Concrete grinder rental
What to rent, where, what it costs and what to check before you leave the shop.
Free tool
Floor grinder rent vs buy calculator
Should you rent the grinder and dust extractor or buy them? Answer three quick questions; typical rental rates and prices are already filled in, and you can fine-tune them.
How it works
How the rent-vs-buy math works
- Renting per month = grinding days × (grinder day rate + tooling per day + extractor weekly rate ÷ 5). The extractor is charged as a share of a five-day week for each grinding day; if your shop only rents by the whole week and your jobs are spread out, renting costs more than this.
- Owning per month = (purchase price − resale value) ÷ months you keep it + maintenance + equipment insurance + tooling + loan interest spread over the same months.
- Break-even = owning per month ÷ renting per grinding day. Grind more days than that and owning is cheaper.
- Payback = purchase price ÷ (renting per month − the running costs of owning): how long the rent you stop paying takes to cover the machines.
Worked example: dual-disc grinder and extractor, 4 days a month
- Renting: 4 × ($120 + $0 + $225 ÷ 5) = 4 × $165 = $660 a month.
- Owning: $8,488 + $1,900 = $10,388. At 40% resale after 3 years, ($10,388 − $4,155) ÷ 36 = $173 a month, plus maintenance at 5% a year ($43) and insurance ($41): $257 a month.
- Break-even: $257 ÷ $165 = 1.6 grinding days a month.
- Payback: $10,388 ÷ ($660 − $43 − $41) = 18 months.
On these numbers owning wins early, which matches the advice in our startup guide: rent while you find out how many jobs you'll actually get, and buy once you're grinding most weeks. The math leaves out three things that matter in your first months: the cash you keep in the bank by renting, the time spent picking up and returning rentals, and what happens to a job when a rental machine isn't available.
About tooling. Diamonds wear at the same rate on a rented machine as on your own, and many shops leave them out of the rate, so you buy inserts either way. If that's you, leave both tooling lines at zero. If your shop rents tooling by the day (it can be over $100 a day for a set), enter it on the rent side.
Concrete grinder rental prices and purchase prices
| Item | Rent | Buy new |
|---|---|---|
| 22" dual-disc grinder | About $90–142 a day | About $8,500 |
| 20" planetary grinder | About $350–425 a day at specialty shops | About $15,700–17,800 |
| HEPA dust extractor | About $225 a week | About $1,900–2,400 (small); $3,400–3,900 (mid-size) |
| Diamond tooling | Often extra | About $195–530 a set for a dual-disc; planetary sets vary by bond and grit |
Typical rates; they vary a lot by city and shop, so call two or three before you decide.
Whichever way you go, the grinder needs dust control: OSHA's silica rule for construction requires a water system or a dust collector on walk-behind floor grinders. More in dust extractors and the silica rule.
Defaults
How we set the defaults
| Input | Default | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Grinder rental | $120 a day | Inside the typical $90–142 a day for a 22" dual-disc grinder. The planetary choice uses $385, inside the typical $350–425. |
| Extractor rental | $225 a week | A typical weekly rate for a HEPA dust extractor, spread over five working days. |
| Grinder price | $8,488 | A typical list price for a new 22" dual-disc grinder. The planetary choice uses $16,700, inside the typical $15,700–17,800. |
| Extractor price | $1,900 | The low end of a small HEPA extractor; the planetary choice uses a mid-size one at $3,400. |
| Equipment insurance | $41 a month | Typical tools and equipment insurance for a flooring installer. |
| Tooling | $0 both ways | You buy inserts whether you rent or own, so they cancel out unless the shop rents tooling by the day. |
| Maintenance | 5% a year | An allowance for belts, pads, repairs and service. |
| Years and resale | 3 years, 40% | An assumption. Check used listings for the model you'd buy before you rely on a resale figure. |
| Financing | Off; 10%, 36 months | Example terms only; use your lender's. |
Questions
Renting or buying a grinder: frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a floor grinder?
It depends on how many days a month you grind. With typical numbers (a dual-disc grinder at $120 a day and a HEPA extractor at $225 a week to rent; $8,488 and $1,900 to buy, kept three years and sold for 40% of the price), owning costs less from about 2 grinding days a month. Renting still makes sense while you don’t yet know how many jobs you will get.
How much does it cost to rent a concrete grinder?
A 22-inch dual-disc grinder typically rents for about $90–142 a day, and a 20-inch planetary for about $350–425 a day at specialty shops. A HEPA dust extractor rents for about $225 a week. Many shops leave the diamond tooling out of the rate and sell or rent it separately.
How long does a floor grinder take to pay for itself?
At typical numbers and 4 grinding days a month, a dual-disc grinder and extractor bought for $10,388 pay back in about 18 months: the price divided by the $576 a month you stop spending on rentals, after maintenance and equipment insurance. Fewer grinding days stretch that out.
What does it cost to own a grinder besides the price?
Spread the price, minus what you can sell it for, over the years you keep it, then add maintenance and repairs, tools and equipment insurance (typically around $41 a month for a flooring installer), diamonds, and loan interest if you finance. Storage and a way to move the machine count too.
Do I need a dust extractor with a floor grinder?
Yes. OSHA’s silica rule for construction covers walk-behind floor grinders: use a water system or the manufacturer’s dust collection system, with a collector that has a filter of 99% or better efficiency and a filter-cleaning mechanism, plus a HEPA vacuum between passes indoors.
Rent or buy a floor grinder?
The decision in plain words, beyond the arithmetic.
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