Author Topic: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.  (Read 10893 times)

S0VERE1GN

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Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« on: May 27, 2014, 09:08:10 AM »
on a whole house exhaust fan (no more AC)

More insulation for the attic. and LEDs for the entire house!

all cash purchase of course. looking forward to the savings in energy bills!

Greg

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2014, 09:13:56 AM »
Be sure to check with your local utility to see if you can get any rebates on your purchases.  Where I live these are available from time to time.  Right now, the rebates on LED lights are included so the prices are lower than they would otherwise be.

S0VERE1GN

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2014, 09:17:51 AM »
for sure. We have Mass save here in Massachusetts....but sadly the "discounts" on LED bulbs on their site was the exact same as retail price at Home Depot, and whole house exhaust fans aren't considered a cost savings....

they're coming in to do an inspection on the house this week though.

fmzip

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2014, 09:30:09 AM »
on a whole house exhaust fan (no more AC)

More insulation for the attic. and LEDs for the entire house!

all cash purchase of course. looking forward to the savings in energy bills!

Here's an idea, get a Lowes 10% off coupon and use it at home depot. They honor competitor's coupons.

Cash is not the smartest move IMHO. I used to be cash for everything. If you can manage your money, taking advantage of credit rebates is better. I use my lowes credit card 99% of the time, instant 5% off every purchase, then pay it in full.  If I have a big purchase, I get the 10% coupons, then go to Home Depot, pay with my Chase card and get another 1-2% off :)

You can get a Lowes 10% off coupon here:

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Coupon+Registration_253641591_

One coupon per email address I think...

I used to buy them on Ebay too, not sure if they are listed there anymore
« Last Edit: May 27, 2014, 09:32:51 AM by fmzip »

Miamoo

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2014, 10:17:51 AM »
Son of a gun! I didn't know that about the Lowe's discount and price matching at Home Depot - Thanks fmzip, good luck SOVERE1GN.

Jamesqf

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2014, 10:46:29 AM »
all cash purchase of course...

Err...  Why?  When they offer a year or so at 0% interest on their Home Depot accounts, and the right credit card would give as long* and a 1-2% cash back.

*The one I just applied for (Barclay) has 24 months at 0%, plus cash back.  And they say there's no such thing as a free lunch :-)

CommonCents

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2014, 10:55:06 AM »
I never was able to get a Lowe's moving coupon (even though I was legitly moving and even called to ask why I didn't get it, and checked the spam filters etc.)  Hope you have better luck.

We asked friends that were moving to give us their coupons.

You can copy the Lowe's one and use it multiple times at Home Depot, fyi.  However, at my store they would not price match AND give the sale price for an item.  So we bought from Lowes that let us use the coupon on top of the sale for our washer & dryer.  And I bought store cards online at a discount for the rest of it.

CheapskateWife

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2014, 11:20:24 AM »
After reading this thread, I sauntered on over to the HD website to see what was available, and there was a review that really piqued my interest.  The reviewer apparently installed the fan in his/her attached garage to reduce the noise heard while the fan was running.  The airflow was accomplished with a screen door between the house and the garage space.  Sounded brilliant! 

There are lots of other great suggestions in the reviews of those fans for ways to reduce the noise....

Anyway, thanks for sharing the badassity!  Its got me thinking about adding a fan to our energy saving plan!

Greg

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2014, 12:34:16 PM »
The reviewer apparently installed the fan in his/her attached garage to reduce the noise heard while the fan was running.  The airflow was accomplished with a screen door between the house and the garage space.  Sounded brilliant!

Except that it probably defeats the integral firewall built between the house and garage that the person door is part of and puts them at higher risk of fire spreading from garage to house and related risk of casualty.

greenmimama

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2014, 02:35:18 PM »
After reading this thread, I sauntered on over to the HD website to see what was available, and there was a review that really piqued my interest.  The reviewer apparently installed the fan in his/her attached garage to reduce the noise heard while the fan was running.  The airflow was accomplished with a screen door between the house and the garage space.  Sounded brilliant! 

There are lots of other great suggestions in the reviews of those fans for ways to reduce the noise....

Anyway, thanks for sharing the badassity!  Its got me thinking about adding a fan to our energy saving plan!

If your home has a basement, this wouldn't work very well, you want the fan right over the basement, it draws the cool air up so nicely.

I guess lots of areas don't have basements though ;) Obviously I have lived in states that do, we loved our whole house fan for spring and fall, once it's hot and humid it does nothing, but it makes it a lot more comfortable as long as the nights are cool.

Emg03063

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2014, 09:15:35 PM »
Save your receipts and don't forget to claim the tax credit for the insulation.

horsepoor

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2014, 09:40:35 PM »
Re: Lowe's coupons.  I've been buying them from www.mycheapcoupons.com - they have worked every time.  It runs about $8 for 5 $10 off of $50 coupons and they have 10% off coupons for larger purchases as well.  Sign up for the emails and she'll send you discounts every week or two.

I SO want to get solar attic fans installed.  Our master is upstairs and it's always several degrees hotter than the main floor of the house.  Maybe when we get our GD rental sold.

Nords

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2014, 10:31:48 PM »
The reviewer apparently installed the fan in his/her attached garage to reduce the noise heard while the fan was running.  The airflow was accomplished with a screen door between the house and the garage space.  Sounded brilliant!
Except that it probably defeats the integral firewall built between the house and garage that the person door is part of and puts them at higher risk of fire spreading from garage to house and related risk of casualty.
Are you one of those people who actually parks their cars inside their garages?

I've never understood the logic of fireproofing the garage from the house when the entire kitchen is still inside the house.  I understand that it's building code, but I wonder whether the extra expense is justified by the statistics. 

Simple Abundant Living

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #13 on: May 27, 2014, 10:51:40 PM »
Re: Lowe's coupons.  I've been buying them from www.mycheapcoupons.com - they have worked every time.  It runs about $8 for 5 $10 off of $50 coupons and they have 10% off coupons for larger purchases as well.  Sign up for the emails and she'll send you discounts every week or two.

I SO want to get solar attic fans installed.  Our master is upstairs and it's always several degrees hotter than the main floor of the house.  Maybe when we get our GD rental sold.

You might want to read this first:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/fans-attic-do-they-help-or-do-they-hurt

We have an airscape fan. I couldn't love it more!  I had it professionally installed, and it still paid for itself in 5 months of use. It must be going on six years old now. Still starts up every year without a hitch. It's self insulating for winter and super quiet.  My engineer neighbor decided to buy a different brand.  His is so loud you can't have a conversation around it.  And the Home Depot ones are going to sound like an airplane is taking off.  I have to get up close to see if mine is on. Anyone who lives in an area with cool, dry summer nights would have to be crazy not to have one!  It is supposed to extend the lifespan of your roof as well, by keeping it cooler.

Here's the one we bought. It's supposedly undersized for our house, but we usually set it on low and run it all night.

http://www.airscapefans.com/products/Shop/Natural-Cooling/Whole-House-Fans/AirScape-1.7-WHF-Whole-House-Fan
« Last Edit: May 27, 2014, 10:54:09 PM by Mrs. Green'stache »

S0VERE1GN

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2014, 08:44:45 AM »
good point for the credit card usage. will remember next time.

Greg

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #15 on: May 28, 2014, 10:19:13 AM »
The reviewer apparently installed the fan in his/her attached garage to reduce the noise heard while the fan was running.  The airflow was accomplished with a screen door between the house and the garage space.  Sounded brilliant!
Except that it probably defeats the integral firewall built between the house and garage that the person door is part of and puts them at higher risk of fire spreading from garage to house and related risk of casualty.
Are you one of those people who actually parks their cars inside their garages?

I've never understood the logic of fireproofing the garage from the house when the entire kitchen is still inside the house.  I understand that it's building code, but I wonder whether the extra expense is justified by the statistics.

I'm not trained in fire code so I can't give an official explanation, but most garages are filled with flammable and combustible stuff.  Fuel, oil, paint, solvents, you name it.  Add a vehicle that may or may not catch fire, and sometimes ignition sources like furnaces and water heaters like some homes have in their garage, and it's a pretty big risk.  Part of the risk is that it's "out of sight, out of mind" where your kitchen is in your home.

In my case my garage is separate from my home so it's not a direct issue for me, but I understand some of the concern.  5/8" type X (fiber-reinforced) gypsum board when applied, taped and detailed correctly, creates a "1 hour burn rating" for the wall assembly, meaning it takes about an hour for fire to burn through it.  Without it the wall may take only minutes to burn through.  Any time you can add to the available escape time for home occupants is well worth it.

If you know your local firefighters they would be able to explain better than anyone I bet.  As a designer and builder I have to follow code, but also think about these things when designing for residential clients.

Willbrewer

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #16 on: May 28, 2014, 10:10:32 PM »
To get a 10% off Lowe's coupon (might be Home Depot, don't remember for sure) just go to the local post office and pick up a change of address pack. It includes a bunch of other coupons, too.

JustTrying

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #17 on: May 28, 2014, 11:04:55 PM »
FYI, we ran into a bit of trouble trying to use a Lowe's coupon at Home Depot - they would only honor it up to $500 (so $50 off), but they didn't tell us that until after we had been there for hours picking out lumber, having paint mixed, etc. (We did ask when we first entered the store if they would honor the coupon, and they said "yes," but then when it came time to pay, the truth came out). It was pretty disappointing!

S0VERE1GN

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #18 on: May 29, 2014, 01:22:02 PM »
Man! should have checked here before I bought! Probably could have saved a lot with these coupon tricks..... The excitement of the recent house purchase clouded my judgement.....

TomTX

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #19 on: May 30, 2014, 06:01:12 AM »
Home Depot Website was honoring the "MEMHD" code this week, for $5 off $50. Hard to find the place to enter it - you have to swap tabs in the checkout (the page before you punch in credit card info, I think.)

The CREE LED bulbs are now $10 each - or a 6 pack for $56 on the website, with free shipping to the home.

Discover has 5% back at Home Depot this quarter.

So, bulb price is down to about $8.

S0VERE1GN

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #20 on: May 30, 2014, 07:25:55 AM »
I got my CREE bulbs at about $6 per. Mass incentives I suppose.  It softened the blow for sure.

JoyBlogette

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #21 on: May 30, 2014, 01:31:15 PM »
You can also get 2% cashback is you buy online and click to Home Depot's site from ebates.com (Referral links below)

(US link) http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=iY7sO4CdcM6C%2BErgJ7j%2B3w%3D%3D

(Canada link) http://www.ebates.ca/referrer?referrerid=y7H6OnzcJU4=

TomTX

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #22 on: May 30, 2014, 04:45:01 PM »
Damn. MEMHD code is dead.

CheapskateWife

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #23 on: May 31, 2014, 11:37:41 AM »
That is a good point on the 1 hour fire wall...however, we do have a regularly tested smoke alarm in the mud room adjacent to the garage.  If a fire breaks out while the fan is running and the door is open, we will be alerted right away and will be able to put our fire extinguisher to work! OK, DH can do that while I get the kids out of the house. 

Good points and I appreciate the debate, but I think there are ways to mitigate the risk and still save a ton on AC.


Scandium

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2014, 09:21:40 AM »
My Chase Freedom credit card has 5% cashback at Lowes this quarter. Additionally, if you buy online through the Chase rewards thing you get an extra 5% cashback.
I did that, picked up at my local store and saved 10%!

fmzip

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #25 on: June 05, 2014, 09:46:44 PM »
I was thinking of buying some gift cards at Lowes with my Chase card and use those gift cards for groceries/any other purchases elsewhere :)

I used to be an all cash buyer until I found this forum. Lots of tricks to save $$$$$$'s ;)

horsepoor

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Re: Spent $1000 At Home Depot Yesterday.
« Reply #26 on: June 08, 2014, 11:55:52 PM »
I would be interested to know if the 5% reward works for gift cards sold at stores.  I'm getting 5% through my Well's Fargo card at grocery stores currently, and they offer dozens of gift cards there, so that could be a pretty great trick...