Ebel’s Ace Hardware

Can I give this store TEN stars out of FIVE???
I LOVE the folks at this store! I know many of these guys on a first name basis. Jeffrey helped me repair my washer and get clamps that cost about $ 1.50 that totally improved the whole job. Marcello has taught me more about electricity than I can learn on YouTube or an online course.
And Bob (I think his name is Bob, and he is so sweet so I can’t believe I forgot his name! I am bad with names!) helped me SOOO Much I cannot even begin to say. I needed to repair a gas leak – a really big one – at our family’s restaurant 40 miles south of here. Our family had called ComEd and they could not figure out where leak was coming from. Bob (ack! I hope it’s Bob!) sold me a bottle of $ 3 solution that I could paint on the pipes, then turn gas on, and if it bubbled blue, then I could repair that spot. He also taught me how to get all the pipes apart, how to safely turn off all gas, all info I needed for job. He sold me super inexpensive tape and putty, and I purchased a very expensive gas tester you plug into wall. I ended up returning ALL the things I purchased and spending only $ 3 to fix entire repair!
When I was 40 miles south at our family restaurant, my 82 year old dad came with me, and he used to be a mechanic so is VERY handy, but can’t quite get the leverage and flexibility he needs for certain jobs anymore.
My dad came to oversee the job and give me tips while I was curled up under this OLD, OLD, 100 year old copper pot, getting into tiny crevices and painting on this solution. I couldn’t see very well, so I had to stick my iPhone in to tiny, dark spots, and take pics to see if solution was bleeding blue and indicating a gas leak.
At one point I was a little bit unsure of how the gas worked, so I called my helpful hardware friend at this Ebel’s Ace, and he was SO wonderful! I put him on speaker
phone and he ensured me and coached me through whole thing. Can you IMAGINE anyone online or at
doing this for you? My dad was like «who IS that guy? I sang the old jingle ‘Ace is the place with the helpfull hardware man!’ to Dad. He was most impressed with the outstanding care Ebel’s Ace Hardware took in coaching me over phone!
In the end, I found my gas leak. It was in the 100 year old pipe. My dad gave me his 10 pound treasured, old red wrench that he used for his own repairs for many years., I took my own medium sized wrench, and I used both wrenches in opposite revolutions to release the joining washer on that old pipe. When I took the whole thing apart, I thought, oh no, we are gonna have to repair entire old piping here, that’s gonna cost over $ 1000 and nobody has enough money for this.
But it turned out, I was able to… drum roll please… CLEAN the pipes out with dishwashing liquid and a little water! IT was just a little grimy! But those pipes, when they were spic and span were PERFECT! And SO awesome! Boy, they don’t make them like that anymore.
When I finished cleaning the pipes and joins out, we tested everything again with the solution, and no blue foam. We fixed it! I was SOOOO thankful! He saved our family thousands of dollars because nobody could cook and sell the food we sell until this leak was repaired. We were up and running!
I am an Eco-​nerd and I get absolutely disgusted by landfills, by throwing away perfectly good parts, machines, etc, and thinking of them going in a landfill, then wondering why we have horrible weather/​storms/​eco-​catastrophes. We need to stop being a «Disposable Nation», and learn to do what our ancestors did and MAKE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE!
My dream is that we stop throwing everything away; our machines, pipes, relationships, body parts we think look old, and just appreciate what we HAVE, and repair what our two hands CAN repair! But how can we repair ANYTHING if we don’t know how to do it?
My guys (and girls!) at Ebel’s Ace Hardware helped me by TEACHING me to help myself. They never rush me, they never talk down to me because I’m a middle-​aged-​woman, and they always treat me with great respect and give me motivation when I am trying to do a complicated job. They are GREAT coaches and repair cheerleaders!
I cannot describe the joy I felt when I looked up at my old man. He said «you probably got your mechanical skills from your Polish grandpa who could fix anything!» I said «Dad! I got my skills from YOU! You were a top diesel mechanic in the Navy!»
Dad seemed happy that the new generation had not lost the appreciation for repairing perfectly good, solid, but old pipes. Maybe he felt like HE was not disposable. Maybe he felt like all things old were still valuable with a little TLC! And worth saving!
I FELT LIKE AN ECO-​WARRIOR and a HERO!
And my dad bestowed that beloved old red wrench to me.
I felt like King Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone!!!
Or I guess QUEEN ARTHUR?
Thank you to entire crew at Ebel’s Ace Hardware!

Always friendly and willing to help. I can almost find whatever I need when I come to this Ace and they are right down the street from me. Always gonna give my business to this Ace!

The store ultimately had what I was looking for, but the women at the front of the store (not the cashier — the ones in the vest) are useless. I have never wandered around a hardware store for so long looking for a product without anyone to help me. The women in the front just sat talking as I walked aimlessly. While I like to support local stores, the store does not seem to want my business.

Gotta be a fan of this Ace Hardware. I’ve been coming here since I was a wee little tot. They’ve got the majority of everything you need here from landscape spikes to skittles. Some things can be on the borderline of pricey sometimes but they do have sales quite often plus they offer a rewards card.
They have a popcorn machine at the front of the store so you can enjoy fresh, hot popcorn while doing your shopping.
Also, it is in a pretty convenient location as well. It’s easy to turn in and out at the light so you’re not waiting 10 years to get out of the parking lot at rush hour.
Plus, it’s right next to a Subway, Domino’s, and OBERWEIS!

Nice little hardware store that has the basics.

I live on the very North border of Elmhurst, and I go out of my way to go to this hardware store! There are so many cool little things to browse and buy outside of hardware items. They also have decent prices too. Not cheap, but moderate. You can find a lot of cool things on sale, like at this time of year I go for gardening decorations. The employees are always extremely friendly and helpful! It’s also VERY clean! It is definitely worth a trip to just browse!

I love this store, you know how there are always those weird little things in your house that break and you don’t even know what they are called? I can always go here and get what I need… I have also special ordered several items and constanly get great service.

Friendly little hardware store that is close to my house.
Sometimes out of stock on certain items but quick to replenish.

I used to visit Mel’s Ace Hardware frequently because it was convenient and I trusted the workers to give me advice and help with my projects. I went there two weeks ago to buy stain for the first time ever. It took Barb and another gentleman thirty minutes to find the base coat and mix the stain. When they put a sample on the paper (not wood, but paper), they said «it looks a little darker, but is a beautiful color,» they said it was darker because it still needed to dry. When my contractor used the stain it was not even close to the color I ordered. Seven boards that had already been milled were completely ruined because of the mistake that Barb had made with the stain color. This mistake is costing $ 1,000 to replace the boards. When I went to Mel’s Ace to complain they said they would only refund the cost of the stain and not any of the damage they caused. Barb admitted it was her fault and that she should not have sold me the stain. Do not shop at Mel’s, not worth it.