Stores Like Home Depot

7 Stores Like Home Depot

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By

Home Depot is the largest hardware store in America and Canada. It has variety of tools, construction materials and parts literally for any type of work.

Although it is by far exceeding competitors, many workers or home owners are looking for alternatives in their specific areas.

7 Stores Like Home Depot in America

  • Lowes
  • Target
  • True Value
  • Menard
  • Tractor Supply
  • Harbor Freight
  • Do it Best

We are not trying to advertise or discredit Home Depot. The purpose of this article is simply to find similar stores where you can potentially shop in your area for construction items and hardware.

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In-depth Similarities of Stores Like Home Depot

Trying to find same type of stores in area, you would need to understand why those we list fall under same category.

Remodel On Point breaks down sizes, similarities in products sold and variety of stores in regions.

Lowes

This franchise store is number two on size in America with over 2150 operational locations.

Overall revenue is hitting 78 billon dollars mark during the year of 2020.

Lowes has stores all over north America and does not leave any state out of their reach. Similar to Home Depot, Lowes sells raw construction materials and even does take offs for large projects.

With large arsenal of tools and equipment, Lowes stores also focus on end products and finishing material. There you can find more fixture lights, plumbing faucets, decorations for interior of the home as well as outdoor furniture.

Target

Number three on our list is Target with just under 2000 stores throughout United States.

This company was able to achieve more sales than Lowes with fewer stores and in 2020 their revenue was 93 billion dollars.

By size and amount of sales, Target is very close to home depot, but their audience is different. Target does not sell raw construction materials or works with associated suppliers.

Although they do have sections of hardware, by list of categories and items sold it could be compared to Wall Mart.

True Value

Way smaller stores in size but large spread through country are “True Value” hardware. They have 4226 Stores and sit well on our third place.

In 2020 True Value stores were able to sell their products for whooping 10 billion dollars.

The intent of having similar products on shelves as home depot is definitely here. If we compare True value with other stores in our list, it has the most amounts of similarities by category of products.

Actual size of stores is not in the range of home depot though. True value is way smaller and with similar amount of stores they are selling 10% of what home depot is doing.

Menard

Truly surprising brand Menard is our fourth pick. With only 335 stores they dominate megastores in US.  

Just like our previous contender, Menard sold for 10 billion and keeps number four on stores like home depot list.

This monster store is definitely similar to home depot and even larger in sizes. It is a mall of hardware under one roof.

Just like Home Depot they sell materials, lots of tools and hardware, appliances and finishing products for renovation.

At Menards you can find even more options for kitchen, bathroom and overall home construction projects than at our comparison store. They are located mostly on suburbs or even outside of larger cities due to large size of buildings.

Tractor Supply

This hardware company showed amazing growth and till this day opened 1900 stores all over the country.

We could technically share 5th position with fourth and third place because of similar sales of 10 billion dollars.

You would think that tractor supply is some sort of rental company for heavy machinery and equipment, but its actually a hardware store just like most of brands on our list.

Their intent is to provide variety of tools, equipment and fixtures for indoor and outdoor work. They lack sections for construction material like home depot, but do sell parts for mechanical and technical trades.

Harbor Freight

Catching up with big boys club is Harbor Freight and now operates over 1200 stores in US.

Up till these days this chain reached 5 billion sales in 2020. It is definitely huge amount even for big hardware companies.

It is hard to focus on everything that home depot does, and Harbor Freight mostly targets tools and parts with hardware almost for everything.

Some larger stores do sell construction raw materials like drywall, insulation and lumber, while smaller locations do not get into that.

Their stores can be located on the outskirts of cities, in area of retail malls and as solo stores throughout larger towns.

Do it Best

Our last on stores like home depot is “Do it Best” with 600 locations in US and 4200 worldwide.

Their sales in 2020 reached amazing amount of 4 billion dollars. We can see them rising and climbing up the chain every year.

Unlike other franchise and chain stores, Do it Best gives more freedom to owners. They can change the name of store putting their first or last name into the concept.

Also materials sold inside each store depend on owner’s preference and area demand. Saying all that, we think that Do it Best chain is very similar to home depot’s idea.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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