Equipment Needs

If there are pieces of equipment you will need to obtain, whether through purchase or rental, include them on this list. This is a cost against the property which needs to be calculated to ensure that you have a profit when the house is sold and all the dust settles.

The likelihood that you will need hand tools is great. If you already have hand tools like hammers, screw drivers, pry bars, shovels, brooms, rakes, paint brushes, vacuums, wheel barrels, drop cloths, paint rollers, and on and on, do not include them in this list. But if you need to buy any of these items, put them on the list of equipment needs so the cost can be included in the total cost of the job to you.

If you will need to rent a pressure washer, then price it and include it for sure. You may want to rent scaffolding, trenching equipment, power sprayers, dumpsters, portable toilets, and on and on. Be sure to call for an accurate price rather than just guess.

Do not be surprised by the cost of some of these items. I figure if you need something like a piece of equipment, it is safer to rent it than to buy it. If you buy equipment you will need to store the item, worry about maintenance, and security when the flip is complete. So let the rental companies make a buck. In the long run you will most likely be ahead of the money game when it comes to rental versus buying.

Security is a problem with equipment and hand tools. You have to expect that some of the items you leave at the job site all night will not be there in the morning. If any specific tool items are crucial to completion of work the next day, then take them with you. And lock them up at home so you will have the means to work the next day.

During the day, when many workers are present, be sure to know who is working for whom. 

On a job site where I worked there was a guy who was sweeping all over the place. He had a bucket with him. What no one, not even me suspected, was that he worked for no contractor. He just pulled up on a job site and took what ever he wanted while he swept the floor. Its a great disguise since no one would suspect anyone sweeping to be a thief. Well now you do.

If there is a theft of material or tools and equipment, be sure to file a police report to get better police protection in the area when you are not there. And be sure to secure your building as best as you can. But realize that thieves can unscrew plywood from an opening in less time than it took for you to put it up in the first place.

The best practice is to not leave anything of value on the job site when you are not there to protect it.

There may be an exception: drywall. Not too many thieves will steal drywall when it is so inexpensive. But I have know of almost every other sort of material, and all tools, to go missing on various jobs I have worked on. Just expect it. And plan for, say, 10% of your material budget to cover damaged and missing material and tools. Me, I have had all of my tools taken on two different occasions. I never did find any of them. In fact I think back to the 1960's when a set of hole saws went missing. Then in the 2000's someone took a vise and a few hand tools. I figure these were my fault since I left tools on the job that I should have taken with me.