One Sheet Of Plywood

 Major stress in and around planning our tongue and groove install. Should we box in the rear heat/AC unit fully, or partial with a step shelf for storage? Should the bed frame be mounted fully offset to one side or spaced off for the shelf? Oh so many questions... We decided that we had better make the bed frame so we have a physical representation or place holder, if you will, as to get real measurements and "see" what fits and where.

Home Depot:

Against our better judgment, we head off to Home Depot for a sheet of 3/4" plywood (puzzle bed material). We walk in, hand in hand with with hope in our hearts but low expectations, even though I've already looked online at their inventory and confirmed that they had 39 sheets in stock. We walk into the lumber section, down the plywood aisle to the bay where our plywood is rumored to live, and wouldn't you know it.... Nothing. Standing around waiting for one of the many helpful Home Depot employees to come to our aid, and yet again.... Nothing. Carrie heads off to find any type of employee and asks a cashier to find someone to help us. The cashier after admitting she can't personally help us with the lumber, for some unknown reason, follows Carrie to the void of plywood where we have been standing around waiting. She looks at the rack and back at Carrie, "Yeah I can't help ya". She walks back and over the intercom and screeches out a request for help with lumber. So we wait... What's this?? Beep Beep Beep, here comes a forklift and a whole slew of support. A flagger, forklift driver, lane closers, spotters and radio operator. We ask if the plywood we need is located up higher on one of the racks (hence the need for the forklift). Our answer, "I don't know but could you move? we need to park this in that aisle". We move, and after they're done farting around we talk to the head walkie talkie holder and after her own inventory search for us on her handy dandy Home Depot hand held computer, she tells us she'll find the right person to come and help us. Again we wait. After approximately another 10 minutes waddling from out of the darkness that is "the back" comes what we hope is someone with an answer to our plywood needs. He looks at the rack, at the lack of plywood, at his handy dandy Home Depot handheld computer, and back at us, "I'll check the back and get back to you".  And off waddles the mighty Neckbeard away into the darkness that is "the back". Never to be seen by us again... 50 total minutes of standing around waiting from the time we walked in and found where the plywood was supposed to be.... As we are giving up and turning to leave the lumber area, the Head walkie talkie holder finds us and lets us know that Neckbeard was unsuccessful in finding the lost plywood. Zero faith left in Home Depot.

Lowes:

Check online and they have multiple flavors of 3/4" plywood in stock. We walk in, grab a cart, head to lumber, down to plywood, 3/4" sanded, on the cart, self-checkout, and on our way back home. That's how it's supposed to go! From now on, Home Depot will be an absolute last resort.

~Tim