Renting versus buying tools is still one of the most heated debates among DIY builders and aficionados. In the current economic climate (despite recent improvements), and with rising transportation, education and housing costs, it is no wonder why people are struggling to cut costs everywhere they can spare.
But apart from the financial implications of this issue, large-scale projects such as house construction and renovation require a lot of specialized tools, some of which have little, if any, day to day utility. As a result, in most cases, they end up thrown in a forgotten storage space to rust away and gather dust as soon as the project is completed. Thankfully, sensing the market potential, a wide variety of companies have set up renting services to serve this exact demand. Websites like EquipmentRental.org offer comprehensive reviews about top rental companies regarding their pricing plans, services and catalogue.
Save Maintenance and Storage Costs
Even the most inexperienced builder knows that the costs of the tools go beyond the initial purchase, especially in the case of large-scale equipment pieces such as shredders, jackhammers, and chainsaws. If you do decide to purchase them after the project is completed, three scenarios are likely to occur:
- The tools are stuffed all on top of each other in the garage, wasting precious space.
- They are deposited in a rented storage space which, if not properly ventilated, will slowly degrade the tools, devaluing them to the point that they are nearly impossible to resell on the second-hand. Obviously, should this happen, the buyer will not be able to recover their investment.
- The buyer will do their due diligence and invest general sums in modern storage spaces and frequent maintenance checks.
Therefore, by buying the tools – except basic instruments, but you could make an argument about renting them as well – you will needlessly inflate the overall price of the overall project, and take other costly long term commitments.
Flexibility and Increased Project Coordination
All large construction projects, whether professional or personal, require a certain level of coordination and planning in order to be accomplished in a reasonable time frame. Apart from the issues presented in the first entry of this article, purchasing equipment opens the floodgates to many other logistical conundrums that might have the potential to bring the whole project to a halt. Everybody knows that once you buy a piece of equipment and include it into the project, you are entirely responsible for it, except for a limited number of fringe scenarios.
Companies, as obligated as they might be by the law to offer warranties for their products, can still indirectly affect the course of your project. By the time it takes the supplier to respond to any issues concerning the equipment, the entire project could enter the red zone, extending the duration of the project and causing all parties to lose their money.
That is why, from a logistical perspective, renting the equipment can save you from lots of needless administrative work and allow you to concentrate on more important things, like the final product of the project itself. Once a certain piece of equipment suffers malfunctions, the supplier is required by law to come to the construction site to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Despite all of these advantages, many people are still more comfortable buying the tools than renting them. Of course, renting will not solve all problems, and there is certainly no guarantee that you will not need a certain piece of equipment in the near future.
Fortunately, there is a way to work around these insecurities – a method called mix and matching. It involves buying tools that have a reasonable high day to day utility and renting the niche ones. You can determine the best ratio by using a professional renting calculator.
Access To Brand New Technologies
The worldwide recession affected most economic sector, but none was more wounded than the construction sector. Projects came to a sudden halt, housing became more expensive as a result and investors lost confidence in the real estate business. Fortunately, as of recent, the construction sector is in the process of recovery, with big companies and ambitious entrepreneurs investing increasing amounts of money in research and production.
Naturally, this recent economic improvement benefits all parties involved. Renting tools gives everybody, both professional contractors, and independent DIY builders, the chance to access the latest and most innovative technologies and tools, that they could not have possibly afforded otherwise, solely for the duration of the project, without taking long term commitments.
Conclusion
Due to the worldwide economic recession, the construction and real estate business has gone through a shift. An increasing number of both entrepreneurs, as well as independent DIY builders, prefer to rent tools instead of buying them.
There are several reasons for this – first, renting gives clients the opportunity to try out the newest, most expensive tools, without paying the full price. Secondly, it takes a huge load off their shoulders in terms of logistics, because they do not have to worry about transportation, maintenance, and storage. Third, it makes no sense buying something with limited future utility. Last, but not least, renting can increase the flexibility and coordination levels of the project because they are covered by the suppliers in case the equipment suffers any malfunctions. These reasons, and many more, are what making renting tools a more sensible option than outright purchasing them.
