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Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

patio.so

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Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#1

Post by GouacheApp »

Hey HN!

I built Patio to make DIY more accessible and sustainable.

It’s a community-powered platform where you can:

Rent tools from people nearby

Learn DIY through curated tutorials and guides

Find or list surplus materials to save money and reduce waste

Browse home improvement news in one place

It’s early, but live — would love your feedback on the experience, especially around search, learning, and marketplace usability.

Thanks! — Julien

Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste
patio.so

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#2

Post by 0x53 »

Love the idea and hope you are successful. I really think there is a lot of value to be unlocked in sharing/renting tools. In my area we have a tool library which is handy.

Some ideas: - I would focus a lot of effort on making it incredibly easy and intuitive to list things. This is one of the primary barriers to me when using these types of apps. - maybe future idea would be to list things from Home Depot or other stores to expand the number of rentals that are available.

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#3

Post by GouacheApp »

0x53 wrote: post #2

Love the idea and hope you are successful. I really think there is a lot of value to be unlocked in sharing/renting tools. In my area we have a tool library which is handy. Some ideas: - I would focus a lot of effort on making it incredibly easy and intuitive to list things. This is one of the primary barriers to me when using these types of apps. - maybe future idea would be to list things from Home Depot or other s…

Thanks a lot for the feedback—really appreciate it! Totally agree that ease of listing is key. We're actively working on making the process super simple with AI-powered automation, and also improving how people search and discover listings. Love the idea of integrating store rentals too—that's on our radar!

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#4

Post by supermdguy »

0x53 wrote: post #2

Love the idea and hope you are successful. I really think there is a lot of value to be unlocked in sharing/renting tools. In my area we have a tool library which is handy. Some ideas: - I would focus a lot of effort on making it incredibly easy and intuitive to list things. This is one of the primary barriers to me when using these types of apps. - maybe future idea would be to list things from Home Depot or other s…

How does your tool library work? Who organizes it? Sounds really interesting.

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#5

Post by GouacheApp »

supermdguy wrote: post #4
0x53 wrote: post #2

Love the idea and hope you are successful. I really think there is a lot of value to be unlocked in sharing/renting tools. In my area we have a tool library which is handy. Some ideas: - I would focus a lot of effort on making it incredibly easy and intuitive to list things. This is one of the primary barriers to me when using these types of apps. - maybe future idea would be to list things from Home Depot or other s…

How does your tool library work? Who organizes it? Sounds really interesting.

Great question! Patio isn't a traditional tool library—it’s a peer-to-peer platform where anyone can list and rent tools directly from people nearby, similar way to Airbnb. So instead of being run by an organization, it’s the community itself that powers it. We're just making it easy, safe, and fast to share tools locally.

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#6

Post by pruetj »

I like the idea. The rental section has a lot of potential imo. It makes me wonder if there’s room for the personal property rental business in tools like there is for housing and cars.

I do a lot of DIY and tend to acquire a lot of the tools I use if I think they are generic enough or I’ll repeat a similar job in the future but there’s also jobs I do where I’ll happily borrow from a friend. For example, I just built a small privacy fence that needed 5 posts cemented in. For that, I wanted to use a post hole digger. It’s very unlikely I’ll build another fence any time soon and a post hole digger takes up enough space that I don’t want to buy one and keep one. It’s also like $50.

If I didn’t know a friend who just built a new fence and had one but had an option of renting one from a guy down the street for $10, that’s what I’d do. And I’d be so happy I didn’t just spent $50 and then have to either store a tool that’s never used again or try to sell it.

I think DIY is growing, it’s a great way to save money and it’s only becoming easier with YouTube to help you through most any job. Good luck with the site!

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#7

Post by GouacheApp »

pruetj wrote: post #6

I like the idea. The rental section has a lot of potential imo. It makes me wonder if there’s room for the personal property rental business in tools like there is for housing and cars. I do a lot of DIY and tend to acquire a lot of the tools I use if I think they are generic enough or I’ll repeat a similar job in the future but there’s also jobs I do where I’ll happily borrow from a friend. For example, I just built…

Really appreciate you sharing that example—it perfectly captures the kind of use case we’re building Patio for. DIY is awesome, but yeah, not every tool needs to be owned, stored, or bought new. Renting something like a post hole digger from a neighbor for a few bucks just makes sense. That’s exactly the gap we’re trying to fill—making borrowing as easy as buying, and helping people save space, money, and waste. Thanks again for the encouragement!

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#9

Post by GouacheApp »

jvanderbot wrote: post #8

I would like to subscribe to a newsletter that includes all subjects. That apparently isn't possible?

This is a great feedback. Right now, you can select between 2 and 10 categories but we will add this possibility as soon as possible!

Re: Show HN: Patio – Rent tools, learn DIY, reduce waste

#10

Post by mrlatinos »

Based on the title, I assumed there would be some association between rental and DIY tutorials. Perhaps showing the necessary tools to accomplish the task with rental links? The tutorials become something like an all-in-one kit. I also think you could commoditize the tutorials themselves, rather than just sourcing from YouTube. Great idea with a lot of potential!
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