Should I buy or hire tools and equipment?

The comparison people make is purchase price versus hire cost, which leaves out storage, maintenance and the fact that most occasional tools are used far less than expected.

What you'll need

• An honest estimate of how often you will use it (optional)

Step by step

1. Estimate honestly how often you will actually use it.Not how often you imagine you might. Look at the last five years as a guide — most one-off tools stay one-off.
2. Compare total cost over a realistic period.Purchase price against hire cost times the number of realistic uses. Include the hire deposit and transport in the comparison.
3. Count storage as a real cost.Bulky equipment occupies space you are paying for. A tile cutter in a small flat has a genuine ongoing cost.
4. Consider maintenance and depreciation.Petrol machinery needs servicing, fuel stabilising and winter storage. A tool used once a year deteriorates from sitting as much as from use.
5. Hire anything specialist, heavy or expensive.Floor sanders, scaffold towers, concrete mixers, dehumidifiers, wallpaper steamers. Hiring gives you good equipment for the days you need it.
6. Buy anything you use several times a year.Drill, saw, ladder, basic hand tools. Cheap ones bought repeatedly cost more than one decent one bought once.
7. Check for a local tool library or borrowing scheme.They exist in many places and give access to a large range for a small membership. Also ask neighbours — sharing occasional tools is common.
8. Buy quality for the tools you use most.The drill you use monthly justifies spending; the tile cutter you use once does not.

Tips

• Hire equipment is usually better than the consumer equivalent you would buy. A hired floor sander does a job a cheap bought one cannot.
• Book hire for a full weekend rather than a day where the rate allows. Jobs overrun, and returning late costs more than the extra day.
• For a large project, price the hire against buying second hand and selling afterwards. Sometimes that is cheapest of all.

Common mistakes

• Buying specialist tools for a single job — They are used once, occupy space for years, and are worth a fraction of the price when eventually sold.
• Buying the cheapest version of a tool you use regularly — It fails or performs poorly and gets replaced, so you pay several times for one tool.
• Leaving storage out of the comparison — Bulky equipment occupies space you pay for, which changes the calculation significantly in a small home.

Questions people ask