Navigating a hardware store can be really scary, especially if you’re new to DIY! Here are the must-know tips for shopping confidently and getting the things you need for your latest project at Home Depot.
If you haven’t spent much time in hardware stores, shopping there can feel really intimidating. Especially if you’re a woman, femme, or queer person! If you’re anything like me, walking into a store like Home Depot or Lowes, you want to know exactly what you’re doing so you don’t get patronized or up-sold something by a random dude. This post will give you all the tips you need to walk confidently through the aisles of your hardware store of choice.
This post will focus on Home Depot tips, but most of the advice applies no matter where you shop!
Must-Know Home Depot Tips
1. Before you go, do your research online
Preparation starts before you even go to the store. Figuring out the exact items you want to get ahead of time has the usual advantages of having a chance to read reviews and check prices, but the best thing is this:
The Home Depot website will tell you EXACTLY where in your store to find each item.
This is a major confidence booster! You don’t have to wander lost, you can zip straight to every single item you need. Just search up the product you’re looking for on the website and look below the price for something that says “Store Name: XX in stock. Aisle XX, Bay XXX.”
Make sure your local store is selected and the thing you want is in stock, then take note of the Aisle and Bay numbers. You can even get the info texted to you for easy reference in the store.
The Aisle number is the number that’ll be on a big sign hanging over the aisle, and the Bay number refers to a section of that aisle. In the store, you’ll see little signs along the aisle with Bay numbers on them.
2. Get your car Home Depot-ready
If you’re buying something big (like lumber) or messy (like potting soil), make sure you get your car ready ahead of time!
If you have a truck, you’re in luck and loading up will be a lot easier. Still, make sure you know what length of material you’re buying and, if it’ll extend beyond the bed of your truck, bring a colorful piece of cloth to tie to the end as a flag!
If you have a little car (like me!), things can get trickier. Know the length of material you’re buying, and measure the inside of your car to figure out how to make it fit. Some common solutions to hauling long pieces of wood in a little car:
- Slide the wood between the passenger seat and the door, so it extends from the front footwell to the backseat.
- Lay down the back seat so you can run lumber through the whole length of the car, starting in the trunk & up to the center console
- Roll down a window & angle the boards so they stick out (only slightly!!!! and be very careful while driving!!!)
If you measure and don’t think they’ll quite fit, you may not be completely out of luck…
3. If you’re buying wood, make use of the Cutting Center
Most wood you’ll buy at a hardware store like Home Depot comes in 8ft lengths. If you don’t need your pieces that long for your project, or if you can’t transport boards that long, you’re in luck! Home Depot will make a few cuts for you in-store.
Most stores will do something like 12 cuts for free, then charge a small fee per cut after that. Note: you can’t bring your own wood from home for them to cut, this is for purchases only!
Before you go to the store, make note of what lengths you need cut. At the store, first pick up your wood. Then, locate the cutting center. It’s usually toward the back of the lumber section. If you can’t find it, ask an employee! You’ll need them for step two anyway…
Step two, find the nearest employee and let them know you need some things cut. You might be waiting a little while, but they’ll find someone who can help you out. Let that person know where you want your cuts made and stand back while they work the machine! Be sure to say thank you 🙂
It’s important to note that these cuts often won’t be totally exact, but they’re usually good enough to do the job! A great time saver if you don’t have power tools of your own.
{ Want to know what tools you really need? Check out these 5 Essential DIY Tools for Beginners! }
4. Different kinds of carts
Most stores have just one kind of cart, but hardware stores have an additional, special kind of cart!
If you’re buying long pieces of wood, or anything heavy that you don’t want to lug over the side of a regular shopping cart, you need a lumber cart. They look like playground equipment on wheels, but they’re extremely useful.
You lay your long boards or big panels of wood between the upright bars of the cart, and they lay flat (or stand upright in the case of panels!) You do NOT want to make the mistake I made recently of buying long boards using a standard shopping cart! It’s a nightmare to steer and you risk the boards flopping out of the cart.
5. Asking employees for help
Once upon a time, perhaps only in fantasy, your local mom-and-pop hardware store was staffed by an old guy who could tell you how to make or fix just about anything. That’s really not the case anymore.
The employees at big box hardware stores aren’t necessarily expert makers. While some folks who work there are super knowledgeable, at the end of the day it’s a retail job like any other. People are likely to know about stock in their section, but not in others. They may or may not be knowledgeable about the products and their uses.
The store’s advertising wants you to think that the folks who work there can help you with your projects in a really concrete way, but I have not found that to be the case usually. Be confident in your own research & preparation, and don’t think that just because they work at the store they necessarily know more about how to do your project. Take advice if it seems good, leave it if it seems sus!
{ I mean this with major respect for the folks who work at the hardware store! Retail work is haaarrrd, and many employees are very knowledgeable. These Home Depot tips come from my experience as a fairly femme person who winds up receiving “advice” from male employees who like to mansplain my own projects to me. I know I’m not alone in this experience! }
6. If you’re matching fasteners, check your sizes!
Nuts and bolts come in lots of different sizes, and it isn’t always easy to know exactly what you need. If you’re trying to match a piece of hardware you already have, bring it to the store with you. (This is very normal; no one will think you’re trying to steal it.)
In the fasteners aisle, somewhere you’ll find a plate that has lots of different threaded holes bolts for you to gauge the size of your fastener! There are usually two, one for metric sizes and one for imperial sizes. Test the piece you brought with you in a bunch of different slots and see where it fits best.
If you bought the original hardware at the same place, you might be able to match the numbers & letters on the side or head of the fastener to the products in the bins, too!
7. Prepare for parking to be Stressful
I think it’s an unwritten rule that Home Depots have to have the most stressful parking lots. If you’re like me and can get frustrated easily by parking difficulty, brace yourself.
Usually, you’ll notice a covered area where trucks are lined up to pick up big orders of lumber etc. I recommend looking for parking far away from that area, since it makes getting in and out of the parking lot challenging!
And remember not to back into your spot if you’re going to be loading up lumber through your trunk!
This concludes the must-know Home Depot tips to navigate the store with the confidence of a seasoned maker!
What are your favorite hardware store hacks? Spread the love & share below!
Leave a Reply