Home Depot Taking More Work!

go dart

here we go again as costenino ( manufacture of silestone) now offers bath remodels guarnteed to complete in 28 days. offering silestone, kohler etc. applications include shower walls, tub's and surrounds, cabinetry, flooring, lighting and mirrors. program begins june 1st at select home depot stores in houston and sacamento. looks like a wolf in sheep clothing to me!

joasis

At what price? A buddy who works at Lowes told me they are exploring a concept that you can actually go to the project desk, pick a home plan, and get a quote, straight from Lowes...including financing....now, here we go. Anyone who knows the car business knows cars sell for little or no profit...dealers make the money in finance and extras, plus selling your trade, etc, etc. Lowes...getting into the finance market from I would guess Arvest? bank, could build for cost, and clip the top end money from the mortgage....this program isn't aimed at custom homes, but rather lower/middle income starter homes...specs like I build. Of course, I can sign on a contractor....and cut my throat...sure...yep...that is what I'll do.

__________________

copusbuilder

That is a scarey thought!
Can be tough enough in business as it is

__________________
www.copusconstruction.com
www.etexasrentals.com
www.thelakevoice.com
AkA Richard Cranium

Mike Finley

I can't wait for them to roll this out nation wide. #1) They can have every customer that thinks Home Depot is the prefered company to do thier bathroom remodel. #2) Can't wait for the fall out. Unless they are going to Mars this time for thier contractors I can't see them not having all the same issues they have with every other home service they offer, the bottom of the barrel contractors who can't function in the market place and end up at Home Depot as the last resort.

PressurePros

This is a tough situation. If you are a company offering run-of-the-mill services (basic remodels with mid-grade materials) with no specialization or reputation this could hurt you a bit. Just like in the everyday world of a million and one contractors I have seen shoddy work and I have seen higher grade work performed by HD/Lowe's subs.

From a consumer standpoint, you have a billion dollar company backing up your project. You can pick your materials from a huge showroom, see the outcome in CAD programs, finance the project and get quick scheduling with guaranteed finish time lines. Thats hard to resist.

I obviously cannot speak for different markets but I know a buddy of mine that is making very nice money with HD. Yes, his profit percentage is a bit lower but in the scope of what he is doing it is made up with volume. I am not a fan of high volume/low margin work but from his standpoint, he doesn't have to sell or market his services. The project and materials are pre-paid and he knows he will collect a check on time.

I'm sure every hardware store owner had this same conversation when a big box store came to their town. Many survived with specialized service and higher grade products. Many closed their doors. It comes down to this.. You can choose to jump on board with them, ride out the storm to see what shakes out or modify your business model to offer things they do not. A savvy business owner has to constantly evaluate what he is doing to stay competetive and profitable.

__________________
Ken Fenner
Pressure Washing PA
Roof Cleaning Services PA

Stone Mountain

I have a moral problem with Home depot doing installations.
They are selling to us contractors (some of us buy everything from them), and then competing against us. I think that is wrong!
Still, I haven't lost a sale to them yet.

__________________
Residential Deck Specialist: Vist our Website
www.fenceanddeck.ca

john elliott

The problem with this is that they only find out how bad the service is after they've handed over their money, and they end up trying to convince themselves (and often succeeding) that they did the best they could and wouldn't have done better going elsewhere

What good contractors need is a way of getting to these people before they give their money to Home Depot or sign up for the financing

John

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

POOLMANinCT

lowes wow, they cant even keep plumbing bins sorted

fiore22

I suppose if you're going to HD to do the installation you should expect only a certain level of quality. I think that is going to be a nightmare for HD to employ anyhow. We'll see I guess. I know that regardless of the marketing plans these companies employ, knowledgeable consumers who want a superior product will always go with a professional independent contractor...it's like comparing Ikea with Poliform.

King of Crown

I doubt they will follow through, or that it will succeed if it is started. We all know what it is like working with home owners, they will go crazy, and realize that its not worth the trouble. And if it is a company as big as Lowes, imagine how the homeowner would want to take advantage, and make a fit.

CPS has it exactly right. Everyone has to have focus. and lowes has enough to focus on. I can see them leasing space to a big builder and giving the builder their fair share, but it would be the end of Lowes if they were building houses for cost.

__________________
Real nice guys

karma_carpentry

So let's stop buying everything from them. I've bought most of my stuff from HD for projects a few years ago and slowly I've come to despise the place, and I feel like the walking dead when I have to go there. I'm still learning where to get everything I need without going there - because I was so well trained to go to the "one-stop shop". But slowly as I learned what comprised quality in any particular product, I noticed that HD products in general are lower quality. Why wade through crap to find the few good products there, when local yards have people who know what they're talking about, have the time to talk for a minute to answer your questions, and own their own business.

And when you buy local, the money goes back into the local economy. I don't think there's anything I can't find elsewhere - if it's a few percent more in cost, that's the price I'll pay for the principle, and for the savings ultimately for buying quality (no trips back to exchange/return, not spending more time installing sub-par products...)

I go to HD and my favorite cashier there just hates the place, she hates coming to work every day. The couple of good guys I used to know there are gone.

But this kitchens and bath thing - it's the logical outcome of our economic system. I'm all for freedom, and I appreciate the free market and its ability to allocate resources efficiently, and to motivate people to work hard and productively. But this isn't the kind of world I want to live in, where mega-corporations run everything. They are a legal entity ("corporation") that serves their shareholders and nothing else - an entity whose sole end is profit. They have vertical integration, and economy of scale on their side. They leverage their buying power to control manufacturers to sell cheaper or lose out - meaning they have to move production to China. Hence our economy is hollowed out into a service and management economy where blue-collar jobs don't pay.

I always thought I was safe from these things as a carpenter, but now I'm not so sure. I aim for quality, so I hope to ride the wave above HD contracting, but I think it will still be a falling tide that lowers all boats.

Mike Finley

We jokingly refer to a certain type of bathroom remodel that we do as the HD remodel. It means all the stuff can be bought off the shelf at HD, the cabinet, the medicine cab, the light, the sink the counter top, etc...

The "HD remodel" usually takes about 4-5 days max to complete with a lot of that time being curing times. HD is going to do a 28 day guarantee? LOL In 28 days I can't even imagine what we could produce!

They are already setting the bar so low, its a pretty good barometer of what they are going to be doing.

K2

I hear the same guys who were singing praises to the HD/Wal Mart gang start hitting some sour notes when they want to dance on your toes. At least i've always hated them. I like my new De Walt combo pack however.

PressurePros

Maybe it is my market but Home Depot has been offering some trades for a bit now..deck builders, kitchen remodelers etc.

Be careful about assuming they won't have quality subs performing work for them. There are a ton of incredible craftsmen out there who can't run a business or market or sell worth a nickel. Lowes/HD is a perfect fit for these guys. Karma made a great post. These places have everything in place to dominate the remodel market.. low priced materials, dedicated sales people, and local contractors who like I mentioned, do good work just can't succeed on their own. They can bid services and then mark it all up very high becuase after all, they are Home Depot..the name consumers trust.

What are you going to build today?

__________________
Ken Fenner
Pressure Washing PA
Roof Cleaning Services PA

Teetorbilt

I have yet to see one of their jobs go right. Their estimators seem to figure out everything without any waste. Material sent to the job is short or just wrong. Subs often walk off of the job in utter frustration, curse like sailors in front of the HO's. I've seen nothing positive.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

RobertCDF

Personally I have not yet seen a job done by HD... I am starting a job this week for people that got my number from the pro desk at HD.

My buddy at the pro desk does not know who the deck installer is for HD otherwise I would swing by a job and see thier work if I knew who it was. They must be dealing with a differant store than the one I use.

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

Mike Finley

Only problem with the model is they can't attract high quality contractors because pay rates are too low.

That's the way it is here, but I always get the feeling by the way guys talk here that they think HD charges a lot for thier installation services. I've always been the direct opposite, our prices are always at least double the same thing would be from HD, sometimes tripple.

I think the only thing missing from a winning formula is if they stopped trying to be a bargain and tried to be THE place to go and raised their installation prices. Move into the quality arena.

PROBLEM IS THEY ALREADY TRIED THAT!

IT WAS CALLED EXPO DESIGN CENTER - anybody still got one of those open around you?

POOLMANinCT

i wouldnt sweat it. HOs looking for tradesman will go to the Depot.
HOs looking for craftsman will call you guys.

copusbuilder

A lot of people feel a "comfort" factor dealing with a large business.

It may have a trickle down effect on many of us in the long run.

While I do not feel it will affect me directly it could force companies to start exploring different markets? This could be your, or my market?

There are certain people that are going with Home Depot no matter what. You can bring rings of garlic and dance around nude, it will not change.

__________________
www.copusconstruction.com
www.etexasrentals.com
www.thelakevoice.com
AkA Richard Cranium

Mike Finley

Exactly why only the small guy needs to fear. Build your business so the publics comfort factor with you is on par with HD, but differentiate by establishing yourself as providing a unique service they can't get by choosing HD which is generic. That's the key to any successful business.