Ashby Lumber Company

Don’t go here on a Saturday trying to buy wood. Lopsided staff placement will
Leave you waiting /​waisting your time

I would like to extend a big thank you to Kevin Harmon of the Berkeley branch for being so kind and helpful when my wife and I needed it the most. On 1÷31÷16 my wife and I were preparing to move from Berkeley to San Diego and we were trying to find a way of securing two mattresses on top of our van. We were indicated by our landlord that we could count on Ashby Lumber in offering the right materials and friendly guidance. We were lucky enough to have a more than helpful Kevin Harmon (Department Specialist) help us with finding the right rope, suggesting shrink wrap and ideas for how to best secure the mattresses for the long drive. Our trip went very well despite the fact that we ran into a terrible wind storm that was so strong that it was knocking trees down in the San Diego area. Because of Kevin’s helpful guidance and patience we had a very safe trip (the mattresses didn’t even budge!). Thanks again to Kevin, I am glad I decided to support a local business that obviously takes great strides to satisfy and look out for their customers!

Had the best customer service experience thanks to Kevin, got exactly what I needed for an outdoor railing with all the right extras.

Visits to big-​box home-​improvement stores often involve friendly but clueless employees who seem to scurry away when you approach with a question. Not so at Ashby Lumber. This weekend, for example, Victor Mejia knocked it out of the park with his helpfulness. I walked in with a broken mortise lock and Victor spent 10 minutes prying a broken screw out of the contraption. Once he did that, he walked me through the other pieces I needed to replace, found them all, AND directed me to a local supplier that stocks a specialty part that Ashby Lumber didn’t have. This is what service looks like at a locally-​owned hardware store where employees know what’s what.

I was fixing an old bench for my grandpa and the guys here helped me all the way. The helped pick out the right wood, cut it and even drilled the correct size holes for the screws. Very helpful guys, they even helped me pick out the right type of varnish and stain. If you need wood in the Bay Area, I would go to these guys! Definitely worth a visit.

I just spoke with Ashby lumber’s general manager who was wonderful — totally heard our concerns and is going to make sure the issues get resolved in a timely manner. I am very impressed by his professionalism and I am completely relieved that the work will be done to our satisfaction after the money we invested.

This review is for windows and doors.
We visited Ashby Lumber’s Door and Window Showroom, seeking out new windows for a remodeling project. Ashby Lumber sells doors and windows but does not do installation. My experience (elsewhere) has often been that these businesses are biased towards a contractor (read: informed) buyer rather than a less informed consumer. Our experience, however, was quite the opposite.
We were greeted by Glenn, who was warm and welcoming. He answered all of our questions and walked us through the options available, helping us try to determine what current Milgard windows would be effectively the same as the 10-​year-​old Milgard windows in our 1912 home. He did all of this while carefully educating us about the various options and making us comfortable in our relative lack of knowledge.
Working with Glenn was absolutely a no-​pressure collaborative experience, and the price was right. I cannot recommend Ashby Lumber (and Glenn, in particular) highly enough. If you need windows or doors, go straight to Ashby Lumber (and talk with Glenn).

Just recently bought some fixtures for a bathroom remodel. The salesman was knowledgeable and very helpful. We were able to get what we needed and the items were ordered and received in two days. Good selections good product good help avoid the big orange and go to a professional source

I can honestly say that Ashby Lumber was one of the best customer experiences I have ever had. I came in with an idea for a fence and poor math, and they set everything straight. Vince spent over half an hour with me at the counter helping sort out the
math on the materials I needed and other logistics I had only half right. After I placed the order, he called more than once to update me on delivery and with a few other great suggestions. Their prices were competitive, and what I ended up with was a great value. Would give 6 stars if I could.

I highly highly recommend Mary Miller at Ashby Lumber for any bathroom remodeling needs you have. She is a great designer, super responsive in trouble shooting and researching new possibilities for problems that come up in the logistics of the remodel. I just cannot say enough good things about Mary. She strives to find the best prices on any of the goods needed, has a great sense of humor (really needed in the stressful remodeling process), a keen design eye with lots of good suggestions, integrity in her customer interactions and really on the ball with placing orders in a timely way and helping out with any questions. She is a great asset to Ashby Lumber and to the public who gets to benefit from her knowledge of products and her terrific design sensibility.

I’ve been buying my lumber at Ashby for over 10 years… they have helped me put together the materials, and delivered them. I’ve always found them to be quite knowledgeable and willing to take the time to go over measurements and specifications to make sure they are right. As with any lumber yard, I would suggest picking the wood you want, as you may end up with some difficult pieces if you don’t. My main suggestion is to move the cashiers further apart so that inevitable dumb questions aren’t reacted to by just about everyone in the store :)

This place may have slightly precious hours, but the staff actually know what they are talking about, they have good quality products and they are polite & helpful. I desperately needed a certain kind of sink fast and they went out of their way to help me out. Yay!

A lot of ink is spilled worrying about why local businesses like Ashby Lumber are disappearing while big box stores like Home Depot are flourishing. Perhaps we should turn this question on its head and ask instead: why would we go to a local business? There are several really good reasons, but Ashby Lumber failed me on all of them.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
— I called ahead to inquire about a very specific shade of Kelly-​Moore paint. (Ashby Lumber is a licensed KM dealer.) The guy looked around and said he had flat finish. Great. I’ll be there in a little while, I said. When I arrived, no flat base, so my shade couldn’t be mixed up. I might be willing to pay a premium for excellent customer service — I probably am — but the guy didn’t do ANYTHING above and beyond for me. When I left frustrated and called a Kelly-​Moore store in Albany, you know what that guy said? «I’ll mix that up for you now.» I didn’t have to wait when I got there! And he didn’t sell it to someone else. If a local business is getting schooled on customer service by a major national chain, they should just close.
EXPERTISE
— So like I said, dude didn’t have the flat finish base he needed to make my paint. Well, he didn’t have it in interior — which is what I needed — but he had it for exterior. So he tried to sell me that. «It’s the same stuff. It will be fine.» You know how long it took me to figure out he was wrong? As long as it takes to Google that shit. You know what exterior paint does in interior settings? IT STINKS. Literally: it’s got mildecides and stuff in it that makes it smell bad. That’s the big difference between interior and exterior paint. Now, not everyone should have to know that — but Ashby Lumber’s paint guy should, or he shouldn’t be paint guy. Or maybe they just shouldn’t have a paint guy, because they should close.
PRICE
— It probably wouldn’t shock you to know that the paint would’ve cost me more at Ashby Lumber.
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The bottom line is that this place wasted a lot of my time because they don’t know what they’re doing. A place like this has to have some added value unique from what Home Depot or Kelly-​Moore or whatever can give me — but Ashby Lumber adds NOTHING. And for that, you have to go out of your way and pay more? No, fuck that. I hope they go out of business and build some god damn apartments. Fuck knows we need more housing here.

This review is for windows and doors.
Glenn at Ashby helped us with windows and doors for our brand new custom home. Title 24 compliance was a huge hassle, and we had to go back to Glenn 5+ times to get new pricing and specs. He was awesome. His communication via email and phone was prompt, direct, and affable. He was honest with us, flexible, and attentive.
If I ever build another house or need to replace windows, Glenn will be the first person I go to. Five stars for his excellent customer service.

My contractor recommended this place. I had never heard of it before. They have great selection and fairly knowledgeable staff — some more so than others. This definitely feels like a boys club though and you won’t necessarily be asked how you can be helped. (I visited twice and went ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on that.) But once you engage a staff member you won’t regret it. I just got a lesson in bathroom plumbing fixtures and purchased a whole bathroom’s worth. I couldn’t be happier with their selection, including items already in-​stock, as well as the speed with which orders arrive (next day!).
After leaving but before finalizing my order I had some more questions. Mary got back to me right away and was able to provide detailed answers to my questions over the phone and then followed up with an email with more info. If you need plumbing fixtures stop by and ask for Mary. She’s the best!

I’ve driven by Ashby Lumber to and from the I-​80 and assumed it specialized in lumber sales. Yesterday, I came to Ashby Lumber for the first time for a kitchen and bath plumbing expo. The expo was set-​up in the parking lot, where you can talk to the vendors and view their products. Visit at least three vendor booths and you qualify for a raffle. They also provided a complementary lunch of a polish sausage or hot dog with chips, cookies and a soda.
After lunch, I checked out the store and was surprised that they had a nice showroom with displays of kitchen and bath faucets and fixtures, sinks, toilets, shower doors, vanity units, and ventilation fans. The carry higher end brands and designer brands such as Grohe, HansGrohe, Kohler, Franke, Toto and Ronbow.
My first visit to Ashby Lumber and I came away impressed. I now know it’s more than a lumber yard.

Living only about half a mile from this place, I decided to give it a shot by picking up some lumber for a weekend project. The prices for the lumber I got was competitive for the area, but I was surprised that I was going to be charged $ 1.25 for each cut made on a piece of plywood. After paying for the lumber in the store front, I went to go pick up the pieces in the warehouse. At the warehouse you interact with some construction worker looking guys, exactly what you’d expect. The one I had the displeasure of interacting with gave me a bunch of grief about having to make the cuts that I just paid for, and not picking up the wood in a truck.
Overall, I do not think I will be coming back again. Home Depot has lumber at comparable prices, cuts it for free, and I won’t get crap for not owning a truck. However, depending on who you are, I can see this place doing a very good job in fulfilling your needs.

We’ve wanted to go here for quite some time. Trying to get drainage pipe and fittings via Home Depot today was a pain so I called around locally and a landscape company told me Ashby Lumber carried the parts I needed. I called and got a bit of a let down but after ecouragement from my fiancé’ I called back and Jacob told me they indeed had all of the parts. We went over later and found an old school lumber hardware store with friendly helpful employees. Jacob found me and helped pick out the fittings. He remembered the earlier call. We looked around the store for a few more minutes and found a couple of other items from other lists of needs which were very reasonably priced.
Ten minutes in the store and three minutes in the yard (the man in the yard was fast and friendly too) we were on our way.
The cost may have been a few dollars higher than H.D. but the effort on my part and the time saved was worth way more. The service is incredible here. Ashby Lumber has new loyal customers in us and it only took one visit! Why did I wait so long?

My Fiancée called around to several hardware stores, some big box, trying to find everything we needed in one place. This proved to be an exercise in frustration. Until he took a chance and called Ashby Lumber in Berkeley. It did take two phone calls. The first person who answered didn’t have the time to spare and said to come into the store. We don’t have the ability to luxuriously shop around from store to store just to find out that we have to go some where else. No, we need, actually MUST shop by phone. Without going into much detail, our second phone call with the exact same questions were answered by Jacob completely, fully, accurately. We were able to asses that they had everything we needed and even had the service of delivering a small order of rock to our home with 3 days advance notice. The price was a little more than a large hardware store, but the convenience of not having to vie for a rental truck and brining the rock home ourselves was worth the few extra dollars it would cost for delivery.
Going into the store, Jacob seemed to instinctively zone in on us and helped us gather the goods in record time. Where we would have been in the big box store for over an hour and then stand in a long line to check out, we were in and out in about 10 minutes. Whaaaat? Yes, it’s true.
This hardware store is very old school in a really good, organized way. You can find what you want. They have plenty of it. They know where it is and will hand it to you. You don’t have to look for help. They look for you. Check out was quick and easy. They do take credit cards. Large items are ordered at the front desk and with your receipt of payment, you’ll be directed to around the back for someone to help fill the order and load your vehicle.
We are very, very happy with Ashby Lumber. We’ve lived here for quite a while and this was our first trip. Don’t wait and suffer like we did. Do yourself and probably your loved ones a great favor. Avoid frustration and disappointment and wasted time. Check out Ashby Lumber first and see what they can do for you and your project. They will probably save you time and money and you’ll get your project done a whole lot quicker!

I was extremely satisfied with this store. Our contractor we’re using for a larger job said we might be able to find something for a personal project we needed there — a door frame.
The staff helped us talk through what we actually needed (we needed a door frame), explained our options, and marked us up. All with great service you couldn’t get at somewhere like Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Very large inventory of everything you could possibly want for plumbing, doors, windows, framing, lumber. Go here for anything on that list, not just for the lumber part. Note that they do deliver, but they charge heavily for it.