Sterling’s Loft — HH EXCHANGES

What to buy, where, at what grade and price; plus returns and the current store run. Quantities are in BUILD_PLAN.md §1 (buy list) + §4 (cut list).

Contents

1. Decisions
2. Counter tickets — the store run (printable)
3. Wood matching & finish (visible vs hidden + grade)
4. Per-store reference (SKUs + prices)
5. Price comparison — HH vs HD
6. Still to source

0. Decisions

• Spindles: 2x2 dressed pine (clean 2x2 is Home Hardware only — HD has only knotty).
• Casework: Option 1 — pocket screws, ¾” ply (framed/skinned is ~the same-to-more cost and much more labour).
• Plywood: exchange your ¾” fir G1S → ¾” ACX pine (HH 2818804) — A-face, stain-grade, PINE (matches solids).
• Posts: solid fir-larch 4x4 (HH 2828103) + conditioner + a deck-line trim collar. No cedar (redder/blotchy), no PT.
• Species goal (stain): all visible SOLID wood = dressed pine, except the structural beam (spruce, strength) and the 4x4 posts (fir-larch — no pine 4x4 exists).
• Corner-post joinery (2026-07-01, replaces bed-bolting the corner post): neither HD nor HH stocks the 3/8”/1” cross-dowel a bed bolt needs — closest available is 5/16”-18 / 1/2” O.D. (fine for the OTHER 5 bed-bolted joints, kept as-is). At the corner post specifically: the beam lands in a 1.5” half-lap notch (ONE direction only — post stays full 3.5” the other way) secured with 4× 3/8” carriage bolts; the head-rim end hangs on a Simpson APLH26 concealed-flange BLACK joist hanger (HD #1001400202, HH out of stock) + its own Outdoor Accents connector screws (don’t substitute generic deck screws — the published ~1,040 lb/900 lb rating assumes Simpson’s screw).

1. Counter tickets

Print this section. Bring receipt #2207880.

☎️ Call HH Minden at 9:00 (705-286-4351) — confirm:

• Exchanges + returns OK (incl. 7 uncut 2x2 back)?
• ¾” ACX Pine (2818804) in stock, ~$95.99? · dressed-pine + fir-larch SKUs in stock? > If ACX is out or pricey → keep your fir ply (use conditioner) or get birch at HD.

🟠 HOME HARDWARE — EXCHANGE (hand back → take pine; ~even swap)

🟠 HOME HARDWARE — RETURN

• 7× 2x2 spruce strapping (surplus — the box keeps 16, spindles go to pine) — credit back

🟠 HOME HARDWARE — BUY (new)

• 6× 2x2 Dressed KD Pine 8’ (2825947) — spindles + strips (+1 spare = 7 if you want insurance on the visible ones)
• 4x4 KD Fir-Larch, untreated — 2× 12’ (2828107, each = one 75.5” + one 55” post) or 4× 8’ (2828103)
• 1× 2x8 Dressed Pine 6’ (2826013) — 2nd treads board (pairs w/ the exchange)
• 1× 1x4 Dressed KD Pine 8’ — wall-panel end trim (dressed-pine line; 12’ = 2825823)
• 2× ½” Fir G1S ply (2811527, matches your existing) — cabinet needs 3, you have 1 — $59.99 ea
• Pre-stain wood conditioner (pine/fir blotch control)
• 5× 1/2” O.D. cross-dowel connector (5/16”-18 thread, ~3/4” long — HD-equivalent part 1000121441-class; ask if in stock, HH’s is out today) + 5× 5/16”-18 hex bolt, long enough to clear the post (~3.5”) plus ~2” into the rail — the packaged bolts sold with these are too short, buy the bolt loose + a handful of washers

✅ KEEP (do NOT return)

16× 2x2 strapping (webs/ledge) · 6× 2x4 #2 (queen frame) · 4× 2x6 #2 (ledger/rim/cleat) · 9× 1x4 slats · 10× 1x6 top-skin · 1× ½” ply · 1/8” hardboard · beaded panel · red-pine T&G.

🔵 HOME DEPOT (Bracebridge #7164, 705-646-5600) — tools only, no wood

• Kreg pocket-hole jig (in stock; HH back-ordered) — casework + queen-frame joinery
• Kreg Universal Rip-Cut circular-saw jig (KMA2400) — arm auto-sets rips/crosscuts up to 24” off an edge; this + the foam board replace the store cut desk — every sheet gets broken down solo at home
• Plywood-cutting circular-saw blade (fine-tooth, 40–60T) — swap in before cutting any sheet good
• 2” rigid foam board, 4x8 — full-sheet cutting support (lay flat, cut through into it)
• Simpson Strong-Tie APLH26 concealed-flange BLACK joist hanger (#1001400202, ~$8.98) — corner-post head-rim connection — and its matching Outdoor Accents connector screws (don’t substitute — the ~1,040 lb/900 lb rating assumes Simpson’s own screw)
• 4× 3/8” carriage bolts (long enough for a 2”-deep notch + rail) + washers/nuts — corner-post beam half-lap connection
• (optional) hardware/fasteners + trim (better selection) > No wood or cutting happens at HD — the sheet goods are already from HH, and a store won’t cut material > you didn’t buy there. Call to confirm Canada-Day hours before the drive.

Timeline

HH (wood exchange/returns, 9:30–10:15) → HD (tools, ~11:00) → home ~12:30–1:00 — see output/*/cut_diagram/HOME_CUT_PLAN.md for the solo rip/crosscut sequence once you’re back.

2. Wood matching & finish

STAIN ⇒ SOLID WOOD ONLY on visible faces. No primed MDF, no finger-jointed pine (joints telegraph through stain). Most Alexandria Moulding “boards” = primed MDF/FJ = paint-grade; their solid oak baluster is the exception.

“Dressed” ≠ nice. Dressed = surfaced = S4S; nearly all lumber (incl. your strapping) is dressed. The word that matters is GRADE: ask for “Select” (HD: SPF Select / Select Pine; HH: #1&2 Dressed Pine or Premium Spruce), then eyeball for small tight knots + straight. “#2 & Better” is a strength grade, not an appearance promise.

Cedar posts: under one stain they go darker AND redder + blotchy — a mismatch, not just “darker.” Use fir-larch + conditioner (closer to pine, stronger) instead; box-in-pine only if you want a perfect match later.

Torsion-box webs/skins are glued + structural — hidden, but pick flat, true strapping there.

3. Per-store reference

Prices: HD = homedepot.ca store #7164, 2026-06-30 (confirm at till). HH publishes no prices — “ask” or your receipt.

Home Hardware SKUs

Home Depot (#7164) — SKU · price

4. Price comparison

What you paid at Home Hardware (receipt #2207880) vs Home Depot #7164:

Overall ≈ a wash. HD’s edges: birch plywood, the Kreg jigs, 90-day returns, selection.

5. Still to source

• Hardware & fasteners — lags, bed bolts, drawer slides, hinges, screws, brads, adhesive.
• Finish — stain, poly, conditioner, filler, caulk. Trim — cove/quarter-round, screen-bead.
• LEDs / smart switches / Govee downlights (some are online-order, not stocked locally).