Rafael Lumber & Building Supply

I went to San Rafael Lumber in search of grab bars and house numbers! Seeing me searching the isles, I was approached by a young man, offering assistance! He showed me various grab bars, I needed one for outdoors in black, he brought a spray can and showed me how to spray it black - wow, the outcome is great! He also helped me select new house numbers! Thank you Ian for turning my hardware store visit, which can be overwhelming, into a pleasant productive experience!

Taylor is the guy you want to talk to if you have questions about lumber. He was so helpful and knowledgeable.

Jacksons, Goodmans, Fairfax lumber, Golden Gate lumber, yes even Home Depot. Maybe even 7-11. Go ANYWHERE else for hardware and lumber needs besides Rafael lumber. This review is long overdue, but the service at this place is laughably bad, rude, incompetent. The cashier dudes behind the counter seem to hate their jobs, their customers, probably their wives, maybe even their dogs.

How are these cashiers so arrogant and condescending? It boggles the mind. Have a question? Forget about it, find one of the quiet dudes walking the aisles or better, a fellow customer. It took me about half a dozen times to go to this place to find something and have them treat me like crap before I said you know what, I can go across the street and not be treated like crap anymore. Save yourself time, trouble, energy, and an unpleasant start to your day. Shop anywhere else other than Rafael lumber.

Had a great experience here helping my niece pick up lumber, etc. for her project. We had good help from the guys inside and out in the yard. Patrick was the best! He explained lumber talk so next time my niece goes in she will speak their language and it will go quicker.

It's great to be greeted by an employee at the door who takes you to the exact spot where you need to be for what you want. I love that compared to being left to wander or run into someone who says aisle 15 or 16, and then goes on. That said, the selection was very low--pandemic supply chain issues, I presume. Special orders take a while--not their fault--but do stay on top of them, nonetheless. And, employees don't have great expertise, likely due to pandemic turn over. Be careful when placing special orders that you can refuse if it's wrong.

Great selection of door hardware and various other miscellaneous construction stuff. Lumber and rockwool too. Plumbing and hvac is very hit or miss.

Really nice store, very nicely lit lumber yard, great vg selection. Pricey.

It's a very nice place.it doesn't have everything n it is expensive whereas stuff Is cheaper n more of it in places like home Depot but you don't get the service u do here.this store is part of our community n we should support it! If you want to see what that monster ice cold configuration of Amazon can do to a store look at Whole Foods.they owned now n it's colder n lifeless in there as a refrigerator.even the wanna bees n snobs this place attracts are quiet.no one there likes the store or working for it.it's lost it's soul n sense of family it once had.so if u don't PATRONIZE what we have left check the fate of Whole Foods n weep.

I came to this store to buy a material and I wanted to pay for payment by phone and the manager came out of a bad temper I do not accept payment as in homedepot that bad

Was just today puchasing for lumber and loading it onto my car. I kind of heard some one say -Back it up, back it up. I looked up and saw a guy on forklift scowling at me, and asked him -Me? He grunted again- Back it up. Finally another fellow said - He, meaning Reynaldo, on forklift 2, wanted me to move so he could move another stack of lumber. I moved and asked him - is this ok? He, Reynaldo, grunted something.

You know a Better way to get someone's attention is to say, excuse me, or pardon me, or Pardoneme. And when done interacting with clients, the old standby, thank you or Gracias, would be appropriate. Aslo, I was loading up lumber to purchase from the store. By purchasing lumber I keep people like Reynaldo employed. Thats how it works. Just a heads up. There are other lumber yards, such as Fairfax, or golden state. fyi.

I'm a home owner, not a tradesperson. And I don't purchase anything in volume. But when I need customer service and knowledgeable help, I go to Rafael Lumber, not to Home Depot. Home Depot may have a more liberal return policy, but could luck finding anyone at Home Depot to help, let alone someone knowledgeable

Rafael Lumber is probably okay for buying lumber. As a hardware store there are better choices. If you buy anything and have to return it don't wait. The 30 day return policy is strictly enforced. Do not special order merchandise or building materials. All special order sales are final. It's hard to believe that they don't take credit card payments over the phone.

You have to be in store to pay for your order. Check prices on-line prior to purchasing in store. Your best bet is to patronize the better hardware store choices in San Rafael and skip this customer service disaster.

With only a few exceptions Rafael Lumber's staff has treated me with indifference, impatience, or general rudeness over the past few years. There are some on the staff that are courteous and helpful but my experience is the majority here negatively colors this establishment's overall reputation. As seen here in other reviews along with similar reports from contractor friends, I recommend you shop elsewhere. This week the unnecessary rudeness I experienced at the counter on two separate occasions sealed the deal; I won't be back.

The worst service ever. Very rude and unhelpful. Don't bother spending your money here. Find a business that cares.

So helpful and kind! Especially nice when you don't know quite what you need! Thank you, Eric!

Customer service is horrible. I asked for someone to help me pick an item out and in response I get "Are you dumb". Don't waste your time here there's another lumber minutes away. Will for sure never return.

Customer service is terrible. Yard personnel, especially those where molding is kept are surly, antagonistic and discourteous. Some of the counter people display the same traits. The employees working the main store area are generally helpful and courteous. I would rather shop here than Home Depot but not if service continues to be of such low quality.

I will take the indifferent, incompetent HD over aggravating contempt shown by SR Lumber. Do the owners and managers ever come out from behind their desks and watch employee / customer interactions? Time to start paying attention.

This is the only hardware store I will go to now. They are super helpful, go out of their way to make sure I understand what I am doing (because I never do) and what I need (because I never do) as I try to save myself money by doing things myself (lacking all experience and skills). And the reason I keep going back is that unlike some other places I've tried in Marin, they never talk to me like I'm some dumb woman, they never make me feel unwelcome in that store, or patronize me with sexism. I really appreciate the culture of this place.

There are people who work there that are fabulous. I had 2 different people take time to walk me through a big order and happy to educate me on what I didn't know. Amanda was one of them and I'd go back to her every time. The quality of the lumber is amazing and my project looks great. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because in one of my first calls to start figuring out my deck, the man on the other end was dismissive and rude. No excuse for that.

I love this place. Clean, organized yard. Great moulding selections including some exotic wood. Pro hardware for real builders. Knowledgeable window and door folks. You can get anything here. Pro tools, toilets. Everything for the novice to the profesional.

I visited Rafael Lumber a few weeks ago now looking for plywood to use as flooring for our trailer renovation. Having no luck with the poor wood selection at Home Depot, I decided to go to a local lumber yard. I also figured it would be supporting local even though I would be paying more. After doing a search of the lumber yards in the area, I settled on Rafael Lumber because it seemed like they were the ones that would have what I was looking for, and they are only a couple miles from my house.

I took my truck over there in the morning on a weekday and man the place was a zoo. I was surprised how much more they had for sale in addition to wood. It is kind of like an ace hardware mixed with a lumber yard mixed with a custom cabinet/furniture company. Anyways, after walking around for awhile with no one offering to help out, I found some wood that would work. Albeit, it was the only option for what I was looking for.

There were no prices anywhere and they had a very limited selection of plywood so I just sucked it up and bought it (Come to find out it was $10+ more per sheet). I went out back and loaded almost all the sheets until a guy came over when I was basically done and offered to help load the last one. My experience here was nothing to call home about.

No one offered to help me find what I was looking for, and basically no one helped me load the truck. Their plywood supply is super small and it seems like a place you would go more for trim, moldings, 2x4's, etc.

When in San Rafael and Lucas Valley this is my source for stock wood, finishes, paints and tools. Good and wide selection. Friendly staff to help.

Pretty much a one stop shop for me for nearly 33 years when it come to lumber and hardware. Pricing is on the high side though. But the convinence is nearly worth it. The staff too works hard to have and to get what is needed.

I have a lot I could say but I will keep it brief. Bottom line is dealing with these oafs is a combo of watching a slow motion train wreck and a cringe worthy comedy sketch. I will say this- the best part of dealing with this company is the delivery team that brought me doors and windows today. Best part. Awesome man. I will also say that when I had to pay my bill on the phone, the woman I spoke with reminded me of the Fratelli mom from Goonies, just nasty and bitter. I really regret dropping my hard earned money here but will chalk it up as a lesson to do my freaking homework next time and support a business that deserves my dollar.

The staff are very helpful and friendly! Perhaps because store capacity and hours are limited due to COVID or life is different from when I was in several years ago, but everything is much better and delightful now. From a tiny screw and tap, to door hardware, to roofing material, I've received excellent service. The prices are very competitive.

Word of advice San Rafael Lumber - Don't be condescending jerks to polite customers. Don't swear loudly when discussing your personal life with your coworker while customers are patiently waiting for your assistance. Don't make people feel like they greatly inconvenienced you when they ask simple questions. I dropped 3k on doors today, it was not at San Rafael Lumber. Go to Golden State down the road if you want to be treated like a human. I will never spend money here again.

Both google and their website says open to 5pm on Saturday so I drove 40 minutes. They closed at 4pm and all kinds of cars driving out of the parking lot because they also thought the same. How about some consideration for your customers and updating the hours on your website. Not hard to do and takes about 2 minutes!

Came here to buy some wood and screws with my nephew to build a planter box. My nephew is 10 and has allergies. A man working here ~55yo Grey hair, said to my nephew after sneezing "get that kid out of here he should be at home or in a mask" (mind you children under 12 are not required to wear masks) I told him that he was 10 and had allergies. We began walking away.

When we came back he started again. I did not refrain from letting him know he was out of line. My advice to Rafael Lumber is to hire some decent folks who have a clue how the world works and how to treat people and children with basic courtesy and etiquette. Or maybe just let your employees know the rules and to refrain from acting like they're the Coronavirus mask nazis. I will be shopping at Fairfax lumber from now on.

I am not a builder nor have easy access or space to use power tools. What I needed is available Rafael Lumber thank goodness! I set up two large aquariums on wrought iron stands. They needed wooden shelf support under the tanks. With measurements in hand I was guided to the best material to handle the weight. They cut it and the finishing molding to size at no additional cost. Last weekend Rafael Lumber helped me select the right materials to replace the top of my drafting table. Absolutely flawless service - I am so grateful!.

I really hate going to Rafael Lumber. There are two things I can always count on. 1. Being treated like an inconvenience 2. Paying more than I really should. I assume they offer contractors much better pricing Today did not disappoint me I only go there as a last resort