Green Bay area. 2 Home Depot’s, 3 Menards, 2 Fleet Farms. Nearest Lowes (2 in different but not opposite directions) are both 30 miles away.
Fleet Farm used to be the spot until some corporate attitude changed about 5 years back. Now it sucks. They jumped on the reorganzie the store every 6 weeks bandwagon and I can’t find anything. Also their tool selection took a dive and the space was dedicated to groceries.
I rarely use HD and mostly give my money to Menard’s.
Without doubt, a lot aren’t even that good (I’ll never buy screwdrivers there again) but I still prefer my cheap screw gun over the more expensive ryobi set I bought last year, at home depot.
They’re always both packed, so I guess they’re doing alright. Proximity to Chick-fil-et makes the Lowes parking lot a nightmare for big trucks, though.
Lowes has better lumber, HD has better tile and mortar. I’d generally rather shop at Lowes, but we end up at both a couple of times a week.
There are no local lumber yards, Lowe’s and Home Depot killed them off 20 years ago. I go to Lowe’s for onesies and Home Depot for small jobs, based on ease of getting there, the Lowe’s is right off the expressway. But if I am going to spend more than$100 or so, I got to Menards. The lumber is better, as it’s not picked over like the others. And I have never found anything they don’t have, the quality is good, the prices are better than anywhere else. I have bought a lot of stuff at harbor freight, the quality has gotten better over the years. The local tractor supply sells fasteners by the pound. For oddball stuff, we have a great local hardware store, but the prices are very high.
Friends have recently had kitchens remodeled and fencing installed by Lowe’s.
Impressed, I’ve hired Lowe’s and their contractors to put in a fence, Trex decking, a stone patio, and a shed this Spring/Summer. Wish me luck!