The 15 Most Borrowed Tools (and Why Nobody Buys Them)

The Heavy Hitters

These five tools top the borrowing charts because they share three traits: high purchase price, low annual usage, and large physical footprint. Owning one means dedicating garage or shed space to something you touch a few times a year at most.

1. Pressure washer. A decent gas-powered pressure washer costs $300 to $800, and most homeowners use one 3 to 4 times a year for driveway cleaning, deck washing, and siding. The gas engine also requires winterization (stabilize the fuel, flush the pump) if you live in a cold climate. Electric models ($150 to $300) skip the engine maintenance but produce less pressure, typically 1,500 to 2,100 PSI versus 2,500 to 3,200 PSI for gas. Either way, the usage pattern is the same: one Saturday morning, return it that afternoon, and the job is done for another three months.

2. Drywall lift. A drywall panel lift costs $200 to $400 and serves exactly one purpose: holding drywall sheets against ceilings and high walls while you screw them in. If you are not a professional drywall installer, you will use this tool for a single project and then store it indefinitely. It folds up but still takes up a 2-by-4-foot footprint in the garage. This is the poster child for borrowing.

3. Tile wet saw. A wet saw capable of clean cuts on porcelain tile runs $250 to $600. A typical bathroom tile job takes 2 to 3 days of cutting. That means the saw sits idle for 362 days a year. The water reservoir needs to be emptied and the blade guard cleaned after each use, but that takes 15 minutes. Borrow it for the weekend, return it Monday.

4. Concrete mixer. Portable concrete mixers cost $250 to $500 and weigh over 100 pounds. Unless you are setting fence posts every month or pouring footings as a side business, this tool sits in the back corner of the garage taking up space. For the homeowner who sets fence posts once every few years, borrowing is the obvious choice. Hand-mixing in a wheelbarrow works for small jobs (one to two bags), but anything over four bags of concrete justifies using a mixer.

5. Carpet cleaner. Quality carpet cleaning machines cost $250 to $450. Most people deep-clean carpets once or twice a year, typically in spring and before holiday guests arrive. Grocery store rental units charge $40 or more per day and are often poorly maintained. Borrowing a well-kept machine from a friend costs nothing, comes with honest advice about which cleaning solution works best, and the machine is in better condition than whatever the rental counter has available.

The Seasonal Tools

These tools have a narrow window of usefulness. They come out for a specific season, do their job in a single day, and go back into storage for the rest of the year. Owning one means paying full price for a tool with a 1-to-3-day annual work schedule.

6. Lawn aerator. Lawn aeration happens once a year, typically in fall for cool-season grasses. A powered core aerator costs $2,000 or more, and even a manual walk-behind model runs $150 to $300. Rental centers charge $80 to $100 per day. This is the single most-borrowed tool in suburban sharing groups, according to community tool library data. One aerator can service an entire block of lawns in a weekend if neighbors coordinate.

7. Dethatching rake or powered dethatcher. Same pattern as the aerator: one season, one job, one day of actual use. Powered dethatchers cost $150 to $350. If your neighbor already has one, the borrow-and-return cycle takes less time than driving to the rental center.

8. Pole saw. For trimming high branches that a standard ladder and hand saw cannot reach safely. Used once or twice a year when trees get unruly. Gas-powered models run $200 to $400, battery models $150 to $300. Most homeowners do not own one but wish they did when branches start hanging over the driveway or scratching the roof. Borrowing one for an afternoon handles the job until next year.

9. Backpack leaf blower. Handheld leaf blowers are common and worth owning for quick cleanups. Backpack blowers ($250 to $500) produce roughly 10 times the airflow and are worth borrowing for the big fall cleanup, then returning once the yard is clear. The weight alone (15 to 25 pounds) makes storage awkward if you only use it twice a year.

10. Snow blower. In regions that get significant snowfall, a quality two-stage snow blower costs $800 to $2,000. If you only get 3 to 5 storms per winter that actually require mechanical clearing, sharing one between 2 to 3 neighbors makes financial sense. The key is coordinating in advance, before the storm hits, not during. Decide the rotation order before the first snowfall and the arrangement runs itself all winter.

The Specialty Power Tools

These tools are highly capable but narrowly useful. Each one excels at a specific task that most homeowners encounter a few times and then move on from. For someone who does that task regularly (a trim carpenter, a furniture builder, a dedicated renovator), buying makes sense. For the rest of us, borrowing covers it.

11. Miter saw. A decent 10-inch sliding compound miter saw costs $250 to $600. If you do trim work or build furniture regularly, ownership is justified. If you need it for a single project, like installing baseboards after a new floor or cutting lumber for a bookshelf, borrowing saves both money and the 3 square feet of bench space the saw occupies permanently.

12. Router (plunge and fixed base combo). Router combo kits run $200 to $350. Routers are versatile tools that can round edges, cut dadoes, create decorative profiles, and flush-trim laminate. But the learning curve is steep, and most homeowners use a router for one project before it goes dormant. Borrowing lets you try the tool and learn whether routing is something you want to do regularly before committing to buying one and the inevitable collection of router bits.

13. Oscillating multi-tool. These cost $80 to $200 and are genuinely useful for specific tasks: cutting a door jamb flush for new flooring, removing old grout, trimming a pipe flush with the wall, or sanding in tight corners where a random orbit sander cannot fit. Many people borrow one for a particular task, discover how handy it is, and eventually buy their own. This is one of the tools most likely to graduate from "borrowed" to "owned."

14. Paint sprayer. Airless sprayers cost $300 to $1,000. HVLP sprayers cost $100 to $500. Either type turns a 3-day roller-and-brush paint job into a single day of spraying. But cleaning an airless sprayer takes 30 to 45 minutes and requires flushing gallons of water through the system. If you only paint once every few years, the sprayer sits idle and the seals dry out. Borrowing from someone who uses theirs regularly means you get a machine that is already broken in and maintained.

15. Table saw. This one is contentious. Table saw owners tend to be protective because it is a high-value, high-risk tool that takes effort to set up and calibrate. But for someone who needs to rip a few sheets of plywood for a one-off project, borrowing a table saw beats buying one that will dominate the garage forever. The compromise many groups arrive at: "come use it in my garage" instead of lending it out. The owner supervises, the borrower does the cuts, and the saw stays in its tuned-up home.

When to Stop Borrowing and Buy Your Own

The borrowing math breaks down when frequency goes up. If you are borrowing the same tool 3 or 4 times a year, the logistics of coordinating, picking up, returning, and cleaning start to exceed the actual cost of ownership. At that point, just buy the tool.

Buy when:

• You use the tool more than 3 times per year
• You need it on short notice (emergency plumbing tools, for example, cannot wait for a friend to drop them off)
• The tool requires personal calibration or setup that makes borrowing impractical (a miter saw dialed in for your specific trim angles)
• The tool is cheap enough that the hassle of borrowing is not worth the savings (a $20 caulk gun is not worth coordinating a pickup)

Keep borrowing when:

• The tool costs more than $200
• You use it fewer than 3 times per year
• It takes up significant storage space
• It requires ongoing maintenance you do not want to handle (gas engine tools, pressure washer winterization, sprayer seal replacement)

For a deeper breakdown of the own-versus-borrow calculation for specific tool categories, see the borrow-or-buy guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

What about renting from Home Depot or a rental center?

Rental centers charge $40 to $100 or more per day for most power tools, plus the drive time to pick up and return. Borrowing from a friend or neighbor is free, faster (they live closer than the rental counter), and often comes with a quick tutorial from someone who actually uses the tool. Rental makes sense for truly specialized equipment like excavators, jackhammers, or concrete saws that nobody in your circle owns. For standard power tools, borrowing from your network wins on cost, convenience, and the hands-on advice that comes with it.

What if nobody in my group owns the tool I need?

Three options. First, rent from a store for the single job. Second, buy it yourself and become the person who has it for the group (this is how most tool libraries grow their inventory). Third, check whether a local tool library, makerspace, or public library lending program has it. Cities like Portland, Sacramento, and Berkeley run formal tool lending programs through their library systems, and the selection is often broader than you would expect.

Related Reading

• Share, Don't Buy
• Build a Tool Library
• Borrowing Etiquette
• New Homeowner Toolkit