I’m in the planning stages of my first woodworking project of the new year. It’ll be a custom floor transition between two ceramic tile floors. There will actually be 3 separate ones, but I’m going to tackle the longest one first.

Here’s the situation: my kitchen, entryway, and hallway were originally tile, but the living room was carpeting. I’ve since tiled the living room in a completely different kind of tile. So, the need for transitions. I’m planning to start with a poplar 1″ X 6″ and cut rabbets to shoulder over the tile edge.

Why make my own rather than buy off the shelf? For one thing, DIY! For another, some of the original tile have chipped edges and the wide shoulder will cover that.

Why poplar? I thought about using oak, but poplar is just less expensive and has some great colors, ranging from yellow to a mellow green. I love the “pin” grain of red oak, but poplar has its charm.

Now let me explain why I go to Home Depot rather than Lowes. It’s only partially because I own stock there. Last week when I went shopping, I stopped at Lowes just because it was convenient.

So I ambled up and down the aisles, looking for the hardwood area (guys only ask for directions as a last resort). OK, after 3 passes I found myself firmly entrenched in last resort territory.

“Where’s the hardwood?” I asked an associate.

She stared at me. “Huh?” She looked like the deer in the headlights that my friend Jay hit with his pickup truck a few years ago. I nicknamed his truck Deerslayer after that. Jay was not amused. Whatever.

“Hardwood,” I said. “You know, oak?”

“Don’t know. Go ask the guy at contractor sales desk.”

I asked him and he said, “If we have any, it would be at the end of that aisle.”

There wasn’t any. So I went to Home Depot and found a nice selection of both red oak and poplar. So my question is just this: why is Lowes, capital of ineptness, still in business? Hmm? Methinks their training program may be a bit lacking. Not to mention, when you hang a huge sign outside that says “Indoor Lumber Yard”, you should have some lumber for sale. Not just  studs and fence pickets. Just sayin’.

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