Before and After: On time, on budget

In human years, 23 is far too young for a facelift. In hardware store years? Fix ‘er up.

Dalton Lumber Do It Center had been serving Dalton, Pa., for much longer than that — the original lumberyard dates back to the 1800s. But having taken over the modern-day version of the store roughly 15 years ago, owners Doug and Scott LaCoe decided it was time for an upgrade.

Without closing down even for a day — and with- out seeing sales suffer during the renovation — Dalton built up, creating 8-ft.-high shelving instead of the original 5-ft.-high shelves, which made room for as much as 40,000 to 50,000 in inventory.

One of the more pleasant surprises for the LaCoes was the success of the budgeting. “When [Do it Best] said shelves would be $60,000, they ended up being $54,000,” Doug said.

Construction began in late 2012. A new floor, new lighting and several new ceiling fixtures later, people were talking about the new face of Dalton Lumber.

“Within the first year, we were up around 14%, with about 80% of the renovations done,” said Doug. He estimates they’re running at a roughly 19% growth rate since before the renovation.

Customers were surprised that the store seems much bigger. It isn’t. It’s taller — and brighter. There was more signage that made the store look bigger, and the sales counters and aisles were adjusted to optimize the existing space. With more space for inventory, the store could also afford to add new departments, such as housewares and camping. Other sections, such as paint, doubled or tripled in size.

For a lumberyard like Dalton, it was merely a matter of making the most of a good situation.

— Steph Koyfman