With a whopping turnover of $23.4 billion in 2022 alone, Lowes is one of the best-loved home and hardware stores in the country.
They sell a wide selection of wood including pressure-treated wood, studs, joists, softwood, boards, panels, and much more.
If you’ve purchased wood/lumber from Lowes but it’s not quite up to scratch and you want to make a return, you’ll need to get familiar with Lowe’s wood return policy.
To help you there, we’ve examined their lumber return policy in detail and will bring you up to speed with how long you get to return it, how to return it, their used lumber return policy, and much more.
We’ve even done a handy competitor comparison to see how they measure up in the market.
What is Lowe’s Wood Return Policy? The Short Answer
In short, Lowe’s allows you to return lumber to them within 90 days of the original purchase date for a full refund or exchange. Your lumber must be new and unused (unless defective – see below).
This means you can return lumber to Lowe’s for a variety of reasons including if:
- The lumber is defective – i.e. warped, rotten, weak, too many knots etc…
- You’ve purchased it by mistake
- If the wood is no longer needed
- If it’s not the right size of material for your project
- If you receive a duplicate order
Do I Need a Receipt to Return Lumber to Lowe’s?
You can return lumber to Lowe’s without a receipt but they do ask you to provide a valid government-issued ID if you don’t have a receipt. This is to check their verification systems and to ensure you aren’t making repeated returns.
They can also check your credit card transaction, your Lowe’s membership card, and your phone number but do have the discretion to provide in-store credit rather than a full refund in cash if they can’t trace the sale.
How to Return Lumber to Lowe’s
You have two options when it comes to returning lumber to Lowe’s.
You can either:
Return In-Store
Simply return your wood to your local Lowe’s store (or to any other store), go to the customer service desk, and present your receipt with a valid ID. You can also use a return barcode found on Lowe’s website.
Note that you can also return wood you purchased online at any of Lowe’s stores. You don’t need to use the online returns process.
Return Online Using the Online Returns Process
To do this, head over to Lowe’s website and click start a return online. You will need your email address and order number which can be found in the email you will have been sent upon purchase.
Does Lowe’s Provide Free Returns for Lumber?
Yes, we looked into this and most lumber orders come with free returns.
You can check this by going to Lowe’s website and finding the lumber you purchased.
There you can see in the bottom right corner that this particular piece of lumber comes with “easy and free returns”.
However, you should note that Lowe’s does not return shipping charges if you paid for delivery in the first place, unless the reason for return is due to an error on Lowe’s part (i.e. they’ve sent the wrong wood or it’s defective etc…).
Can You Return Used Lumber and Wood to Lowe’s?
On the strict wording of Lowe’s policy, the lumber should be new and unused if you want to make a return.
However, if you’ve used it and it turns out to be defective (i.e warped, weak, rotten, too many knots etc…) then you should contact Lowe’s on 1-800-445-6937 to arrange a refund or replacement.
If you’ve used it and then just change your mind about it (i.e. there’s no fault with it) then you’re likely to face more issues with securing a refund/exchange and we’d suggest doing the following instead:
- First contact Lowe’s on 1-800-445-6937 to explain the situation as they may be able to offer an exchange or refund with good reason;
- Check with your home insurance company to see if they cover refund protection and secure a refund that way;
- Sell your wood.
How Does Lowe’s Lumber Returns Policy Compare to the Competition
If you’re about to start a big project and are shopping around for the best deal and want the best returns policy, it’s worth checking out how Lowe’s policy compares to others on the market.
We’ve done some digging and found the following:
| Competitor | Returns Window |
| Home Depot | 90 days |
| Menards | 90 days |
| Dunn | No time limit |
As you will note, most of the competition provides a similar returns policy of 90 days meaning Lowe’s is keeping with the standard industrywide returns policy for this type of product.
How Long Will it Take to Be Refunded by Lowe’s?
If you purchased via card you can ask to be refunded onto that same card or with cash.
If your refund is made to your card then this can take up to 15 days according to Lowe’s information they provide on this issue.
If you make your return by using the online returns process, then expect to wait at least 15 days in our experience.
If you return your lumber in-store then the refund process can be quicker depending on your bank or card issuer.
If you ask for a refund in cash, you’ll receive it there and then so this is the quickest way to get refunded if you can’t wait.
Final Thoughts
Lowe’s provides a fairly typical returns policy for lumber and is in line with its main competitors on the market.
Unfortunately, in most situations (unless defective) you won’t be able to return your lumber if you’ve used or modified it in any way so it’s important that you check it thoroughly to make sure it meets your specifications upon receipt.
