28 Home Depot Secrets Most Woodworkers Don’t Know

A lot of us struggle to find that ideal lumber yard or hardwood supplier for our woodworking projects. I know I do. Where I live, the local hardware store has a little bit of lumber, but not much. For me, Home Depot is about 20 miles away, and for a lot of woodworkers, it’s the closest and most convenient option.

Home Depot is a big chain, and like any big chain, there are things they do that can help customers save money. They’re not necessarily hiding these things, but they’re not always widely advertised either.

Over the years, I’ve picked up a few ways to save a little money there, and sometimes more than a little. Some of these come from my own experience, and others are things I’ve learned from digging around. If you shop at Home Depot for woodworking or home improvement supplies, these are worth knowing.

Low Price Guarantee

Let’s start with the obvious one: Home Depot’s low price guarantee.

Home Depot has had a price-matching policy for years. The basic idea is that if you find the same item advertised for less somewhere else, they may match that price. What a lot of people don’t realize is that this can include online pricing too.

So if you find the same item cheaper online, even on a site like Amazon, it may be worth bringing that price to the service desk and asking about it. If shipping would normally be part of the cost, that can also factor into the comparison.

The main thing is to make sure it’s the same item. Print the listing or have it ready on your phone, take it to the service desk, and ask. It may save you a few dollars without much effort.

Best Selection

This one isn’t exactly a discount, but selection affects price too.

If you go into Home Depot and the shelves are half empty, the better-priced item or the exact one you wanted may already be gone. The best time to shop is usually the weekend, even though that’s also when the store is busiest.

The reason is that stores tend to stock toward the end of the week, around Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That means Saturday and Sunday can give you better selection.

The trick is to go early. Get there while everyone else is still having their first cup of coffee. I’ll take mine on the drive if it means getting there before the crowd. Better selection means a better chance of finding the right item at the right price.

Subscription Service

Home Depot also has a subscription service for certain items.

This won’t apply to everything, of course, but it can be useful for things you buy regularly: air filters, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, and other maintenance items.

For example, we’re supposed to replace air conditioning filters regularly. I’ll admit I’m not always great about that. But if you know you need one every month, having it sent automatically can save a trip.

Home Depot typically offers a discount on eligible subscription items, and they ship them to you. So for items you know you’ll use again and again, it’s worth checking whether they’re available through the subscription service.

Cashback Sites

Another way to save at Home Depot is indirectly through cashback sites.

There are several of these online, and everyone has their favorites, so I won’t try to name them all. The basic idea is simple: you start your purchase through the cashback site, buy from the retailer, and get a small percentage back.

I use a couple of these myself, and over the course of a year, I get a few hundred dollars back. A good portion of that comes from Home Depot because I buy there so often.

This usually applies to online purchases, not items you grab off the shelf in-store. But that still works well if you order online and pick up in the store. I don’t do that for lumber because I want to choose my own boards, but I do it for hardware, gardening supplies, and other items where I don’t need to inspect every piece myself.

Every once in a while, these cashback sites also run special offers where the reward is much higher than the usual few percent. If you’re buying materials for a larger home project, those savings can add up.

Daily Online Discount

Home Depot also has daily online discounts, often listed as their special buy of the day.

These deals change regularly, and sometimes the discounts are pretty significant. I’ve seen items marked down 25% to 50%, especially things for home improvement, remodeling, and lighting.

Before heading to the store, it’s worth checking the daily online deal. You may find something you were already planning to buy at a much better price.

Appliance Discounts

Home Depot may not be the first place you think of for appliances, but they’re one of the bigger appliance retailers out there, and you can sometimes save quite a bit.

One way is to buy the floor model. If you’re looking at a refrigerator, stove, washer, or dryer, they may try to order a new one for delivery. But if the floor model is available, it may come with a discount.

That discount can get better if there are small dents, dings, or scratches, especially in places that won’t show once the appliance is installed. And let’s be honest, if you’ve got kids in the house, it’s probably going to get a few dings anyway.

Not every appliance will be discounted, but it’s worth asking. My last refrigerator came from Home Depot, and I saved a considerable amount by buying it there.

Buy At Season’s End

Season-end sales are nothing new, but they’re still one of the better ways to save.

Stores don’t want to keep seasonal inventory sitting around, so when the season ends, prices often drop. If you want a barbecue grill, for example, don’t buy it at the start of summer. Wait until the grilling season is winding down, around October, and you may get a much better deal.

The same idea applies to Christmas decorations after Christmas and other seasonal items throughout the year.

Home Depot also has certain annual sales worth watching. Paint is a good example. Around Memorial Day, they often run sales because that’s when a lot of people start painting projects for the summer. And with how expensive paint has gotten, buying during a sale can save you a bundle.

Lighting

One of the areas where you’ll often find the most sales at Home Depot is lighting.

Lighting is a big category for them, and the styles are always changing. Some fixtures stay around for years, but others get replaced as new styles come in or as certain products stop selling as well. That creates a lot of chances to find clearance prices and store specials.

If I needed lighting for my home, I wouldn’t go to a lighting store unless I was shopping for some $10,000 chandelier. I’d go to Home Depot first because the pricing is usually much better, and they often have promotions that aren’t heavily advertised.

If you know you have a lighting project coming up, it’s worth deciding on the style you want ahead of time. Keep a few options on your phone, and whenever you’re in the store, swing through the lighting aisle. You may find exactly what you need marked down.

Rebates

Rebates are another place to look for savings.

Some rebates come from the manufacturer, and some come through Home Depot. The nice thing is that Home Depot has a rebate center on its website, which puts a lot of those offers in one place.

That saves you from hunting around for forms or trying to figure out where to send paperwork. In many cases, you can process the rebate right through the website. Sometimes the manufacturer may still require extra steps, but it’s a lot easier than the old way of mailing everything in.

The rebate center is also useful before you buy. If you need a stove, water heater, lighting, or some other bigger item, check the rebates first. Something may not be on sale in the store, but if there’s a $75 or $100 rebate attached to it, that can be just as useful.

Damaged Goods

Every store ends up with damaged goods, and Home Depot is no different.

That might mean damaged packaging, a returned item, a floor model, or a product with a small ding or scratch. In many cases, store employees have some ability to discount those items because the store wants to move them out.

The key is that you usually have to ask.

If you’re buying something and the box is torn, opened, dented, or clearly not in perfect condition, ask an employee if they can discount it. They may say no, but there’s a good chance they’ll knock something off.

That can matter more than you think. I recently bought about $400 worth of electrical wire for my workshop, and one package alone was over $100. If the packaging had been damaged, I definitely would have asked for a discount.

Overstock Section

Most Home Depot stores also have some kind of overstock section.

It may be tucked away in a corner or back part of the store, so you might have to ask where it is. But it’s worth finding because stores sometimes move overstocked, discontinued, or slow-selling items there.

You can sometimes find items marked down as much as 50%.

Once you know where that section is in your local store, make a habit of checking it whenever you go in. You may not find something every time, but when you do, it can be a pretty good deal.

Paint

Paint is another place where you can sometimes save, especially if the exact color isn’t critical.

Most Home Depot paint departments have what’s often called the “oops” pile. That’s paint that was mixed for a customer but didn’t come out the way they expected, or they simply decided they didn’t like the color.

Since the store can’t put that custom-mixed paint back on the shelf at full price, they mark it down.

If you’re painting shop furniture, workshop walls, storage cabinets, or something where the exact shade doesn’t matter, oops paint can be a great deal. Maybe you don’t care which shade of off-white goes on the shop wall. Maybe you just need a bright color for a kid’s room project. In those cases, always check the oops paint before paying full price.

Cast-Off Lumber

Every Home Depot has some kind of cast-off lumber area, usually somewhere toward the back of the lumber section.

This is where you’ll find boards that were passed over because they were warped, twisted, cupped, damaged, or just not pretty enough for most customers. You may also find leftover pieces from customer cuts, short trim offcuts, or damaged plywood sheets.

And yes, some of it looks rough. But that doesn’t mean it’s useless.

If you’re building fine furniture, you probably don’t want badly warped or damaged wood. But if you’re making shop furniture, storage racks, small parts, jigs, or anything where appearance is not critical, cast-off lumber can be useful.

You may be able to cut around the bad parts or break a twisted board down into smaller pieces where the warp doesn’t matter. I’ve used plenty of ugly lumber that way.

The best part is the discount. Cast-off lumber can sometimes be marked down as much as 70%, which makes it worth checking whenever you’re in the store.

Price Tags

One of the best Home Depot secrets is their price tag system.

When an item is marked down, you’ll often see a yellow price tag. The important thing to watch is the last number in the price.

If the price ends in 6, such as $14.96, that usually means the item has been marked down and has about six weeks left before the next reduction.

If the price later ends in 3, such as $14.03, that usually means it has about three weeks left.

After that, if the item is being discontinued and still hasn’t sold, it may eventually go down to a penny in the system. Yes, one penny.

That doesn’t mean every store will have the same penny items. Something may be discontinued in one location but not another. A snow shovel might never sell in South Texas, but it certainly will up north. So the penny deals depend on the store, region, and inventory.

I’ve bought hardware, aluminum extrusion, lighting, and door locks this way. I once needed one piece of aluminum extrusion, saw it rang up for a penny, and went back for the rest.

There are even online groups where people share penny finds, but the real point is this: learn what the price tags are telling you. If something is marked down and you know you’ll need it soon, that may be the time to buy.

Track Prices

If you buy something on sale at Home Depot, keep the receipt and watch the price for the next couple of weeks.

Home Depot has a two-week price guarantee, so if the price drops shortly after you buy it, you can ask for the difference back. Maybe it’s a tool, lumber, a bathtub, or something else for a project. If the price goes down, take your receipt to the store and ask for the adjustment.

It’s a simple habit, but it can save you money after the purchase instead of only before it.

Free Coupons

Home Depot also sends coupons to customers who sign up for their emails or text updates.

They have a few different lists, including their regular emails and garden-related updates. If you shop there often, it’s worth signing up because they send discount coupons a couple of times a year.

These may not be huge discounts, but a coupon like $5 off $50 or $10 off $100 is still money saved. If you were going to buy the item anyway, you might as well take the discount.

DIY Workshops

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Home Depot is that many of the people working the sales floor actually know their departments.

A lot of them have trade experience. Some were carpenters, electricians, plumbers, or hardware store owners before working there. That can be helpful when you’re trying to figure out a project and need practical advice.

Home Depot also offers workshops on different home improvement topics. These might cover electrical work, plumbing, painting, and other common projects. The nice thing is that you’re often learning from someone who has actually done the work, so you get more than just textbook information.

You may also pick up a few tricks that keep you from buying the wrong supplies or wasting money on things you don’t need.

Kid’s Workshops

Home Depot also offers kids workshops, usually on Saturday mornings.

These are free, but they can fill up, so it’s worth getting there early. Kids get to build small projects like birdhouses, race cars, and other simple wooden items.

If you want to get your kids interested in making things, this is a great way to start. They get a little hands-on woodworking experience, build something they can take home, and have some fun doing it.

Free Shipping

Home Depot carries plenty of items online that you may never see in your local store.

If something is available on their website but not stocked near you, you can often have it shipped to the store for free. Then you just pick it up at customer service.

That can save a good bit of money, especially on odd hardware, specialty tools, or items that would cost a lot to ship to your house. If you’re already going to the store anyway, store pickup is a simple way to avoid paying shipping.

Free Lumber Cutting

Free lumber cutting is fairly well known, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Home Depot usually has a panel saw in the back of the lumber department, and they can break down sheet goods for you. If you buy a sheet of plywood, they’ll cut it into smaller pieces, which is a big help if you don’t own a pickup truck.

I drive an SUV, so a full sheet of plywood won’t fit in the back. Most of the time, I don’t need a full 4x8 sheet anyway. I’ll usually have them cut it into more manageable sections, which makes it easier to transport and easier to store in the shop.

I’ve even taken advantage of this in a bigger way. Years ago, I remodeled the bedroom area in a motorhome right in the Home Depot parking lot. I bought plywood, had them cut the big pieces for me, took them out to the motorhome, did part of the build, then went back in for more.

That may not be the typical use of their cutting service, but it worked.

They do limit the number of cuts, so check with your local store before planning anything too ambitious. But for breaking down plywood, saving yourself some table saw wrestling, or simply getting material home, it’s a very useful service.

Demo Power Tools

Home Depot is also a good place to watch for discounted demo tools.

They carry a good selection of power tools, and from time to time, they sell off tools that were used for demonstrations. These may have been handled by customers or used to run a few screws, so they might have some scratches, but they’re still essentially good tools.

The discount can be significant, sometimes around 50%.

The catch is that they don’t last long. If you happen to see demo tools being sold off, and it’s something you actually need, that can be a great time to buy.

Plants

This one isn’t woodworking, but it’s one of the better Home Depot secrets.

If you buy perennials, trees, or shrubs from Home Depot and they die within a year, you may be able to take them back for a refund. Keep your receipt, because you’ll need proof that you bought the plant there.

That’s a pretty good deal, especially if your gardening skills are anything like mine. I like to say I have a brown thumb. If something is supposed to be green, I can turn it brown.

I’ve taken back trees, berry bushes, and other plants that didn’t make it. There are limits, of course. Annuals don’t count because they’re not meant to come back year after year. But for plants meant to last multiple seasons, that guarantee can be worth knowing about.

Home Depot also has some guarantees tied to vegetable plants when purchased with certain soil products, so if you’re buying for the garden, pay attention to those offers and keep the receipt.

Spring Sale

The garden department is also worth watching during Home Depot’s spring sales.

One of the best examples is mulch. During their spring Black Friday sale, mulch can drop to a very low price per bag. Mulch isn’t terribly expensive by itself, but when you need 20 or 30 bags, the savings add up fast.

I usually buy a lot of mulch each year, and catching that sale can save me a decent amount. It may take me two trips because I’m loading it into an SUV, but it’s still worth doing.

They’ll often have other garden and outdoor materials on sale too. I’ve bought brick pavers during those sales and used them for pathways in my backyard. If you’ve got outdoor projects coming up, those seasonal garden sales are worth watching.

Cull Bags

Another good place to save is on cull bags.

This applies to bagged materials like soil, fertilizer, stone, sand, gravel, mulch, and even some cement products. If the bag is already torn or damaged, Home Depot will often sell it at a discount, sometimes around 50% off.

Now, don’t go in there tearing bags just to get a cheaper price. But there’s nothing wrong with looking through the pile for bags that are already damaged. It happens all the time when people load and move heavy bags around.

If you’re building something like a raised bed garden, you’ll be surprised how many bags of soil you can go through. Taking a few minutes to look for cull bags can save some real money.

Tool Rental

Tool rental can also save you money, even if it doesn’t look like a discount at first.

There are plenty of tools you may only need once, or maybe once every few years. In that case, it doesn’t make much sense to spend hundreds of dollars buying something that will just sit in your shop taking up space.

Home Depot rents all kinds of larger tools, including insulation blowers, jackhammers, trenchers, power washers, paint sprayers, and other equipment. I’ve rented an insulation blower before, and in some cases, if you buy the insulation from them, the rental may even be included.

When I rent a tool, I try to plan the job so I can return it within four hours. They may set it up as a longer rental, but if you bring it back quickly enough, you can often get the lower rate.

Truck Rental

Speaking of rentals, Home Depot also rents trucks or vans at many stores.

If you buy something large or heavy and don’t have a truck, this can be a very handy option. Instead of figuring out delivery or renting from somewhere else, you can rent the store’s vehicle, take your purchase home, and bring it back.

That can be a lot cheaper and simpler than renting a truck from another company, especially since you’re already at Home Depot when you need it.

For anyone who drives an SUV or a smaller vehicle, this can make a big project much easier.

Military Discount

One of my personal favorites is the military discount.

I’m a veteran, so I can get a discount on many purchases at Home Depot. There are limits and some exclusions, but if you’re active duty, retired military, or a veteran, it’s worth signing up.

You do have to register online. Years ago, you could just show a military ID in the store, but now they want you in their system. I didn’t have a military ID or VA card, but I did have my DD214, and that was enough for me to register.

Once you’re set up, the discount can apply automatically when you shop. Ten percent may not sound huge on one small purchase, but over time, it adds up.

Pro Xtra Discount

The last one I want to mention is Home Depot’s Pro Xtra program.

This is designed for contractors, but they don’t necessarily require you to be one. If you have a major remodeling project coming up, it’s worth looking into.

A bathroom remodel, kitchen project, workshop upgrade, or home repair can easily hit $1,500 in materials. Once you’re spending that kind of money, you can take your list to the Pro Desk and ask for a quote.

Depending on the materials, they may be able to discount the order. Sometimes that discount can be significant. If you save even 10% on a large project, that’s real money. If the discount is higher, it can make a big difference.

The downside is that tools usually don’t qualify. But lumber, hardware, plumbing, electrical, and building materials may.

If you have a big project planned, don’t just load everything into the cart and pay regular price. Put together a list, take it to the Pro Desk, and see what they can do.

Final Thoughts

Home Depot may not be the perfect lumberyard, but for many of us, it’s the most convenient place to buy materials, tools, hardware, and supplies.

The trick is learning how the store works.

Check the cast-off lumber rack. Look for overstock and clearance items. Pay attention to price tags. Watch for rebates, damaged goods, seasonal markdowns, and online deals. Use rentals when buying the tool doesn’t make sense. And if you have a big project coming up, don’t ignore the Pro Desk.

Woodworking can get expensive fast. But if you know where to look, you can stretch your budget a little farther and still get the materials and tools you need to keep making sawdust.