Assets listed on the SCH E are for the sole and exclusive use of the renter only. Therefore you will not and can not claim your tools in any capacity on the SCH E. Not as an asset, and not as a rental expense.
If you are in the business of renovating property, then at an absolute minimum you are filing a SCH C to report business income and expenses (rental income/expenses are not reported on SCH C). You would claim your tools on the SCH C then. But if the SCH C has no business income (remember, rental income can not be reported on the SCH C) then you have no business income from which to claim the cost of your tools against, in any capacity - be it as a depreciated asset or a business expense.
