Watching those renovation shows on TV I often notice how they always have the right gear to get the job done with; something many DIYers seem to ignore. The simple truth of the matter is that you can’t do the job if you haven’t got the right tools. I know the old saying, “a poor workman blames his tools” but if the tool isn’t doing the job, or you are making do with a tool not designed for the task at hand then you are on a hiding to nowhere, as we say in the trade.
Speaking of the trade, tradesmen such as fencing contractors or window installers know the tools they need to get a professional job done. Knowing you need a left-handed, metric thingameedoo and having one at hand are two different things altogether. Often the cost of buying the tool is prohibitive, even for tradies. For a home renovator who might use it once and then never again, puling out hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars simply isn’t going to happen.
Which is where equipment hire companies step in and provide a very worthwhile and much needed service. They carry just about any tool or piece of equipment you will ever need for any size job. They make most of their money serving the trade, from handy men doing similar sized jobs as your DIY project to multi-national construction companies making everything from skyscrapers to new motorways.
It makes more sense to hire a piece of equipment and use it for the job, then hand it back rather than buy one, use it, store it until it is needed again and manage the maintenance and upkeep of the item. If it breaks down then a hired one is returned and replaced and the job continues with minimum disruption. If the item that breaks down, halting all work on site is owned then you will probably have to hire a replacement while you go to the expense and trouble of getting your owned item repaired or replaced.
Another consideration is that if you buy the item you can probably claim depreciation on it each year for a few years, check with your accountant or qualified tax adviser for details. If you hire it then the entire cost of the hiring is usually a legitimate business expense. An expense you will probably build into the fee you charge when you cost the job in the first place.
For the DIYer the cost of hiring the equipment you need is offset by the ease and convenience of having the tools you need to get the job done as effortlessly as possible to hand when you need them. When you are done, return them. If it breaks down, they will replace it and you can carry on. Just like the pros.
You can hire everything from scaffolding, fencing contractors and work platforms for painting and ceiling fixing to Dingo and Bobcat diggers that make landscaping a breeze, and fun too. Paint spray guns, hammer drills, floor sanders, paving vibrators and anything else you need is available and affordable. Trailers, tipper trucks and cement mixers as well as wheel barrows and even shovels and spades can all be rented by the day or half day, used and then returned. Check out what’s on offer online and do yourself a favour, have the gear to get the job done.
