I wasn’t suggesting you were being misleading. Just saying that if an inexperienced HD staff got queried where the “hardware cloth” is located?, they could be forgiven for thinking it is some sort of super-tough fabric. So they might think it is in the garden area, landscaping fabric, or perhaps the work-clothing area.
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Heh heh. I have to admit you folks are probably right. I plugged in hardware cloth to the Menards site and got rolls of the metal stuff in all varieties. I plugged in screen and got mainly window and door screens and the fiberglass stuff. So I guess hardware cloth it is. In my 70 years though we would just say screen. I bought some probably 15 years ago and don’t remember what I asked for but I’d suggest going to ace instead of Home Depot. Those guys and gals are multi lingual.
I don’t remember what I was after, but did provide a basic electrical or plumbing part explanation to a high school kid there that was very confused. Don’t know if he retained it or not. I remember being in a Walmart late one night and a kid in a big hurry said his dad sent him to get a Johnny ring right away. I showed him where the toilet flange seals were and told him to take two because sometimes you have to stack them. They were only a dollar. His dad would be impressed.
Oh and don’t use fiberglass screen to keep mice out. They can just chew through it.
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Years ago, I know some folks use two wax rings to ensure they got a good seal or if they had installed a layer of flooring that raised the toilet (like tile, new flooring…), but I thought thick wax rings had been around a long, long time…
Years ago, we had an issue with mice getting into the attic during the winter and luckily I caught it early with sticky traps. But the mice were crawling up through the corner siding or trim on in the aluminum siding. I bought Copper Screening from a hardware store, it came in a 12" by 10’ roll. I cut off a foot, bunch it up, and stuffed it up the corning siding, the copper will never rust, and the mice cannot chew through it… That roll was cheaper than the stainless steel rolls that had way more than I needed…
If that happened in the UK, the store staff might be thinking the kid was there to buy a “rubber johnny” … a condom in other words. An item that indeed could be needed by the dad “right away”… lol…
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What is the difference between hardware cloth and chicken wire?
One easily identifiable difference is the size of their openings. While hardware cloth openings are typically a one-inch wide or smaller, chicken wire gaps can vary, with some as wide as two full inches. Additionally, while they are both made from steel, hardware cloth tends to be thicker and thus more durable.
Hardware Cloth vs. Chicken Wire: What's the Difference? - UWC.
As long as we are talking rodents, about three years ago I was up in the garage attic and noticed what I thought was mouse droppings on the insulation. The place is sealed tight and couldn’t figure out how they would have gotten in. Garage I sheetrocked all around. I didn’t say anything to my wife but out a couple traps up there.
That January on a Friday night we heard scratching in the ceiling above the first floor. I went nuts thinking we had mice in the ceiling. Called the exterminator Saturday morning and when he showed up we went up in the garage attic. He said that is not from mice but bats and showed me the traces. He said everyone in the neighb,or hood has a bat problem so join the club. Cost me $700 but on Sunday morning he was up on the roof installing a one way bat door and checking for any openings. They are protected so you cant just kill them but the door lets them get out but not back in. Two year guarantee. I call him bat man due to his expertise and work as a stunt man.
As long as we are talking rodents bats ( L 
L )… I was not getting them in the attic, but they were crawling through the louvers and handing onto the screens on the back of the gable vents so when they flew out at night, I quickly covered the vents with screen. The first day they latched onto the outside screen, but it now had them out in the bright sunlight and it took a couple of days for them the vacate completely… Since it did not look nice… I redid the screens on the louvers so that beside the backer screens, I fastened the new screen so that it attached from the bottom of the upper louver to the top of the lower louver. It prevented the bats from crawling between the louvers.
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Ace too employs people that are not knowledgeable in various terms. That is the world we live in. In the late 80s I was employed by a big box store, eventually rotated to the electronics department where we had some computers, my knowledge of computers was zero.
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That may be a function of the franchisee. The Ace Hardware near me has the most knowledgeable people in home goods around me. If I want hardware or BBQ parts, they are the place I go.
+1
On a few occasions, I have gone to Ace for items that neither Lowe’s nor HD keep in stock.
The couple of Ace’s around me are great, I will go there before going to the other 2 big box stores… Only down fall is the selection is much less…
To me it’s the shape and construction.
Chicken wire: hexagonal, twisted together
Hardware cloth: square, welded together
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The first time I heard the term “hardware cloth” was on the 1970’s PBS tv program “Crockett’s Victory Garden”.
They are locally owned or at least not owned by corporrate. One time one Sunday I punched a nail through my gas line with the nail gun. The guy knew exactly what I needed for the repair and even loaned me the flange tool over night. Another time I getting a toilet gasket and flapper and said if you have Koehler you need these, not the standard ones. Who knew? And they had them.