Essential Tools for Starting a Hardscaping Business

Brian here with BL Landscapes. Today, we're just going to take a moment to tell you about the tools that you're going to need if you're thinking about starting a Hardscape business. We'll start with some of the basics.

The first thing that you're going to want to make sure that you have is your personal protection. So, we've got your ear muffs, we got some knee pads, respirator, safety glasses - that's a big one. Of course, gloves are always great for protecting your hands. While we're here, let's also mention that you should always have a fully stocked first aid kit on your job site. This is something that is not only important for the safety of yourself and your employees but also is an LNI requirement. So, let's get started here talking about some of the basic hand tools that you need when you're talking about hardscapes.

So, you're going to want a range of different mallets. These are great for setting wall blocks, adjusting pavers. You're going to want a good steak pounder, regular hammers always great, a couple of nice chisels. These are our favorite pencil for marking pavers. They are a red pencil, these work great, they don't wash off easily. They make nice crisp lines and they're cheap. Also, a good Sharpie that'll mark in wet or dry conditions is great to have. And then some of the basics, obviously, a couple of different length tape measures. We like to have long tape measures but for carrying around on the job site, a 16t is nice because it's light and it's small and can typically measure most of the things you need it to. A good chalk line, usually we have a couple of different colors of these for different types of surfaces. Squares, big end small, these are great for marking out your blocks, pavers, any of that stuff. Torpedo level, torpedo levels are key to setting wall blocks correctly. These are going to make a big difference in your life. Razor knife, of course, always want to have a razor knife with sharp blades on it. A large size caulking gun, these are great. You use these for all of your adhesives for setting caps on walls, that type of stuff. String lines, making sure you're getting your grades set correctly or keeping your walls straight. Another thing that is great to have is a marking wand for your marking paint. These are great, you can make a lot nicer curves, straight lines and stuff without bending over.

Then, we'll step over here. So here are some of the basic tools that you need when you get started doing any kind of hardscapes. You're obviously going to want a wheelbarrow. Spend the money, get a nice wheelbarrow that will last. A great garden hose is essential, you're always going to want that for washing off tools, washing off your product after you're done installing, wetting down your gravel. A good set of loppers is always good to have, it can help you cut roots if they get in the way. Wrenches that might be hanging in your way. Pry bar, rock bar, that's always important to have. A landscape rake, this will definitely help you when you're trying to get a bigger area raked out nicely. Landscape rakes are important. We like a three-foot-wide pickaxe for all the fun stuff. A regular spade shovel, flat shovel, steel rake, and leaf rake are always important. These are going to be your most used tools. Again, spend the money, get a little bit better stuff. We are always looking for a balance of durability and weight. We want light tools that are going to last and be strong, so we choose fiberglass handles. More expensive but they last a lot longer. You're always going to want a good variety of levels. We probably have 10 different levels. We use everything from a one-foot level up to an 8-foot plate level. Good brooms, a soft-bristle broom and a hard-bristle broom. These are great for washing off, rinsing off, cleaning off surfaces. They're also integral to doing poly sand. We typically like to have two or three of each at all time. This is a screed set. This is great for when you're doing your pavers. We set down our screed rails, which are typically half inch or one inch pipe. This setup is a little bit pricey but it is a game-changer. This will help you to do a more professional product with your pavers and it'll save your back.

So, after your basic tools that everybody needs, the next thing as you step up, a good laser transit is going to be another game-changer for you. This will help you establish grades and level things. You can start out with anything from a $400 Bosch laser transit, which is a great transit for beginners. It's accurate, it works great for smaller job sites. It can step up depending on what you're doing. Transits can get up into the thousands of dollars. We like this Spectra. This is a good brand. This one's about $800, $900 but this one will not only allow you to check your grades but it'll also allow you to do slopes which is very handy. And then we get into our saws. So when it comes to paper saws, there are many different saws. There's lots of different ways you can go. We like to have a combination of saws. The Husqvarna, this 14-inch saw is a great saw. Cuts through block, it can cut pavers. It's downfalls are that it's heavy and it can't cut tight radiuses in pavers. So that's where our 9-inch battery power saw comes in. These are a great saw. They're easy on your back. You do need to have three or four batteries to keep in rotation at all times. And if you do have three or four batteries, you can run this saw pretty much non-stop all day. This is great because it will tight radiuses. It'll make nice intricate cuts that you can't necessarily make with the 14-inch saw. Another tool that you are going to want right away, this is a backpack blower. These are great for a variety of different things. It gets used almost daily. It's nice for clearing leaves off your job site, cleaning off your job site at the end of the day. It's also a big tool for us that we use a lot doing our poly sand on our pavers. This is definitely a necessity for that type of stuff. Otherwise, you won't be able to blow off the dust.

Then, we kind of step up into the next range of saws. When you start doing a lot of pavers, this is a valuable investment. Obviously, a lot of people run the IQ saws which are great too. We prefer this type of saw, the Husqvarna. This has a water well in it, so no dust or anything like that. It is a little messier than the IQ saws but we really like this saw. This saw we've been using for years now. This is great for all of your intricate cuts. This saw will allow you to make nice tight cuts around on your corners, make nice 45s on things. This will cut through about 4 inches thick, so it's nice for a variety of things. But we absolutely love this. The one thing when you have a saw like this is you're going to want to have a nice generator that will put out enough power to run this saw. We don't like to plug this saw into house outlets because it will blow the circuits and it can also fry the motor over a long time if you're not getting adequate power to the saw. So a nice generator, this will be beneficial for you on multiple fronts in the hardscape industry, for everything from cutting blocks, cutting pavers, running lights, running air compressors, all of that stuff.