Lowe's vs. Home Depot Deck Designer: Round 2 - fight
My first entry was about marketing and how Lowe's "gets it" when it comes to on-line presence. This time, I'm going to talk about the product.
I went ahead and downloaded the Home Depot software.
Before "checkout", I noticed an extra item in my shopping cart, something called "Extended Download Service". There was no description, nor any explanation in the FAQ to clue me as to the nature of this wonderful service for which I was being charged extra. An email to the software vendor revealed it to be the "right" to download the software again for up to 2 years from purchase, as opposed to the 30 days you'd get otherwise. Keep in mind, this isn't "upgrade protection" you only get to download the version you purchased. I didn't see a need for it, so I removed it.
As it turns out, the 40MB download is not the entire product. The software downloads additional components from the vendor at installation time. Sneaks.
On to the software.
The Design software is only barely capable. The interface is counter-intuitive and restricts how you design your deck. For example, I need a square cutout in one corner. It wouldn't let me do it. A corner tool would only make angled cuts, and the cutout tool would only allow placement a minimum of 2 feet from the edge. The only solution was to start over and select an L-shaped deck as a template. I fought that thing for over an hour before deciding it wasn't worth my time. At least they let you "destroy it" for a refund. I will be choosing that option TYVM
One other thing, Lowe's tool lets you add benches, planters, pre-formed vinyl railing, etc. The Home Depot tool does not.
Sorry HD, you lose.
I went ahead and downloaded the Home Depot software.
Before "checkout", I noticed an extra item in my shopping cart, something called "Extended Download Service". There was no description, nor any explanation in the FAQ to clue me as to the nature of this wonderful service for which I was being charged extra. An email to the software vendor revealed it to be the "right" to download the software again for up to 2 years from purchase, as opposed to the 30 days you'd get otherwise. Keep in mind, this isn't "upgrade protection" you only get to download the version you purchased. I didn't see a need for it, so I removed it.
As it turns out, the 40MB download is not the entire product. The software downloads additional components from the vendor at installation time. Sneaks.
On to the software.
The Design software is only barely capable. The interface is counter-intuitive and restricts how you design your deck. For example, I need a square cutout in one corner. It wouldn't let me do it. A corner tool would only make angled cuts, and the cutout tool would only allow placement a minimum of 2 feet from the edge. The only solution was to start over and select an L-shaped deck as a template. I fought that thing for over an hour before deciding it wasn't worth my time. At least they let you "destroy it" for a refund. I will be choosing that option TYVM
One other thing, Lowe's tool lets you add benches, planters, pre-formed vinyl railing, etc. The Home Depot tool does not.
Sorry HD, you lose.