Online shopping makes it easy and fast to get ahold of all kinds of products. Whether you’re looking for new clothes, electronics or hard-to-find niche items, there’s a good chance you’ll find a retailer on the web that has exactly what you need.While online shopping provides many advantages over traditional shopping, there are some situations where you may need to put in a bit of extra work to get exactly what you need. This is often the case when shopping for things like construction hardware.
Because of the precise nature of most building projects, simply looking for items like coupling nuts ready to ship or generic finishing nails may not get you the right pieces. Before you begin your next DIY project, take a look at the following tips for buying hardware online:
Measure Everything
The old saying of “measure twice, cut once” insinuates that ensuring proper measurements is one of the keys to success in construction. This certainly applies to cutting boards, but it also applies to ordering hardware. Remember, even if you’re able to see a piece of hardware online while shopping, you won’t be able to hold it or measure it against your project materials until it arrives.
Failing to measure all dimensions before ordering hardware can result in receiving the wrong parts, possibly delaying your progress. On top of that, if you order things like 316 coupling nuts when you really needed something larger or smaller, your connections could be poorly secured and cause project instability if you force the wrong part.As a result, you’re encouraged to take the extra time to measure all of your project material dimensions to ensure you order the right hardware.
Buy For The Project’s Needs
You’re also encouraged to purchase hardware that fits the needs of your project. Many times, hardware fasteners and other pieces come in different strengths and material types, and this can affect quality, stability and price.If your project requires industrial strength fasteners, purchasing stainless steel coupling nuts may not work to your advantage. Instead, you may need hex coupling nuts or rod coupler nuts made from a metal like titanium for these types of projects.
Following this advice can also save you money. Building hardware that is available in different material types usually comes at different price points. There’s no reason to pay more for industrial quality, strength and durability if your project doesn’t call for it.
Turn To The Experts
One nice thing about the Internet is that it offers the ability to connect with other like-minded individuals across the world. As such, there’s a good chance that someone else out there has the same questions as you do about the best practices for using certain hardware in a particular type of project.
You can use this to your advantage by searching for video guides and step-by-step tutorials when deciding on what type of hardware to order from the web. Video guides often show the best ways to use particular pieces of hardware as well as demonstrate what to look for when making purchasing decisions.
Consider The Return Policy
Of course, even with the best of research, you may still end up ordering the wrong parts. Because of this possibility, it pays to double check the return policy of any online retailer you order from.Thankfully, many online building hardware retailers offer relatively easy return policies that will allow you to return purchases or exchange them for the right parts. If returning or exchanging is allowed, make sure you document the condition of all hardware received to make the process easier should a return be needed.