Why Ace H and B Hardware and Lumber?
We know you’ll be glad you came. We can show you how to fix your leaking shower faucet, re-grout your tile, replace a worn electrical device, re-seed your lawn, or any one of a thousand other chores. Plus, count on H&B for the best quality deck stains, house paint and basement waterproofing, with expert advice on how to use it all.
We carry a full line of general hardware merchandise. And we’re not only well-stocked – our expert technicians can maintain and repair almost anything we sell. But what will impress you most and make you keep coming back is our knowledgeable, well-trained and friendly people. Everybody here really knows hardware and tools. We are eager to help you succeed with any project, large or small.
At H&B Hardware we sell household hardware and lumber including: fasteners, hand and power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, wood, bricks, windows, doors, lawn and garden products and more! If we don’t have it we’ll help you get it.
Our Origin
H & B Hardware came into being in 1994 when The Tradesman’s Center that was pioneered by Samuel Trotman was merged with Northern Lumber Company. Shortly thereafter H & B Hardware became the sole local distributor for ACE Hardware of the USA. This new venture was an immediate success because all of the people who managed and worked in the store were hands on types who knew the hardware business and were able to make recommendations to customers in relation to what they needed to buy to get their jobs done. The business quickly became known to customers as “The Helpful Hardware”. As the relationship with ACE grew so did the volume of business that H & B Hardware did with local contractors, home and business owners. Three years ago while the management team of H & B Hardware was at an ACE sponsored hardware show in Orlando Florida ACE Hardware announced the formation of ACE International that would be a new company focused primarily on export. Williams Industries was offered and immediately seized the opportunity to invest in this new business. A decision was also taken at that time to expand H&B Hardware in Barbados. The business had proven itself and it had access to the best hardware products available on the world market so expansion to give loyal customers access to a wider range of products made good business sense.
Our Decision to Build
On returning to Barbados a decision was taken to appoint Mr. Harold Skeete to design a building to be built on land that was already owned by Williams Industries Inc. At first this building was for just the expansion of H & B Hardware but since the land was in the best location at Warrens, the fastest growing business center in Barbados Williams Industries Board decided to maximize the use of the location and add two layers on underground parking and four floors above the hardware store. The result of that decision is what you see here today. This new building was designed by Harold Skeete, a 25 year veteran of Structural Systems Limited now operating his own design practice, Skeete Designs. It was built by a combination of Williams Industries companies, the steel frame manufactured by Structural Systems and the electrical facilitated by C. O. Williams Electrical and other works by C. O. Williams Construction companies and other subcontractors with JADA Builders as the General Contractor at a cost $23 million dollars. It will provide A class accommodation for the expanded Ace H&B Hardware, Digicel headquarters management and staff and three offshore banks. Today it is almost fully tenanted.
Our Green Business Design
The building was designed from the beginning to be a green building. Wherever possible the exterior walls are insulated and the amount of glass exposed to direct sunlight has been kept to a minimum to reduce heat gain in to the interior air conditioned space. In addition both the lower and upper roofs are covered with PV panels that shade the roofs from direct sunlight and also capture the sunlight and convert it to 50 KW of electricity that will produce 96,000 KW hrs of electrical energy per annum. The useable floor area of the building is 86,059 sq. ft. There are 90 car parking spaces underground and a similar number around the building. It is equipped with two elevators that enable easy movement of people from the lowest secure car park level to the top floor of the building. High efficiency lighting has been used thought the building. The exterior lighting is by LED lights. The building and landscaping around it are plumbed with two completely separate systems to enable water caught from the roofs and stored in underground tanks to be used for non-potable usage such as toilet flushing, irrigation and car washing while potable water tanks provide a standby supply for all occupants of the building in the unlikely event that the BWA is unable to supply water. There is also a standby diesel generator that is sized to enable all the businesses in the building to continue as normal if and when mains electricity is not available from BL&P.