I visited a local household hardware store called Broadway Farm Hardware Corp on the corner of Broadway and Putnam Ave (1472 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11221), right around the corner of my apartment! I have visited this hardware store a few times already since it is so close to my place, and its owner also runs the adjacent spanish food restaurant (which I go to nearly everyday :). That might be why I got special discounts and received especially helpful tips from him.
The store has almost everything one would need for basic household work. It had far more plumbing supplies than electrical supplies. It also has a healthy selection of paints and spray paints, which was a surprise to me. They also have table saw and cold saw blades. As far as hardware is concerned, they had a very healthy selection as well: screws, nails, bolts, and drill bits of all sizes. There wasn’t a selection of power tools though, probably because of their cost and large shelf space requirements. I learned from the owner that copper pipe connections were used for plumbing as opposed to other types of metal because copper does not rust! He also showed me sheetrock-specific bit holders that prevent screws from blowing through. I was able to pick up a magnetic bit tip holder with a sleeve to prevent wobbling and slipping while driving screws (I’ve been hoping to get one of these since the day I learned how these worked). I also finally purchased a full 30-piece screwdriver bit set, which I desperately needed for my tool bag. The shop also has key replicating services!
I liked this particular store more than some of the other local hardware stores that I’ve been to mainly because it isn’t filled to the brim with products. Many local hardware stores are not only small but packed so tight with products that it makes the shopping experience somewhat stressful. This particular store is not only fairly large but leaves room for customers to browse their selections comfortably. It isn’t the most organized place, but if you can at least explain the basics of what you’re looking for the owner is very knowledgeable and can help find what you need. I compared the prices of what I purchased there today with online retailers and this store beat the online retailers by a mile! I was very happy with that.
