Skip the gift card. Give Dad a legitimate excuse to rent the big equipment and actually finish that project he's been putting off. Five weekend projects with rental tools — plus exactly what to rent for each one.
The gift card is fine. But you know what's actually fun? A legitimate excuse to rent the big equipment, fire up a project, and have something to show for it by Sunday dinner.
Father's Day is June 21. Here are five weekend projects where rental equipment makes the difference between a good idea and something that actually gets done — plus exactly what to rent for each one.
The dream of most dads with a backyard. The project usually stalls at the footings — digging post holes by hand is miserable work, especially in Georgia clay. Rent a power auger or auger attachment for a skid steer and knock out 20 post holes before lunch. Add a miter saw and circular saw for the framing and decking cuts. The framing goes up in a weekend when you're not exhausted from hand-digging.
Same principle for a fence — an auger attachment turns a three-day fence project into a one-day project. Straight lines, consistent depth, no arguing with the soil.
What to rent: Power auger or auger attachment, miter saw, circular saw. Add a tilt-bed trailer to haul lumber if you don't have a truck.
This is the one where Dad finishes in two hours and feels incredible about life. After pollen season and June rain, every driveway, deck, fence, and siding panel in Atlanta needs it.
The difference between a consumer pressure washer and a 4,000 PSI commercial unit from our lot is not subtle. Things actually come clean. Years of grime off the driveway in one pass. Mildew off the siding in minutes.
Add the surface cleaner attachment for flat surfaces like driveways and patios — it covers a wider path than a wand, leaves no streak lines, and cuts your time in half. On a standard two-car driveway the difference is about 45 minutes versus 2.5 hours.
What to rent: 4,000 PSI pressure washer, surface cleaner attachment, extension wand.
Here's the honest version of deck refinishing: pressure washing and staining are two separate weekends, not one. Wood needs 24–48 hours minimum to dry after pressure washing — in Atlanta's summer humidity, closer to 48. Anyone telling you to wash Friday and stain Saturday is setting you up for a bad stain job.
Weekend 1 — Pressure wash it. Rent a 4,000 PSI pressure washer and a surface cleaner attachment. The surface cleaner strips years of grime and loose stain evenly without leaving streak marks. Do the whole deck in a couple of hours, then let it dry all week.
Weekend 2 — Stain or paint it. Clean, dry, open wood grain soaks up stain properly. Brush or roll on a coat, let it cure, and you're done. Brand new deck. The two-weekend approach gets you a result that lasts — the one-weekend rush approach often means re-doing it in a year.
If the wood is rough enough to need sanding before staining, we carry floor sanders and edge sanders too. Ask the counter team and they'll tell you honestly what your deck actually needs.
What to rent: Weekend 1 — 4,000 PSI pressure washer + surface cleaner attachment. Weekend 2 — floor sander + edge sander (if needed). Father's Day is June 21 this year. Wash now, stain for the holiday.
June is a good time to address bare patches, compacted areas, and drainage issues before Atlanta's summer heat sets in. Rent a tiller to break up compacted soil before overseeding. Or rent a sod cutter to strip and replace sections that are too far gone to reseed.
Most homeowners don't know you can rent a sod cutter for under $100. They just live with the dead patches. Don't.
What to rent: Tiller, sod cutter, roller, spreader — depending on what your lawn actually needs. Ask before you rent. Our counter team will tell you the honest answer.
All of the above is available at all six of our Metro Atlanta locations: Buckhead, Doraville, Gwinnett/Norcross, Cobb/Marietta, Fayetteville, and McDonough. Book online at rent.northsidetoolrental.com — pick up Friday, return Monday at the same rate.
Our counter team has actual construction experience. If you walk in and say "I'm building a deck this weekend," they'll tell you exactly what you need and show you how to use it before you leave the lot. That's the part Home Depot can't offer.
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