Don't Buy Materials at Lowe's and Home Depot 

Not only better deals buy you're supporting the local, small businesses in your area. 👍

The title of this video is what I’ve been preaching to people since 1995 I miss the old lumber yards and supply houses that we had when I started in the trades

Problem is... there’s no other choices in our location.

I'd much rather support a local lumber supply that is privately owned rather than go to Lowe's or Home Depot. I have found over the years their material is better and their prices are as good and sometimes even less expensive then Lowe's and Home Depot and they have everything you want. Support your local lumber company or Builders Supply Company especially if it's family-owned.

"the roads are actually this rough" reminds me of the old Pure Michigan videos. Orange cones is actually a season here.

the local ace is the cheapest around me but they never really have the pro contractors always snag everything and i swear Lowe's hires people who cant even read a tape measure

Use Tractor Supply for screws, nuts and bolts. They charge by the pound for a much better deal than the packages

Consider yourself lucky to have those stores available. Only Home Depot , Lowe’s and harbor freight in my area

The only thing straight and true in home depots lumber section is the pallet forks

If you are a contractor and buy a lot of materials all the time then these places are great,but usually if you go just to buy a couple sheets of plywood and 5 pcs of 2x4 is not worth it. Plus the people working there have no interest in selling you just a handful.

I ordered 70 pieces of pressure treated decking from Lowe’s. Some were 5 5\8 inches wide, some 5 3/4 inches, others 5 1\2 inches wide. Made it a pain to install. Next time I’ll just go to a independent lumber supply even if I have to pay extra.

You have to pay the salaries of the executives on the board of directors at HD and Lowe’s.They make more in a year then most people make in a lifetime.

home depot and Lowes material is always dry and you can sort through it to get the boards you want to use

Biggest problem with lumber yards is most around me close by 5 and I work until 6.

That lumber yard is any wood worker's dream- you're very! lucky to have it near you- thank you for the video

A very chill character who takes his time to explain things in a way anyone can understand. You'll blow up on YT. Thanks for the inspiration bro

Home Depot has some of the greenest wettest wood I've run across.

I swear I dont know what Lowes does but they got the most bowed wood I've ever seen

people need to understand shopping at home depot is like doing your grocery shopping at a 7 eleven or quick check, prices are inflated for perceived convenience.

The DeWalt guys look at everyone funny. That’s why the store in Garland is closed, and the Ft Worth store is just holding on.

Wood porn lol...you act like my husband in these stores. He is an amazing craftsman like I'm sure most of your subscribers are. I pray God bless all you craftsmen. You guys have a gift and it's so needed. Blessings!

Good advice on getting good deals on materials and making wise choices when buying supplies for the job! Every dollar counts to a small business owner, saving $5 here and there can add up over the course of a year!

Have you ever tried going to the pro desk at lowes or home depot with a large order? If you spend around $1000 they will go through your order and offer you a lower price. Pricing really has a lot to do with buying power that's why if have an account at a place like Sherwin Williams if your company buys a lot of paint the price you pay can be up to half off what a cash customer pays. It's all based on how much you buy and I bet that plywood company has a similar pricing model. Now home depot has more buying power than anyone period. That's why you can buy white dal subway tile for like $1.20/ sq.ft because they buy an ass ton of it. I live in Seattle and we have a brick company called mutual materials. I go to their headquarters to place a $2000 order on some pavers and there price is %20 more than if I order it from home depot. That's because home depot is their biggest customer and even after their mark up it's still cheaper. I bet you would be surprised what that the prodesk will offer you on large orders try it out next time. Now I will say it can definitely take longer going this route, sitting at the desk while they call their suppliers, but if you want to save the most money I've often found them to be the cheapest.

Good points overall. I moved from MA to SC and it seems everyone here, including builders, uses Lowe’s and Home Depot. It’s absolutely stunning that there is no place to get everything as I could at the lumber yards back home.

you are very lucky to have lumber stores like that, around here all we have are the big box stores, which they do have pretty good selections but not like you have. thanks for posting

Every lumber yard near me is more expensive than all the base stuff at Home Depot and Lowe's. The only benefit is they deliver for $5.00. Some of the worst looking wood I have seen has been delivered by them.

I worked at Home Depot for 7.5 years after I retired from Construction. I used to tell people where to go to really good lumber and moldings as Home Depot is after your money first and foremost and don't give a dam about quality! So thanks for giving your followers the skinny on that!

Lowes and Home Depot's original concept was to give away sheetrock (and other big items) at cost and below sometimes just to sell the rest of the stuff in the store.

Hardware stores have overhead. They take up shelf space. They have to buy them from the supplier to resell. They have to make a profit. They cannot sell them for the amount that they paid for it.

You're too young to remember the days before the big box stores. Back in the sixties and even as late as the seventies real "lumber yards" were where you went to buy your material. You bought lumber, both dimension and boards by the board foot. Nails were bought by the pound, carried in big carousels and dug out with a big claw like scoop and bagged in paper bags. Most would let you go thru their stacks for straight, unwarped and unknotted boards for particular projects. The prices were WAY lower, and the help familiar with what they sold. I also recall, fondly, that when you bought kiln dried lumber it actually WAS dry. Meaning it didn't twist and warp in the few days between buying it and using it. When the big companies started buying up the small lumber mills things started to turn south. I know you young guys get tired of hearing from us old geezers about the "old days". But the fact of the matter is, if YOU had been there you'd miss them too. Hard to miss something you never knew. Back in the day lumber yards were much less busy. Number one, there were more of them than the big box stores we now have. And the customers were MOSTLY professionals, guys being paid to build. Now homeowners are the majority of customers in the big box stores. Yeah, Lowe's and Home Depot offer a "commercial" section, but trust me, it ain't the same. The QUALITY of lumber is so diminished as to be sickening. You DO know the difference between domestic made and "foreign" nails. When you bend a 16d nail driving it into soft fir you KNOW it's crap. Admittedly some things have vastly improved. Others though we are back in the dark ages. You're lucky to be able to go to a yard like the one you visited. But I'll bet the premium you pay is outrageous.

Agree 100%...I always have to look thru 3/4 of the wood and get a few pieces worth buying.

Gotta love it, a video titled, "Don't Buy Materials at Lowe's and Home Depot", with an ad right before it for Home Depot.

Ha - You certainly "nailed" that one, my friend! Lowe's in particular (thousands of examples, especially any kind of wood and any kind of fastener, can literally be 5-10x more $$). Unfortunately, small city big boxes are even worse. Lowe's used to say, "...WE have what THEY have, for a whole lot less." Ummmm...No. Thanks for the video!

I'm in a different industry but I appreciate the difference, like when I sent a frustrated artist from Michaels to Blick (in CA). Michaels might have the tube of paint you just ran out of but Blick is like landing in OZ after getting konked on the head in Kansas.

It's more expensive but you get what you buy. My dad always taught us get paint at a paint store, lumber at a lumber yard and tools at a hardware store. Lowes and home depot are cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

Just yesterday, I needed a half sheet of 1/2" birch plywood. I have a small shop and I don't have a great deal of room to store extra materials, and my local hardwood supplier will only sell whole sheets. I was willing to spend a little more to just buy what I needed. What I found was Lowe's wanted $24 for a quarter sheet of birch plywood (2' X 4'). My hardwood supplier sold me a whole 4 X 8 sheet for $33. Needless to say, I have an extra half sheet of plywood in my shop now. I also buy S3S hardwood for my projects and mill myself. I save a fortune over the Lowe's/Home Depot S4S lumber.

Never seen good quality lumber at either store. The deck lumber we buy at a indoor lumber yard is so good you can just throw it right in your truck without looking at it. You will reject 6 out of 10 boards at lowes and hd.

This is why I buy all my materials at Walmart

Google directs everyone to Lowes and Home Depot when you search. Bring back the old paper Yellow Pages - you got searches of your own.

Biggest misconception about Lowes and HomeDepot, neither one is really a "lumber yard" like people tend to wish to believe they are. As you said, they're nothing more than a "big box store", nothing more. Great video, cheers :)

I've noticed Home Depot prices have doubled within the last year or so. If you buy bulk, over $1,500 I think, talk to the pro desk. They will run your material through a "bid," not sure how it works but it's a great deal. I needed 900 lf of corner trim, 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 fir. Off the shelf, it was around $2,500. Through the pro desk bid process it was $900. That was $1,600 I stuffed in my pocket.

Ft. Worth Bolt and Tool just south of downtown has good stuff. Great staff. They used to be on Bledsoe in Museum District.

I have a wood crafter client that does my furniture coz I like my furniture sturdy. He buys his stuff from non Lowes and Home Depot big box stores. He did a 3 bunk bed for my kids and two pantry cabinets. They can be costly with premium materials but its worth it and they last very long.

Before you made this video I always went to Lowes and Home Depot to look for the material you mention on your projects. The only problem I had was I never could find it especially the PM as well as other items. I just thought it was just our Vegas location but you just confirmed it, Lowes and Home Depot don't carry it. I was able to locate a lumber place that carries what you mention and I love it. I'm not ready just yet to start my project as I'm still purchasing some new toys you talk about such as the DeWalt brad nailers and laser. Rich I think it would be cheaper for me to fly you here and do my entertainment room.

You might not know it Richard but yoo's one lucky dude to have SO much great material so readily available... you know I'm just sayin' that because I'm jealous, right?! Thanks for the tour through your world...

When the 2 companies merged Lowes Depot

A common trim I buy in Florida cost $1.29 a Lf at Lowe’s and Home Depot and the local mill it cost $0.87 a LF Huge difference in price.

I ran a lumber yard at a Lowes and the biggest issues were their cost. Lowes makes pennies on most lumber especially if you buy in bulk at a pro desk. That’s why the basic stuff is marked up, the margin has to be made up somewhere.

I appreciate Lowe's. I've built more than a couple wooden boats from there. The 10% discount I get there sure doesn't hurt. If I had a custom lumber yard closer than 2 hours to me, it might be a viable option to shop there. 4 hours round trip though, not so much for productivity.

Home Depot and Lowe's can be very expensive on small things that most people don't even think about. They take great advantage of that. It pays to shop around.

The Dallas/FT worth area is *HUGE* . Lived here about 3 decades and I still discover new places on a regular basis. That’s what I love about the area, always an alternative and many choices to go besides the big box stores.

I'm a woodworker in Palestine TX and after watching your vid about a year ago I now drive to Plywood Company of Fort Worth every other month the deals are great and the quality is very high. I only buy hardwoods.

NOTHING is good quality ANYMORE! It's all temporary CRAP!

Watching this while in Fort Worth... then you say Plywood Company of Fort Worth. Ok then. Got it. Hahaha

Don't buy a sheet of plywood if they are all like potato chips, not flat at all, when you need to make a door for a shed. The worst part was the fact that from summer to winter, the door changes dimension at least 1/4". Plywood used to be known for it's dimensional stability. Where do they get that stuff? I've never seen a sheet of plywood ever go straight if it's not flat to begin with. It just doesn't happen.

I built a dinning room table for my daughter a few years ago. I went to Lowe's to buy the wood and the kid was good to me but i had to go through two pallets of wood just to find the few i needed that would work. He went and got out the pallets of wood then would walk away because he wasn't suppose to let me do that. I still had to say i can use this part of the board and toss the rest. So sad from when we would go to a true lumber yard and get quality wood.

True Value Hardware is not bad & Ace is the place for high costs for everything worse than Home depot & Lowes.

In fairness to HomeDepot, I don’t think they even bother advertising themselves as contractor supplier for that stuff. They get everyone in the store by having 200 types of lightbulbs and trinkets at below cost prices so they can make money on the building materials and especially plumbing parts. Big box store tool selection usually sucks to.

Another tip for the average person that uses a gas grill often. Don't use those places that trade propane tanks. The charge around $20 for a 20 gallon tank that is only filled to 15 pounds. A welding gas dealer or a place that actually fills the tanks usually charge less than $15 and they give you a full 20 pounds.

I live in Amish country. There's a hardware store that sells stuff for half of any big box store. The place is always busy with English contractors.

Yeah, you're right on the stores you pick. I'm going to spend an extra $30 in gas to find a place to save me a few dollars. Makes a lot of sense. Haha.

I remember the days when my husband and I remodeled our home; Lowes had wood that was bowed & bent. We had to go through stacks and stacks to find 50 boards

Home depot is onesy twosey stuff. There is no one category, lumber, roofing, etc. where if you want bulk you are not better off elsewhere. But the bottom line is if you are into woodwork and you have never made the rounds of the lumber companies in your city, you are missing out. There is a world of difference.

I'm very fortunate to have a full service, contractor oriented lumber yard in my town. The service and materials are so much better than the box stores. I walk into my store and give the salesman my list then I drive out to the yard where two guys load it into my truck. No pushing carts around and no trying to explain to a Home Cheapo cashier what a sheet of 5/8" cdx fir is.

Dang I'm like 3hrs away from that Plywood place! 😭

Way to represent DFW 👍 greetings from Arlington,Tx

Nice to see someone who's passionate about their work. Great videos.

Last time I bought lumber at big box, the PTL was so green that after i cut it, 2, days later was splitting and cupping. Giving i wax doing stairs, it wasted $$ in lumber. went to better limber yard, wood was not green and “wet”, paid more, but quality was there. clean boards, no warps, no cups, less knots. and almost near dry PTL. worth it. Not to mention the customer service is so much better

1:09 ...Our Canadian Home depot charges $40cad (31usd) for 5000 / 18G /2" nails.. I would love to pay $15 dollars.

Lmao, first add I see before the video even starts is by LOWE’S🤣

Unfortunately, our lumber yards have disappeared since Home Depot and Lowes have come to town. At Home Depot you can not get help. At Lowes I always get help. At both places though many of the materials I see on RU-vid such as on Matt Risinger The Build Show are not available in the store and you have to order online. They expect $1000 dollar order before you can get the product. That is impossible for the home owner who is doing smaller projects around the house.

If you want to video inside a store the best thing to do is ask the manager for permission. If they know their store might show up in a favorable video on RU-vid they will usually want you to film, but if they think you are casing the joint to rip them off or competitors comparison shopping they will be much more suspicious.

All lumber gets cherry picked fast at Depot an Lowes . I look for a fresh stack only.

Absolutely agree. Things are made cheaper just for Home Depot or that name brand will be pulled.

I get my small stuff online at CSH a great example of pricing is the Square round washer head fine screws TYPE 17, 7X1-1/2" $30 for 1000 at home Depot and $13 at CSH

I'm willing to pay a little more for convenience, but not more for a lower quality item. I have heard the "treated lumber" at Lowes and Home Depot is from suppliers who use an inferior process for treating wood. I learned the hard way on a wood fence project that box store wood will warp, crack and start to deteriorate in as little as 10 months to a year. I then go to a lumber yard and get lumber having undergone a higher-quality pressure treatment process. The difference is astounding as far as withstanding weather.

"Hey do you know where the screws are?" The employee: "looks on their phone" I could do this exact same thing..

There is a reason we call it "Home Cheapo" and "Blowers"

You wont travel for nails in your area but not many other areas have a dedicated spot to buy nails so thats why home depot and lowes is the right choice and saves time because you already know what they have. Also people go to home depot to shop for building materials not special materials like molding even though home depot does have some. If i wanted to buy some molding i would do it online as they have better options that you cant find anywhere. I go to either home depot or walmart for everything because they really do carry almost everything you might need, and if not just shop online.

I remember our local lumberyard, Cardinal Lumber, in Mentor, Ohio. Same knowledgeable people every time you go in.miss those days.

I never had a problem with they’re lumber and even if I did they’re all we have

Sounds good. However, what do you do if the only choices you have is Lowe's, Home Depot and 84 Lumber. That's our choice unless we want to drive 300 miles to Fort Worth.

It's crazy, because the big box stores are supposed to offer some bulk type discounts. I don't understand why they are so much more expensive.

40 years ago I used to buy # 3 & 4 grade Dug Fir and Pine at Builders Emporium, 20 to 25 cents per foot. Twice a week I bought 16 footers, sorting through the bundles until I had about 100 boards. It was all kiln dried and ready for use. From these, I got about 85 to 90% usable material for furniture. Now, its $ 20.00 for an 8 foot 1x10x8 # 2, that's still wet. Nails were made in America, as were the screws. The crap at Lowes and Home depot is made elsewhere and is either too soft or too brittle.

y'all should legalize pot, tax it, use the taxes to fix the roads and call it, "Operation: Pot Holes".

"I'm gonna buy something" classic

Best way to get your lumber is by the log. Know your hardwoods, 1/4 sawn hardwood and pick the best to apply to each and every project. Have it milled, dry it yourself and finish the pieces. Pick the right pieces for each and every project for less than half the price.

My brother in law broke the handle out of my splitting maul. I took the head to our small town hardware store. I found a hickory handle that would fit. A clerk suggested that I should leave it with him and take care of my other errands. When I returned, he had removed the broken handle, used a spokeshave to fit the new one and opened a package of wedges which he used on my maul. He apologized for not having any boiled linseed oil for the shaved section. The total cost of the entire process was the retail price of the handle. Plus tax. Try that at a big box store. Wal-Mart drove them out of business in the next year.

This fckin focus is messed up maan,

That camera does not hold focus well. It keeps going in and out of focus.

I recently purchased some metal roofing . I was glad I checked prices of local supplier , paid half what the 2 big stores were charging and free delivery to go with it.

Here in KC we have a place called Schutte Lumber Company. It is a woodworkers paradise. Some things they are a bit pricier but you never have to worry about getting a board that looks like a beaver got ahold of first.

I'm in the same area as you and had no clue that a warehouse like that existed! Thanks!

Places like Lowe's and Home Depot play the percentages. You'll only (usually) find the most often used lumber species' and moulding profiles...and the grading is usually real borderline (i.e. Their definition of any lumber grade just barely qualifies under the guidelines for that grade). The lumberyard you visited was really cool!! As a general rule (there are always exceptions), you'll get better quality lumber from a specialty house or a 'mom and pop' lumberyard. Many smaller operations are anxious to please, and if you take the time to develop a relationship with these places (become a regular customer...get to know some of the people on the counter...and don't be a pain in the a$$! LOL), they will cut you some wonderful deals! It really helps, though, if you have a good idea of what you're looking for. Most will have people working there that really know their stuff, and they'll happily steer you in the right direction, but if you can save them some work by knowing what you need, coming in the door, they'll be more tempted to cut you a deal. (I was once a buyer and did counter sales at a fairly large local yard). Over time, I bet (if you play your cards right) the deals you get will get even better....especially on stocking for larger jobs! :-)

Syracuse, NY non-big box companies won't sell to anyone unless you have a business license. So if your trying to fix your own home or apartments yourself, you have really search through the crap they sell you at big box stores for good material and prices.

Ok so, amazingly , I’m now getting my sheet lumber, mainly maple and birch from Home Depot, because it runs $40.00 less per sheet than the sheet goods I get at my lumber yard with 15% discount, and the quality is just as good.

Love plywood company Fw. Shout out to Brazos Forest Products in Grand Prairie also.

I miss Millwood cabinets in Lancaster they had the best big crown and the only place I New if to get lone star moulding for mantels and crown

They charge more for the brand, which is why places like Harbor Freight are usually cheaper too.

I remember growing up in Louisiana and still in Louisiana, I would go to the millwright and get the best pickings of wood. I used to be a maintenance tech in a cabinet factory, the only night maintenance guy so I was the last guy to leave every night, I had to make sure all equipment was shut down and I would leave with no less than 3 or 4, maple 2x6, alder 1x12 nightly.... Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!