The Hardware Store Wood-Cutting Tip That'll Save Time On Your Home Improvement Project

Home improvement stores can feel like a blissful utopia when working on construction projects around the house. Whether you're painting walls, replacing floors, or installing new appliances or light fixtures, these hardware emporiums serve as trusted sources of support for just about any homeowner in the midst of a restoration job, big or small. On top of selling everything you might need to transform your home renovation dreams into reality, many hardware stores offer an array of supplementary services to customers in order to help make their improvement projects easier, including cutting your purchased supply of lumber to your desired dimensions for you in-store at no extra charge before you take it home.

Buying wood for a project can pose a challenge for homeowners since many have few to no means of cutting it for easier transportation. In addition, some stores will cut more than just wood for their customers, expanding their services to include wire, piping, rope, chains, and other building materials. All in all, utilizing this service may save you a bit of time, effort, and stress in one of the earliest stages of your project and ultimately prepare you to see through to the end of the job.

While homeowners are likely to find convenient wood-cutting options almost anywhere they can purchase lumber, two popular chains of hardware stores offer this specific service within some of their franchise locations based around the country: Lowe's and Home Depot. Each store's policy regarding cutting wood in-store mostly adheres to the same general rules and restrictions, but these restrictions may vary across individual store locations.

The extent to which Lowe's or Home Depot employees cut your purchased lumber depends on the employee and the store. Most stores offer a limited number of free cuts before charging an extra fee for each additional cut. Also, neither hardware chain is likely to make angular cuts at the request of the customer. However, customers can rent wood-cutting equipment from either store to finish the task on their own time. 

At Home Depot, employees won't cut wood any shorter than 12 inches, out of safety for both the employees and shoppers near the machinery. Also, Home Depot customers can choose an employee to cut the lumber to their desired size or may be able to cut the wood themselves at the store's designated cutting station. If you shop at Lowe's, employees will cut the lumber for you and load it into your vehicle, and they will do the same with pipes, ropes, chains, and mini-blinds. Neither Lowe's nor Home Depot allow customers to bring in lumber from other retailers to cut inside their stores.