Starting a landscaping business can be expensive. There’s a long list of tools and equipment you need in order to offer the range of services your clients may ask you for. Knowing what kind of landscaping jobs you’ll be doing will help you decide what tools and equipment you need. It will also help you decide which ones to buy and which ones to hire.
Here’s an example: many landscapers prefer to go with a mini excavator hire option instead of owning one. This is a wise move if you don’t need this kind of equipment every day. Read on to discover what tools and equipment you can purchase from the start and which ones you can hire whenever the job calls for it.
6 Useful Tools Every Landscaper Needs to Buy or Hire
1. Digging Tools
It’s virtually impossible to do any kind of landscaping job, be it small or big, without tools such as shovels, spades, hoes and garden forks. These tools are useful for:
- Digging holes for planting.
- Making trenches for laying irrigation pipes.
- Tidying up flower beds.
- Mulching the soil.
- Chopping up dense ground such as clay soil.
- Distributing or removing soil, rocks and stones.
- Loading up wheelbarrows.
- Removing plants without destroying their roots.
There are 101 things you can do with digging tools so add them to your list of items to buy.
2. Wheelbarrows
Wheelbarrows are also must-haves for landscapers. You can use them for removing soil, rubble, leaves and other plant matter. Use wheelbarrows for making light work of heavy loads that need to be moved from one spot to another.
The number of wheelbarrows you need depends on how big your business is and what kind of work you’ll be taking on. One thing is for sure though, your landscaping business needs at least one wheelbarrow so it’s definitely worth adding to your first shopping list.
3. Rakes
Rakes are essential tools every landscaper needs to have in their inventory. There are different types and each one performs a specific task. Adding some of these to your list of tools to buy will help your workers get the job done more efficiently:
- Garden rake: A multi-purpose rake for levelling out soil, spreading stones or gravel, raking up leaves and aerating soil. Use this rake when performing smaller gardening jobs.
- Landscape rake: Designed to handle larger tasks quickly. The tines are normally short and made with metal. The handle is also made with metal for handling rough conditions.
- Lawn rake: Similar to the garden rake, this useful tool is good for dragging debris off the lawn, from under shrubs and flowers without causing any damage.
- Stone rake: Designed with strong, short widely spaced metal tines, it’s used for spreading out stones and gravel. They’re constructed with durable materials to survive hard handling.
4. Cutting Tools
Landscaping entails cutting and trimming plants of all sizes. Examples of cutting tools include:
- Loppers: Extra-large pruners used for cutting or clipping thicker stems and twigs. You can also use them to trim hard-to-reach branches.
- Pruning shears: These hand pruners are smaller and easier to use for trimming plants and cutting away dead twigs or thin branches.
- Hedge shears: These shears are useful for trimming expansive plant areas such as hedges.
- Axe: If you need to chop away fallen trees or branches, an axe is a useful tool to have.
- Timber saw: A saw is another useful tool for cutting through thicker branches.
5. Lawnmower
Another piece of equipment no landscaping business should go without is the lawnmower. Whether you’re maintaining a garden or creating a new one for your client, there’s always going to be a lawn that needs to be cut. A lawnmower could be one of your more expensive investments.
Do regular maintenance service on the lawnmower to extend its lifespan. Keep the blades sharp and clean. And, carry out repairs as soon as you notice any damage to the machine. The right size lawnmower should be used depending on the scope of work.
6. Mini Excavator
A mini excavator is useful for those large landscaping jobs such as laying walkways, digging trenches, removing or planting large trees and exaction work. If you only need a mini excavator occasionally, consider hiring one from a reputable hire company. It will prevent the following:
- Finding storage space when it’s not in use.
- Having to pay for maintenance and repairs.
- Keeping an operator on your payroll.
Hiring larger landscaping equipment makes sense if you want to avoid spending too much capital while building up your business.
Final Thoughts
Setting up your own landscaping business means having all the right tools and equipment from the start. However, there are items you can hire instead of buy, especially if you only need them every now and then. Before rushing off to buy tools and equipment for your new business, decide which ones you can hire to save you time, money and hassles!