Home Depot - a review
In the past, we have reviewed books and movies on the blog, so why not hardware stores? I'm a hardware store addict, I love aisles and aisles of tools, wood, paint, and other building supplies. So for all the fellow addicts, here's my review of the new Home Depot on St. Antoine. I made my way to the store yesterday afternoon. The layout of the parking lot is a bit confusing. There are at least two lots for cars, one is at the "front" of the store and then there's a two-level lot at the side. You can't see the two-level lot from the front of the store, which was almost completely empty. I parked my car in the empty lot and discovered the other lot as I walked around to the main entrance. The store was pretty empty as well, although I'm sure that it's probably busier on weekends and after 5.
It's set up like any other large hardware store, although there was something slightly more cavernous about the design. I think that it's because there's quite a bit of open space at the front of the store before the aisles start. This will be handy on busy days because the cash lines won't impede people wandering around with their carts. The lighting and the paint departments are the first thing that you see directly ahead from the entrance, I guess they're the most popular with do-it-yourselfers. The lighting department has the usual products plus a whole bunch of very nice ceiling fans from Hampton Bay. The painting department carries CIL, BEHR, and Ralph Lauren and they have all the faux painting gadgets. I found the store layout kind of hard to figure out. They have a lot of stuff showcased (shelves, kitchen and bathroom cabinets), but it's hard to see the products individually because they're shelved. I also had trouble seeing prices for items because other items were hiding them. They have some different tile and flooring products than Reno Depot, so it's worth a look if you want some variety. Their wood section is laid out nicely, I prefer it to Reno. It seems easier to find project wood. The tool cage at Home Depot also contains things like hinges, which I found rather odd. Normally, the tool cages of the big stores are for power tools, drill bits, nice hammers and saws and blades. Perhaps hinges are a top theft item? The prices all seem to be in the same ballpark as Reno. I think that Reno stocks more items though. I did have a couple of sales people approach me. They were very pleasant and although the store was new, they seemed to have some idea of where to find things. All told, I will probably go back from time to time to see what new products they have, but Reno is only 5 minutes from my house and I see no reason to defect.