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Ensuring that the materials you get for your kitchen renovation project or deck building idea meet the highest quality standards is paramount for the long-term success of those projects. This BuildDirect review will help you determine if this online store is a reliable source of home improvement products.
The store offers a variety of building materials, as well as bathroom fixtures and outdoor furniture options so that you can get the products you need to make your ideas come to life. Moreover, the company delivers all orders to your home address anywhere within the United States.
Although purchasing heavyweight home improvement products online solves a lot of logistical issues, it is difficult to know if this web-based retailer offers high-quality merchandise.
Our BuildDirect review will grant you an insight into some of the advantages and disadvantages of shopping for home improvement materials online and help you decide if BuildDirect is the best online destination to purchase flooring, decking on building materials.
A brief history of BuildDirect
BuildDirect was started as a shipping company that specializes in home improvement products. In 2002, three years after setting up the company, founders Jeff Booth and Rob Banks launched builddirect.com that offered all products and materials you may need while renovating your home.
The company grew rapidly in the subsequent years and positioned itself as one of the largest online retailers of home improvement products in the United States.
Since the beginning of 2010 BuildDirect developed an impressive shipping system that includes warehouses and a broad range of vehicles used to import products to North America and delivers them to homeowners.
Which services does the BuildDirect platform offer?
All products you can find on BuildDirect are offered by different manufacturers. The platform enables you to buy a product you want from the manufacturer and the company uses its shipping system to deliver that product to your home address.
Most orders on BuildDirect weigh around 1,500 pounds, and most homeowners don’t have a way of transporting them to the desired location.
Once the order is placed either from overseas or the North American continent, the heavyweight goods are moved to one of six warehouses that is the nearest to the customer’s home location.
The core features of the BuildDirect platform
This online store is functionally organized so that you can easily find the products you are searching for.
Creating an account, browsing through different categories, or adding products to the shopping cart won’t take more than a few clicks, while you can also explore the Pro Picks or Trends and Tips section of the website.
Let’s take a closer look at the core features of the BuildDirect platform.
The design center
If you are unsure which type of flooring you should use in your home, you can use the platform’s 3D design center to create a 3D model. You will be asked to enter the dimensions of the surface and to specify the location of all the fixtures in the room.
The platform will then generate several 3D layouts so that you can choose the one you like the most. In addition, you can try out different flooring options within the same layout or experiment with a broad range of paints.
The learning center
The Learning Center grants you access to hundreds of how-to articles that cover a wide range of topics. These resources are organized into categories like Flooring, Ceramics & Porcelain Tiles, Pros Toolbox, or Home Improvement Info.
The buying guides can help you decide which types of materials or tools are best suited for your project or offer ideas for your next home improvement project.
Home improvement products
All products on the BuildDirect platform are organized into the following categories:
- Flooring
- Decking
- Building materials
- Outdoor
- Kitchen
- Bathroom
Once you reach the home page, you just have to expand the Browse by Category menu and choose one of the available categories.
This e-store is probably best known for the diversity of the flooring options it offers, although their kitchen and deck tile categories also offer a huge selection of mosaics, wall tiles, and kitchen fixtures. Besides, the Clearance menu contains countless home improvement items that are available at affordable prices.
The Pros of BuildDirect
Enjoyable shopping experience – Browsing through product categories and examining their features requires no effort. All products you want to purchase can be added to the shopping cart with a single click, which makes the shopping experience on BuildDirect fun and enjoyable.
Efficient delivery system – Most orders are delivered within two weeks after you make a purchase. However, you should check if the products you want to order are in stock as it may take a while before they become available again.
Offers a rich selection of home improvement resources – The BuildDirect platform grants you access to vast learning resources that can help you improve your skills or spark new ideas. All learning content can be used for free and you don’t even have to create an account in order to start reading an article in the platform’s Learning Center.
30-day money-back guarantee – You can return all products you purchased at BuildDirect within a month after delivery and you won’t have to cover the transportation costs. Covering the shipping costs is mandatory only if you want to make a partial return.
The Cons of BuildDirect
Offers some low-quality products – Not all products on the BuildDirect platform meet the highest quality standards. Although most products are made by reliable manufacturers, some of the items may lack the quality they promise.
Limited access – Whether or not you will have unlimited access to the BuildDirect platform depends on the location from which you are trying to access the website.
Although you shouldn’t have restricted access if you want to open the website from the North American continent, users from Europe may get the ‘Unfortunately the content you’re trying to view is unavailable in your area’ message when they try to enter the BuildDirect website.
The best alternatives to BuildDirect
Shopping online for home improvement supplies is becoming more popular as it eliminates the logistics problems and enables you to get everything you need from your living room. We’ve selected some of the best e-stores you can use as an alternative to BuildDirect. Here’s what they have to offer.
BuilderDepot
This a one-stop online shop that offers anything from building materials and tile or floor coverings to office materials and musical instruments. BuilderDepot is a great place to shop for power tools or anything else you may need while working on a new home improvement idea.
All products have long and accurate descriptions so that you can gather the information you need before you purchase them. After you add an item to the shopping cart you just need to provide the shipping address and the product will reach you with one to five days.
However, orders can only be placed within the United States, and you cannot order products on BuilderDepot from abroad.
DoItBest
Although it is not exclusively an e-store, DoItBest is still a great place to search for the materials you can use for home improvement projects. Founded as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc in 1945 the company has a long tradition of supplying building materials to homeowners.
The company changed its name in 1998 and it slowly incorporated web-based sales into its business model. Today DoItBest is one of the largest online retailers of home improvement products. You can purchase anything from plumbing supplies, doors, or windows to lumber and plywood.
The company also has a vast network of stores across the country which enables you to pick up the building materials or flooring on your own. However, DoItBest can also deliver an order to your home address if you don’t want to deal with transportation issues.
Renovators Supply, Inc
Although it doesn’t offer wood decking options, Renovators Supply, Inc has an impressive collection of floor tiles and all other materials and items you may need during the renovation of your home.
The Bathroom, Kitchen, Hardware, Outdoor & Garden, Lighting and Home Décor & Furniture categories contain thousands of modern and antique reproduction items. You can easily check if the product you are interested in is in stock and choose your preferred payment method.
The company ships orders around the globe, so you just have to add your shipping address and the product will be sent to you. However, the expected delivery time may vary depending on your location, so you may have to wait more than a few weeks for your order to arrive.
Also, you should bear in mind that international shipping costs are going to increase the price of your order.
FAQs
Answer: The platform doesn’t place limitations on the size of an order, however, the average weight of an order from BuildDirect is 1500 lbs.
Answer: Even though BuildDirect ships orders from manufacturers based on other continents, the company only delivers home improvement products on the North American continent.
Your order will arrive within 6 to 14 days, but some shipments can be delayed if the product was out of stock or if the product has to be shipped in a container.
The BuildDirect platform offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and in case there is anything wrong with the product you purchased you will receive a full refund.
Verdict – Is BuildDirect the Best Home Improvement Online Store?
Renovating your home or implementing your latest shower renovation idea doesn’t have to be logistically complicated since you can have all the materials and products you need to be delivered to your home address. BuildDirect is one of the largest and most reliable e-stores that offers everything you need for flooring or decking projects. Moreover, you can purchase the bathroom and kitchen fixtures or patio furniture from trusted sellers.
This platform also offers learning resources so that you can find out more about different types of home renovation projects. BuildDirect is one of the most reliable online stores in the U.S that enables you to acquire high-quality materials from the comfort of your home.
We hope that our BuidlDirect review helped you decide if you should use this platform to get home renovation materials and products. Leave a comment and let us know or proceed to learn more about different types of flooring.
