McLendon Hardware

While this store does have a fairly wide selection of general hardware and lumber, it is almost always over priced when comparing to other hardware stores in the area.
Service-​wise it is split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. While the staff are fairly friendly, their knowledge base seems very limited. I’m better off consulting google before I leave the house if I have a question about something.

As a small business owner that specializes in quality renovations and/​or new construction of mid to high end Residential housing, this is the alternative big box store. A nice selection of stuff that generally isn’t in stock at other box stores: The «other brand» circuit breakers or the wood stove piping or different supplier of landscaping plants or… well you get the ideal.
The positives: Locally owned and they carry the «other brands» of stuff. My personal favorite is «King» heaters made in Seattle. Good location easy access. Lot’s of other shopping nearby. Sales can offer good prices.
The negatives: Everything seems to be about 20% more expensive than everyone else. The sales people on the floor, although there always seems to be more available than other such stores, they are not always that knowledgeable. The store hours seem to be too brief — especially in the summer, who else closes so early at 8:00PM it’s not even dark out then.
Final thoughts: If you need best prices of common stuff, then Lowe’s or Home depot will do. If you need a real lumber yard, then Lumber Market or Dunn Lumber is the cheaper & better choice. But, I still like this place. If they could extend the hours, reduce the staff, & get competitive on the prices I would dump big L & H.D. in favor of here.
Hope this helps.

The help in the plumbing department and at returns is amazing.
I have been able to bounce ideas off the staff in plumbing and they have saved me time and given me ideas to think about.
The return person is so understanding and went out of her way to make it easy and right.
Unusual to say the least
MDG

Best hardware store when you need a little help. I’ve been impressed with most of the employees here because most of them actually know their department and have helpful insights and advice!
It’s not perfect and their selection with certain things (like light bulbs) is a bit limited but in most cases I would stop here before going somewhere else. Especially if I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing or what I’m looking for.

This place is fantastic to find anything to do with home improvement! The prices are very reasonable, the staff are always willing to help, and the hours are decent! What makes this place better than other places is their employees! They are dedicated to helping you find what you’re looking for, whether it’s for home improvement, decoration, etc. I’ll definitely be back!

I have been frequenting this home improvement store quite a bit this past year.
It feels local and small business (even though it’s part of a small chain) so it has it’s endearing qualities.
The staff in the garden section are very helpful and usually know off the top of their head if a product is available or not. They carry most major brands of soil, compost, etc. And even have my beloved cedar grove items.
The plants I purchased from them survived and produced harvest (so no cheap methods of plant starting, I guess) and they have awesome vintage brand soda available! So yummy.
Red cream soda is my jam. I will recommend this store (specifically Renton) to anyone that needs garden supplies or any home improvement materials.

At least an hour till close you’d think if you go in the North entrance they’d announce it was closing. I’d come in it less than 10 min before. I carried 10ft wood plank and some plants to load into my car. Get there and it’s locked up tight as Fort Knox no announcement, no signs as I came in. Not there first blunder of services but I’m done. Finding own price codes, unload and load your own cart of stuff. The prices are not as low as big box store but they treat you like they are one. Maybe 2 people have been very helpful at times so deserves 1 star but my thousands of $ in home renovation and yard work will not be spent here.
Post note:
The store says it can do better. I hope this is the case. Updated review on merit.

Now if only McLendon featured a more wallet-​friendly price in its gardening/​planting/​landscaping department a five star would have been given.
But let’s move past that… THIS McLendon’s is the first McLendon’s and it’s huge compared to at least one of it’s other locations. The reason I continue to check in?: Not only do I want to support local, I haven’t spent time in any department wherein the customer service was exactly perfect.
The paint department is chock full of products for refinishing that other box stores don’t carry and there are plenty of name brand choices. But the paint department isn’t the only department with a plethora of selection. The tool department has it’s own desk and employee (s) and they have always been able to direct me in a knowledgeable way.
My husband and I have come to find that McLendon’s has comparable prices but their customer service is FAR superior to its competitors. As a homeowner, we still make purchases as competitors, but when it comes to a specific piece at a fair price, McLendon’s is our choice.

Nice clean store with a lot of parking. They have always been overpriced on items but sometimes they have what you cannot find at Lowes or Home Depot so that is their nitch. Other times it’s just easier to get in and out.

Horrible. Tried to sale a broken portable AC unit… very rude staff as well and not helpful to paying customers. Don’t go here.

I love this hardware store.
I’m a first time homeowner and they have been my second home. They have a great selection of items, reasonable prices, and great deals/​sales. The staff is crazy friendly and knowledgeable.
Will go back. Have already been back like 30 times now. Did I mention that I love this place?

Wow what a refreshing change. Had a faulty shower compression faucet cartridge. Took it to McLendon’s in Renton and the guy in plumbing not only was knowledgeable, he took it apart figured out what was wrong, got me the replacement washer and O ring and installed them for me! I could get used to this… It’s now my go to hardware store!

I love the selection of plants at McLendon. The staff is friendly and helpful. The store is well placed, easily accessible, has a large parking lot, and pretty efficient service.

Plant selection is great! Lots of plant choices for my tropical vivarium. A+ Staff!
All departments are staffed with trained people who know what they are doing.
Excellent work clothing section
I choose to come here over all other chain stores.

I can’t say enough about the men and women working at this store. Almost and always they would hep me find the things I needed. And the guy at plumbing with the long beard, man! He is so helpful! It can be any department they seem to no hesitate to assist you.

McLendon’s latest TV commercial shows a man applying finish to what appears to be curly maple 2″ x 8″ x8’. Hoping that they finally carry cabinet/​furniture grade lumber, I made a trip to Renton just to see for myself. WRONG! Still just the same old stuff good only for rough work. Isn’t this called false advertising?

I’m a big DIY-​er and usually visit one hardware store or another about twice per week. McLendon’s tends to be on the expensive side compared to Ace, Lowe’s and HD. But it does have its charms, and its good points. On the up side, it is a GREAT place to go for specialty plumbing parts and fixtures. I can’t count the number of times that I have found whatever item I was looking for in plumbing at McLendon’s, when none of the other stores had it. I always check there BEFORE going to a plumber’s supply store. They also have the best end-​of-​season specials on outdoor furniture and BBC grills. I have scored some amazing deals there. The other nice thing about McLendon’s is simply the atmosphere. As others have mentioned, it has the selection of a large home improvement store with the atmosphere of a small town hardware store. I have always received friendly, helpful and non-​patronizing service, whether it be in plumbing, electrical or lumber (I mention that last because I am a woman). For all those reasons, I enjoy shopping at McLendon’s. It’s just that their prices are on the high side. But I do recommend them!

When you think of your «neighborhood hardware store» this is exactly the place you expect in your «Pleasantville» dreams.
The staff is friendly, the place is extremely well stocked, the aisles are always clear, and there are ALWAYS people on the floor waiting to help you. Not to mention the fact that they always have enough cashiers that you don’t feel like you’re wasting your life away in line.
I have recently attended quite a few of the gardening classes and they are absolutely positively the best. They are free to the public and Robin is so informative, knowledgeable, and good-​natured that she is the perfect person to go and see if you have any questions.
Most weekends it also seemed like they had master gardeners there as well, and the staff alone is so nice. One person even offered to give us some of his tomatoes because they’re so abundant! (How NICE is that??)
Everyone here is so knowledgeable, from Copper tubing, to work tables, hand saws, miter boxes, lightbulbs (and those fantastic new LEDs), gardening, pruners, wood, etc. We’ve had a myriad of projects that have brought us to all corners of this place and there has almost always been someone there to help if I need it.
On top of it all? They price match.
We’ll be back, obviously.
Oh and they have Top Pot donuts outside! Ahhhh. This place is great.

Soooo, this place is amazing– I found some lovely rubber boots and was thrilled to see them slowly transitioning to winter/​Christmas stuff.
Service is always great, selection and prices, what more could a customer possibly want?

Driving through Renton and running errands, my boyfriend and I spotted the McLendon nursery setup right out front. We dove in to check out house plants and were really hoping to find a nice tree or large plant for our living room. Sadly we didn’t find any ficus trees but we did see a lot of variety otherwise.
In addition to the large selection just outside the main entrance, there were more plants inside the entrance as well as in a patio area just to the exterior of one of the side entrances. There were fruit trees, veggies, seeds, potted plants, outdoor plants, and even just pots and accessories galore! Much like other big box stores, McClendon has it all.
Not finding exactly what we wanted, we were on our merry way. But I did appreciate and notice how clean the store was, how well organized it was, and how it had a more local feel to it than a Home Depot. Even though it was just as large, the layout was nicer and offerings were much the same. It’s not often I’m in Renton but now that I know this store is here, I might come back more often when running errands between home (Seattle) and Renton/​Tukwila.