had a lowes in town. Went there with my dad a few times. It was more like a lumber yard. It closed up. They came back a few years ago in a different location. Now it's the girly big box type.

 

[ovrszd]

Might depend on the quantities involved, but I'd rather inspect and select indoors out of the weather (cold, hot, rainy), then simply load and go.

Buying half a dozen 2x4s, maybe. Buying a trailer load, no way. Menards lumber yards are spacious, well stocked and well staffed. When you check in thru the gate they ask if you know where you are going. When you arrive at the stock someone will come by and ask if you need help. A lot of their material is in huge open ended warehousd buildings that I drive my truck and 30ft GN into for loading. Simply no comparison.

 

[Jchonline]

I have 3 Lowes within half an hour of my place and the closest one, is by far the best one!! It's in the small town of Lindale and we just think that it's nicer because the people that work there are all small town, country type people. The other two are in Tyler and Longview, which are cities of 100,000 people, and it's impossible to get help, both stores are always a mess, and a lot of the time, the shelves are not kept stocked. Used to be that Home Depot was the messy store, but they got a new manager and really turned it around. Now I go to Home Depot a lot more if it's a couple of miles out of my way. There is a Lowes an hour away that is by far the nicest store that I've ever been to. It's spotless. There are carts in almost every isle and somebody is always available to help you out. They just keep coming up to you to see if you need anything, and you don't even have to ask for help loading up, at least one, and usually two people are there wanting to help.

Sad to think that Lowes is not doing well, but maybe this is just a minor correction to deal with stores in bad locations? Walmart did something similar in high crime areas. They where losing so much merchandise to theft that it wasn't worthwhile keeping the stores open.

Eddie, my mom is the HR coordinator at the Lowes store in Gun Barrel. She is over 70 but still going strong! That store is always busy as well. Hope it doesn’t close the doors!

 

[Jchonline]

Buying half a dozen 2x4s, maybe. Buying a trailer load, no way. Menards lumber yards are spacious, well stocked and well staffed. When you check in thru the gate they ask if you know where you are going. When you arrive at the stock someone will come by and ask if you need help. A lot of their material is in huge open ended warehousd buildings that I drive my truck and 30ft GN into for loading. Simply no comparison.

I wish we had one in my area. The closest one is Cheyenne, WY. I have been to a few in Illinois...nice stores.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, my mom is the HR coordinator at the Lowes store in Gun Barrel. She is over 70 but still going strong! That store is always busy as well. Hope it doesn’t close the doors!

I didn't know that there was a Lowe's in Gun Barrel, but I've only been to that city a few times and can't say that I know the area very well.

 

[Big Barn]

I didn't know that there was a Lowe's in Gun Barrel, but I've only been to that city a few times and can't say that I know the area very well.

Texas cities have the coolest names!

 

[ovrszd]

Texas cities have the coolest names!

Unlike Arkansas which has a town named Toadsuck. I used to have a cap from there.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I needed to get a big (subjective) trailer of wood so I priced Menards and it was a certain price. to accomodate the kids I drove over to HD and checked their prices and it was almost the same because of the competition factor. I decided to get all my 2x and plywood at HD.

When I looked closer, I would have to load it on a cart, push it to a register, pay for it then go outside, drive to the front door and remove it from their fancy carts and load on the trailer. BS to that.

If I'm getting more than fits in the back of a minivan from HD I'll have it delivered. I make my list, go to their website and click on the stuff I want. Two days later a truck is in my driveway with a forklift to put it exactly where I want it. Costs $65, but means I only have to get it from where the forklift left it to where I need it. Also saves 35 minutes of driving each way. My experience with HD is they pick out reasonable lumber for delivery.

But I realize it's highly store-dependent. I've ordered from the local Lowes twice, and both times they messed up the order and then gave me a hard time trying to exchange the incorrect items because they didn't match my receipt. I'm done with them.

 

[Dftodd]

Unlike Arkansas which has a town named Toadsuck. I used to have a cap from there.

Toad suck is one of the mild names here there's greasy corner, three way, blue ball, monkey run, goobertown, stinking bay, weiner, and bald knob