Contractor Equipment Rentals

Add restoration equipment capacity for a jobsite

Restoration contractors, remodelers, property managers and crews working insurance jobs can add drying and HEPA filtration capacity from the HBS rental fleet instead of buying more units.

HBS is based in Stuart and rents to jobsites across Martin and St. Lucie County. Name the machines and quantities you need, or describe the job and HBS will help match the equipment to it.

When contractors rent from HBS

• A storm or busy week leaves your own drying equipment committed to other jobs, and a new loss still needs dehumidifiers and air movers.
• A remodel or repair needs HEPA dust control in an occupied home or office.
• A property manager needs equipment at a vacant unit until a contractor can start.
• An insurance job runs longer than planned and you would rather rent for the extra weeks than tie up your own fleet.
• A job needs specialty tools for a short time, such as a FLIR thermal camera or an Injecti-Dry cavity drying system.

What is in the fleet

• Commercial LGR dehumidifiers with a built-in condensate pump, rated 180 pints a day at saturation and 85 pints a day at AHAM conditions.
• Small air movers (1/2 HP, about 2,200 CFM, two speeds) and large air movers (1 HP, 4,000+ CFM, three speeds).
• A HEPA 500 air scrubber (AFD, 500 CFM) and a HEPA 1000 air scrubber (AFD, 1,000 CFM, two-stage filtration).
• An Injecti-Dry Direct-It IN wall and cavity drying system with 17 outlets.
• A FLIR E6 Pro thermal camera (240 x 180, MSX), a Protimeter SurveyMaster pin and pinless moisture meter, and digital hygrometers.

Rent by the 24 hours, the week or four weeks. Base rates per unit are in the rental rates table; the Injecti-Dry system, the FLIR camera, the moisture meter and the hygrometers are quoted per request. Every unit is cleaned and decontaminated after each rental. HBS confirms which units are available for your dates when it confirms the request.

Send the details your schedule depends on

A complete first message saves a round of calls. Include:

• The jobsite address, unit or suite number, and the onsite contact.
• The company or person renting the equipment, who can approve extensions or added units, and the billing contact if an owner, carrier or general contractor is paying.
• Each machine type and quantity, for example one dehumidifier, six large air movers and one HEPA 1000.
• The start date you need and how long you expect the job to run.
• Delivery to the site, pickup by your crew, or a mix, and whether you want HBS to place the units.
• Access: gate or front-desk check-in, stairs, elevator, parking, loading rules and long carries.
• The power available in the work area, where the dehumidifier drain hose can run, and whether the space is occupied.

HBS answers with a written quote that itemizes each unit, the rate period, tax, any deposit, filters or accessories and any delivery charge. A request is not a reservation: HBS confirms fleet availability, rates, timing, and fulfillment before anything is reserved.

How multi-unit and multi-week jobs are confirmed

A ten-unit job follows the same written process as a single unit, with more of it on paper:

• One equipment schedule. Every unit, quantity and accessory is listed before anything leaves HBS, with the rate basis for each line.
• Exact dates. The agreement names the event that starts the rental clock, such as pickup or delivery handoff, and the exact end date and time.
• Released in writing. Units are loaded only after the signed agreement, any payment due before release and the requested site details are in. HBS then confirms in writing that the rental is ready to dispatch, with the delivery or pickup window.
• Adding units mid-job. Extra units are a written change with their own start and end, so you know which clock each machine is on.
• Swapping sizes. If the job needs large air movers instead of small ones, or a HEPA 1000 instead of a HEPA 500, HBS confirms the substitution in writing first.
• Extending. Ask before the current end time. HBS checks that the units are still free and confirms the new end date, price and payment timing in writing.

HEPA dust control during occupied-home remodels

When people are still living in the home, dust has to stay in the work area. A HEPA filter, as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy, can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles at 0.3 microns, according to the EPA.

• Size by the room. Air changes per hour equal the airflow in CFM times 60, divided by the room volume in cubic feet. A 20 by 15 foot room with an 8 foot ceiling holds 2,400 cubic feet, so a HEPA 500 at its rated 500 CFM gives about 12.5 air changes an hour. Legend Brands gives 6 air changes per hour as a general minimum for an air scrubber, and 2 to 4 is normally enough for construction dust; the sizing guide walks through the math. Legend Brands gives 6 air changes per hour as a general minimum for an air scrubber, and 2 to 4 is normally enough for construction dust; the sizing guide walks through the math. Legend Brands gives 6 air changes per hour as a general minimum for an air scrubber, and 2 to 4 is normally enough for construction dust; the sizing guide walks through the math.
• Leave a margin. Loaded filters and ducting lower the real airflow, so leave room in the numbers or step up to the HEPA 1000.
• Exhaust out of the work area. Set the scrubber to exhaust filtered air out of the contained space. Whether the area actually holds negative pressure depends on the whole containment and exhaust arrangement, not the machine.
• Watch the pre-filter. Check it during demolition or sanding and tell HBS if a unit needs a filter change.
• Homes built before 1978. Under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, firms paid to disturb painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing must be lead-safe certified and follow its work practices, including work-area containment and HEPA exhaust control on power tools. An air scrubber supports those practices; it does not replace them.

A HEPA rental handles airborne particles. It does not remove mold from materials or replace professional remediation, and it does not dry anything; a dehumidifier removes the water vapor.

Documentation-friendly readings

If an owner, carrier or property manager asks how the drying is going, consistent readings make the job file easy to follow:

• Map the edge of the wet area with the SurveyMaster's pinless mode, then mark test points and read them in pin mode.
• Take a dry reference on the same material in an area that never got wet.
• Read the same marked points at about the same time each day, and log room temperature and relative humidity from a digital hygrometer next to them.
• Photograph each meter display beside its marked point, so the log and the photos match.
• Save before-and-after thermal images with the FLIR E6 Pro. Thermal images show surface-temperature differences that can point to hidden moisture, not the moisture itself, so confirm every suspect spot with the meter.

Readings taken with rented meters are your own records. If you want HBS to take them, HBS offers a separate professional moisture assessment with thermal imaging, moisture mapping, hygrometer readings and a written report, and daily moisture monitoring with drying logs can be added to an assessment. Both are listed under the rental rates.

Property managers and vacant units

When equipment will run in a unit nobody is living in, say so in the request. Tell HBS who can let the crew in, who may switch units off or move them, and who arranges collection.

For a condo or managed building, include the association's rules for deliveries, elevators and work hours. In an occupied unit, plan placement and cord routes around tenants, children and pets.

What a rental includes

A rental supplies equipment for the agreed period, with handoff instructions and one contact for questions. Moisture readings, monitoring and reports are included only if your agreement lists the optional professional moisture assessment or daily monitoring. Demolition, cleanup and repairs are not part of a rental, and equipment alone cannot promise a dry structure by a given date.

HBS does not offer mold remediation or contaminated-water cleanup, and neither a rental nor HBS's water-only drying includes restoration or repairs. Drying equipment rentals are for clean-water (Category 1) water losses only. Do not run rented drying equipment on a loss with any of these; stop and bring in an appropriate experienced professional:

• Sewage or toilet backflow, outside floodwater or storm surge, or washing machine or dishwasher water.
• Mold growth. If you see mold growing in the area, do not run air movers there; the EPA recommends professional help for mold covering more than about 10 square feet.
• Sagging ceilings or other structural damage.
• Electrical hazards.

Common questions

Can I rent equipment for several weeks on one job?

Yes. Rentals run by the 24 hours, the week or four weeks. Every unit on the job is listed on one equipment schedule, and an extension is confirmed in writing before the current end time. See the rental rates.

Can I add units after the job has started?

Yes, when units are available. Added equipment is a written change with its own start and end date, confirmed before HBS delivers or releases it.

Which HEPA air scrubber should I rent for a remodel?

Multiply the room's cubic feet by the air changes per hour you need and divide by 60 for the CFM. Legend Brands' guidance says 2 to 4 air changes per hour is normally enough for construction dust control and gives at least 6 as a general minimum for an air scrubber. The HEPA 500 suits a single room; the HEPA 1000 suits larger rooms and open floor plans. Leave a margin, because loaded filters and ducting lower airflow.

Does HBS take moisture readings for my job file?

Rented meters let your crew take its own readings. HBS also offers a separate professional moisture assessment with thermal imaging, moisture mapping, hygrometer readings and a written report, and daily monitoring with drying logs can be added to it.