Well, guys , I'm stuck with the big box stores. Used to have 3 family owned hardware stores near my hiuse. The last one closed in 2017. The store was started by a husband and wife team. Then their two sons took over. One of the sons is my age. Saw him a few months before the store closed. He said the bigger stores were taking all their business. Unfortunate. The chains are all so far away. If I needed something like a furnace filter or a drain stopper, I could just walk three blocks up the street to get it.
It's too bad. I used to patronized all three hardware stores. The one owner taught me how to caulk. He was quite the how-to guy -- the man to see if you didn't know how to do something. Try getting advice from a Lowe's or Home Depot employee. Despite claims that their employees are knowledgeable, I find most of them aren't. Anyway, I really missed the how-to guy at the neighborhood store. Wish I had picked his brain more often.