Painting can be a messy and time consuming chore, but it’s easier with the right tools — like a dedicated paint pail. With a magnetic brush holder and a scraper rim, they kick the crap out of a plain ‘ole bucket.
If you still don’t own a grill — or maybe you’re thinking of replacing your old one — just head to your local big box this weekend and select your beef-charring favorite. Home Depot and Lowe’s are both running Labor Day sales for the next three days offering up to 30% savings on grills (and some small appliances).
As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, keep your eyes peeled for other clearance items, too. This is one of the top-five sale weekends of the year, so get thee to the store to check out a few deals. It’s worth your time — unless I beat you there first.
Home Depot [Official Website]
Lowe’s [Official Website]
As portable Halogen work lights go, the HSK142r from Husky is about as solid-looking as they come. Hey, any light with a mad-max style front grill is on my techno-punk cool list. But the coolest part is that this 12V DC rechargeable work light operates both corded and cordless.
It’s getting to be that time of year again: Summer is ending and the change of seasonal items at the big box stores is going to happen any time now. Just today I stood under the ceiling fans at the local big box and saw little yellow tags that were marked with that glorious word, the one that will bring about the coming of the next seasonal spending orgy: “clearance.”
You never know when you’ll find a great deal, but it helps to know where to look. One forehead-smackingly great place to start is Home Depot’s “busted-ass packaging table,” more commonly known as the “clearance item table.”
Home Depot devoted a whole website page to gifts for “tool dads,” by which they probably mean your dad, since you’re a Toolmonger. Here’s what they recommend — and our take on their choices.
The guys at RIDGID told us today that the Fuego compact framing saw — the one that we got a big kick out of a while back and gave away last Christmas — is going to be on sale at Home Depot for $99 this month — down from the normal (and still pretty good deal) $139.
The ‘Depot website still shows it at $139, but we’ve seen this happen before. Their site is generally a little behind the times, so you’ll probably have to check out the local story in person (or better yet, call ahead) to find the deal. At any rate, it’s worth it if you’re in need of a new — and very portable — saw.
If you use the coupon code “3M8″ over at the Home Depot website today, you’ll receive a $5 discount on most orders/items over $100. We’re not sure when it expires.
On Sunday, April 22nd, Home Depot is celebrating Earth Day by giving away free compact fluorescent lightbulbs to one million customers that visit any Home Depot store. According to the ‘Depot, switching out a million bulbs for CFLs would generate $12 million in energy savings and a 196,000,000 pound reduction in CO2 emissions next year.
Free is the best deal of all, and we offer a hearty thumbs-up to Home Depot for this thoughtful Earth Day promotion.
Earth Day CFL Giveaway [Home Depot]
April 22nd 2007 [Earth Day]
We’ve received a ton of email from folks asking, “Do you know of a decent starter air compressor that’ll run air tools?” Our answer: yes, we do. Here it is.
We spent eight weeks with Husky’s 26-Gallon compressor and the bevy of air tools that come with it — enough time to discover that it offers some serious value for its price and a great way to add air tool functionality to your home or small shop. Read past the jump for our hands-on experiences and lots of pictures.
Sizod writes: “Check out this mail-in rebate which offers up to $500 off on select power tools. It expires April 11th. Deals are as follows: $35 off orders of $199 or more, $75 off orders of $400 or more, $125 off orders of $600 or more, and $500 off orders of $2,000 or more.”
Stuey writes: “You’ve probably seen it before - that nearly indestructable yellow case that comes with Dewalt screwdriver bit sets. Well, at Home Depot, Lowes, and a few obscure online vendors, you can pick up empty Tough Cases for storage purposes. They come with six dividers and are perfect for drill bits, jigsaw bits, and screwdriver bits – you get the picture. I believe Home Depot sells them for cheapest at $5 a pop. In addition to random bits, I’ve also got a center punch, socket adapter (1/4″ to 3/8″ drive), and some other odd shaped items in mine. I’ve found that it’s much more durable and practical than a traditional divided organizer albeit at a higher cost. Plus it’s sized right, focusing on tool accessory storage as opposed to mass fastener-type storage.”
Rick writes: “It’s amazing how critical it is to have the right tool for the job. I recently upgraded my cell phone which had seen better days, but I kept it around as a spare since my wife has the same phone. Well, her screen flaked out and I decided to salvage some parts from mine since my screen was fine. When I tried to take it apart to get at the parts – despite having a 100 piece security bit set for electronics – I just didn’t have the Torx T-6 driver I needed. So, I took a look to see what Home Depot had. I came across this little number.”
“It has room in the handle underneath the swivel cap for three bits, while the other stays in the tool. It worked great, and just goes to show that when you’re talking about stuff like that, you need the right tool. It’s not like taking a switchplate off a light switch where you can use a butter knife in a pinch – or a phillips screw where you probably have phillips bits showing up everywhere you look. There’s just no way to try and fit a T-8 driver into a T-6 screw. In any case, now I’m confident that the next time I need to take apart a phone, I’ve got the right tools for the job.”
“At $5.97 it’s well worth it to have the right tool. I think just to have a nice matching set I may have to go back and get their standard slotted/phillips precision driver that looks just like this.”
Thanks to reader Jake who pointed us to an article in the Casper Star Tribune today announcing the resignation of Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, who was quoted below regarding the Depot’s Chinese acquisitions earlier this month. From the article:
Embattled Home Depot Chief Executive Robert Nardelli, under fire from stockholders for earning hundreds of millions at the same time the company’s stock fell and market share dropped, resigned suddenly Wednesday and will walk away with a severance package of $210 million, the company announced.
Home Depot Inc. said in a statement that Nardelli, 58, will end his six-year tenure as the company’s president, chairman and chief executive effective immediately “by mutual agreement.” Vice Chairman Frank Blake, 58, will replace Nardelli as head of the world’s largest home-improvement chain, which is based in Atlanta.
The article goes on to suggest that Nardelli’s departure likely comes from his having become “a lighning rod for critics of hefty corporate executive pay” citing “a disastrous Home Depot annual meeting last May” where “Nardelli, the only director present, refused to answer questions or respond to criticism from shareholders about the hundreds of millions in pay, benefits, and stock options he had pulled down since he took over leadership of the chain in 2000.”
As if to confirm their suspicions, the article reports that “Home Depot shares rose on news of Nardelli’s departure.”
For those not in the know, Nardelli apparently replaced Jack Welch, who was responsible for the shakeup six years ago that, according to the article, “reined in store managers, who ran each location as they saw fit, consilidated divisions, and decentralized locations.” While that might make business sense, there seemed (at least in my opinion) to be unintended consequences: the loss of most knowledgable personnel at the store level. (As Rick correctly points out in comments, Nardelli’s move to the ‘Depot came after he failed to replace Welch at GE. Thanks, Rick!)
There’s a lot more interesting information in the article, which is a must read if you’re a ‘Depot follower.
Embattled Home Depot CEO Resigns [CasperStarTribune.net]
Now, some Chinese workers’ll be able to buy the tools they made the same way you do: from The Home Depot. From PR Newswire:
“This acquisition provides us with a great point of entry in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing home improvement markets,” said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president, and CEO, The Home Depot. “The Home Way is a strong brand that is already established as a value and price leader among Chinese consumers. We welcome The Home Way’s leadership and associates into The Home Depot family, and we look forward to the opportunity to serve Chinese consumers. In addition, we are grateful for the support of htis venture by local and national Chinese government officials.”
Apparently the ‘Depot expanded into Canada in 1994 and Mexico in 2001 via similar acquisitions. Just out of interest, can any of our neighbors from the ‘North tell about the Canadian ‘Depot experience?
Chinese manufacturers, meet Home Depot management style. Talk amongst yourselves.
The Home Depot Announces Acquisition of The Home Way [PR Newswire]
In the Metro Commentary section of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s online branch, columist Carl Golden writes:
I am terrified of Home Depot. And Lowe’s. And places like them.
Oh, sure, I watch all the TV commercials that show helpful store personnel in orange aprons skillfully demonstrating the latest in power tools to smiling customers.
Everybody looks delighted.
Me? I break out in a cold sweat every time I walk into one of these places and take in miles of aisles offering merchandise to build, remodel, renovate or demolish just about anything ever constructed.
I have this recurring nightmare in which I’m stranded in the middle of the store, unable to find an exit.
I know what you’re thinking: I’m about to make fun of Carl for his lack of DIY know-how. I’m not. After reading the rest of his column, this bit stuck in my mind:
While I stand on the cold concrete floor looking like an American tourist in downtown Moscow, I’m surrounded by a bunch of guys in tan work boots, ripped blue jeans, and dirty T-shirts with cartoon logos on them. They all seem to have tattoos on their biceps, sawdust in their hair, and paint smears on their forearms.
But they all seem to know precisely what they’re doing and why. They all seem to know exactly which gadget to pluck out of a bin filled with thousands of similar devices, or exactly how many boards they will need for whatever job they are doing, or just how many gallons of paint they will need so there is none left over.
I’m not laughing at Carl. I feel sorry for him. His problem isn’t his lack of knowledge; it’s his quick — and thoroughly wrong — stereotype of those of us who use tools and do for ourselves. I have no tattoos, own very few pairs of jeans with holes in them (they suck for welding — don’t ask), and don’t wear T-shirts by themselves while working because they make me look like Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances. Sure, I know guys (and women!) who fit his description wholly or in parts, but the point is this: DIYer are marked by only one trait — the fact that they do it themselves.
If Carl could just look part the stereotype and realize that he doesn’t need tan-colored work boots to solve DIY problems, he’d soon realize that all he needs is a strong desire to do so and the will to figure it out.
I’d be willing to bet a quarter — even after losing dozens to Sean lately — that the guy he saw plucking a gadget from the bin probably threw it back and looked at 10 more before he found the right one. And, the guy who knew exactly how many boards he needed likely spent a good hour drawing the job out on paper to figure it out (by whatever method works for him) — and likely had some left over as he accounted for the screwups that are part of learning the job.
We rarely just know how to do the job — we figure it out as we go, reading books or asking friends, collegues, or even the people at the store for help.
Speaking of the people at the store… five or six years ago Home Depot employed a lot of knowledgeable staff that could really help, even with difficult electrical and plumbing tasks. While there are exceptions, I certainly feel that the level of service has dropped significantly at Home Depot since. We hear that this has something to do with a corporate restructuring a few years ago, but I know nothing of the details.
One thing I do agree with Carl about: “The power-tool section is particularly bewildering. The selection is so vast that I can’t understand how anyone could possibly choose the proper one.” Well, Carl, we’re here to help. If you get a chance, check out our guide to selecting your next cordless drill. And, in late January check out our Ultimate Drill Test where we’re putting together a massive test of dozens of the market’s most common drills.
A Fear of Mr. Fix-It [Philly.com]
A few years back my pipes froze on Christmas Eve. It was a magical time of constant swearing and throngs of family members giving me advice — that would have been useful 48 hours earlier. To help you avoid duplicating this experience, I give you this piece of advice: put faucet covers on your outside faucets.
Such covers are made mainly from an insulating styrofoam cup that slips over your valve knob and secures via a draw-tight plastic cable. Like the M.I.B. they are often times your first, last and only line of defense against freezing wind and frosty fallings from old man winter.
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