Ballard Industrial

First class service, very helpful staff. Any hardware needs, BHI has it! I love supporting a family owned business.

This is a terrific place. The sales staff is always on point and will make sure that you get exactly what you need. The name change to Ballard Industrial more accurately reflects their main business focus. They supply parts for projects and the equipment to get the job done. No frou-​frou stuff like café drape curtain rods or home décor junk. Just honest working dude (and dude-​ette) stuff. If they haven’t got it, you either dreamed up the item, or lay off the herbal remedies and come back later. I have worked and done purchasing for the fishing industry for my entire career; doing much $$ with them. When a boat is leaving for 6 months to go to Alaska or Russia, grab the flatbed with the extra cargo capacity and go to Ballard Industrial!

I bought 35 dollar flashlight that turned off intermittently the first use, I tried to return the light and told them I would be happy to try a different model or get my money back. After a lengthy argument they basically told me to get lost! They do not stand behind the products they sell and have a terrible return policy!

Top notch service — always plenty of people to help, I’ve never seen a hardware store soo busy! They definitely have the Location!
You name it they probably have it!

The sales guys here are absolutely on point and very helpful.
The two idiots (associates) that sit at the front of the store (immediate right of the staircase)… not so much. Went in this morning to shop for some snap spring pliers; mentioned to the associate I was there to see & meet Dave, and referenced my conversation with him earlier in the morning.
The girl working the greeting desk looked confused, overwhelmed, and annoyed that I was even talking to her and requesting to talk with Dave. Once she finally worked up the brain power to call Dave, she omitted my request to reference my earlier phone call with Dave regarding the snap spring pliers. Due to her neglect and lack of mental power, I never got to speak with the Dave.
There needs to be better customer service training that is put in place for the junior level employees that work here and workshops that specifically focus on active listening.
I want to support small, local business, but it makes it difficult when one has to try communicating with another person that’s about as smart as a box of hamburgers.

This is my go to hardware store. They have a great selection of materials and a very knowledgeable staff. I’ve never had an issue they couldn’t help me with.

Not the cheapest hardware store around, but they have SUCH a big selection! Half of what they have is in the back, so the easiest way of finding out if they’ll have what you want is to give them a call and they can tell you pretty quickly.
They have a whole pipe warehouse (across the street, limited parking!) where they can cut you basically any kind of pipe in any way. It’s pretty sweet actually! I get pipe for my systems for work here.
Like I said, not the cheapest. But very easy to work with and convenient if you’re in the Ballard area. They have a parking lot.

First off, I have to admit a conflict of interest here. The family that owns Ballard Hardware are friends of ours.
Two things you need to know:
A) Ballard Hardware is not Home Depot or an Ace Hardware. Its a serious Hardware/​supply store for folks in construction trade or the fishing industry. They have tons of specialty pipes, valves and pumps used to maintain fishing boats. If you need stainless pipe/​valves, this is your place.
That being said, if you are looking for power tools or fasteners or paint, don’t be shy! Just go in an ask for help. They have way more stuff in the warehouse in back than you see on the sales floor. They sell quality stuff at great prices. And that brings us to prices…
B) A lot of stuff on the sales floor does not have prices. Its because most of the folks who are walking in are buying on accounts. Don’t let it dissuade you. Grab a sales rep and ask them to price it out for you. I needed batteries for my cordless drill, and they were way less than anyone else in town.
Ballard Hardware is a great hardware store, but its a HARDware store, not a place that sells stuff to hang photos or *ahem* curtain rod brackets.

I was on a surprisingly difficult mission to find brackets to hang curtain rods today. According to Google, this was the closest hardware store to me in Ballard, so I headed over.
What an inaccurately named operation. They have four aisles of merchandise, only one of which holds what most people think of as «hardware.» There’s a receptionist (?!) up front who has no clue what those four aisles may hold and recommended we talk to a sales associate. I’d say there were five or six guys working there, most sitting at desks being busy ignoring me. Two were helping other customers buy power tools (what those other three aisles are full of) and they seemed like they knew their stuff. After ten minutes or so, one of them finished up and deigned to talk to me. He seemed amused that I thought they would have brackets and didn’t have any ideas where I could find such a thing. I have no idea what the hell the real business of this establishment is, but it does not include selling hardware or being nice to confused people.

It is not surprising that this place has never been reviewed seeing as it is closed on the weekends. That means the typical weekend warrior, me included, will never set foot in here. Really that is a shame because Ballard Hardware is fantastic. They have great tools at great prices on items that that are too specific for Home Depot to carry.
I ask «Do you have ½ NPT Stainless Steel couplings» at home depot and they look at me funny and respond:
«What’s the application?» or «What are you trying to do» apparently I am a moron and because they are wearing a orange apron they know more about my project then I do.
At Ballard Hardware they answer correctly; «Yeah we keep all the fittings in the back how many do you need…10 no problem be right back»
Then they write up a paper invoice with the tax calculated using a calculator. No fancy U-​Scans or barcode readers they know the prices of stuff like a hardware store should. The only crappy thing is I have to call in sick to work in order to go here. It is worth it though.