Tools You Can Rent
One alternative to buying expensive tools for sometime use is to rent the tool. Rental equipment stores in major cities offer everything from backhoe tractors for digging your own basement to rotary sewer cleaners like the pros use. Your problem is to decide whether you have the expertise to use the tool after paying the rental, or if hiring a pro makes sense. Not everyone can clean a sewer and walk away with a clean uniform, just because they have the right equipment.

The best way to decide whether to rent the tool or hire a pro is to get a bid from the pro, and check the rental cost of the tool(s) at the store. Renting tools can be expensive, because the job invariably will take more time than you estimate. Those half-day rental rates quoted by tool rental companies can be misleading, because you seldom can do a job and get the tool returned within a 4-to-6 hour period.

The first rule, if you decide to rent a tool, is to be very sure that the job has reached the stage where using the rental tool is the next step. You do not want to pay rental rates while the tool lies unused. The second rule is to finish the job and return the tool immediately. If you leave the tool lying about instead of returning it, you pay a heavy penalty for the delay.

Tools you might consider renting include:

- 10-pound sledge for breaking concrete

- Reciprocating saw (useful for disassembly when remodeling, or for cutting in difficult locations)

- Portable grinder

- Floor or other heavy-duty sanders

- Paint sprayers

- Angle drill has a 90-degree angle on the chuck (to let you drill pipe or wire holes between studs or joists, for example)

- Power hammer uses powder charges to drive fasteners in steel or concrete)

- Miter saw (power or hand, for fine trim or molding cuts)

- Texture machine for spraying textures, stucco)

Check with your local tool rental outlet for a complete list of rental tools available. In addition to conventional tool rental firms, many specialty stores will rent or loan you the tools you need. For example, ceramic tile dealers usually will loan you the tools to install the tile you buy there; paint and wallcovering dealers loan wallcovering tools.

Seldom-used tools can be rented. The power washer can be used for a multitude of cleaning jobs, from preparing an asphalt drive for sealing to cleaning house siding prior to painting.

Written by Gary Branson
Reprinted with pemission. Copyright HouseNet, Inc.

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