When you are a homeowner, you try to keep your home in the best possible condition. However, sometimes, you need to be ready for some small repairs and maintaining your home safety. With that in mind, you need to get must-have tools for home improvement and repair. Countless tools are available for the home, but there are a few that every homeowner should have on hand as the best home tool kit.
Here’s our list of home repair tool kits you should consider having for home maintenance. Let’s go through the tools!
1. Screwdriver Set
There are a lot of tools that you can choose to invest in when you’re putting together your tool kit, but one of the most important one is undoubtedly a screwdriver set. The reason is that screws are used in so many things around the house — from furniture assembly to door hinges, changing batteries, installing shelves, changing light switches, and even fixing leaky faucets or pipes. If you need to tighten or loosen any type of fastener, electronic device, and appliance, then having a quality set of screwdrivers will make all the difference. You can find screwdrivers in many sizes and having a set is definitely a reasonable investment.
2. Hammer
The hammer is one of the most useful handy tools to have at home. As a home DIY tool, it can be used to drive nails, bend or shape metal, remove nails, break things, pound things, or remove other items from walls. Hammers are also great for driving and removing screws.
It is one of the most versatile tools around and can be used for building and tearing down. Let’s see the common functions of it:
- Driving nails: You can use a hammer to drive nails into wood or other materials.
- Removing nails: If you need to remove a nail from something, you can use your trusty hammer to pry out the nail (or at least part of it) so that you can then get a grip on the rest with pliers or another tool.
- Breaking things: If there’s something that needs breaking up — like concrete — you will most likely need some sort of hammer-type tool to make quick work of it.
- Pounding things: Sometimes when working on projects around your home, you need an extra bit of force behind an action — this is where pounding comes in handy which can be done through a hammer that delivers repeat blows.
You can find different types of hammers, but we would recommend a 16-ounce claw hammer, because it is one of the types that can handle most of the jobs.
3. Pliers and Cutters
Pliers and cutters are extremely useful tools. They can be used in many different situations, such as construction, plumbing, and electrical work. Pliers are used when you want to:
- Grip small items and hold objects, such as a rod or pipe.
- Bend or break twisting wires and metal.
- Cut wires (in some cases).
They come in various sizes and shapes and have different functions as mentioned above.
Cutters are similar in function but different in design — instead of having gripping surfaces as pliers do, cutters cut objects by applying force through their jaws directly onto whatever material needs cutting. Cutters are used for cutting or breaking objects such as wires, pipes or nails.
4. Cordless Drill
You might be surprised to find out that your cordless drill is one of the most versatile tools you can own. A cordless drill can be used for drilling holes, driving screws and other fasteners, as well as removing them.
You can consider either corded or cordless drill since corded is designed for heavy-duty while cordless is versatile and is used for all-purpose drilling. A cordless drill is preferred among buyers and it’s used for making holes and hanging some mirrors, paintings, clocks, etc.
5. Tape Measure
The tape measure is arguably another important tool in your home tool kit. It can be used to measure your rooms and furniture, and it can also be used to mark materials. For example, when you go shopping for curtains or blinds, you can use a tape measure to determine how long they should be before purchasing them.
When improving your home or remodelling a project, you need to be as precise as possible and with the help of a tape measure you can do that. But keep in mind that you need to find a tape measure that will not droop once you extend it to measure the width and height of the wall.
6. Utility Knife
A utility knife is one of the DIY best tools that are versatile and can be used for various tasks. You might use it to cut cardboard, plastic, boxes, wiring, and wood. It can also be used for scraping paint or gluing off surfaces. And of course, it can be used for scoring wood — the sharp point of the utility knife allows you to cut thin grooves into drywall or other material so that you can make precise cuts when installing new floors or cabinets. If you’re building new walls in your basement or bedroom, you may use this tool to cut drywall.
7. Wrenches and Ratchets
When it comes to wrenches and ratchets, both are useful. When you want to tighten or loosen a nut or bolt, a wrench is ideal. However, if you need to tighten or loosen the same nut or bolt multiple times (such as when installing something), then a ratchet would be better suited for this task because it allows you to apply consistent pressure with less effort over time.
If you are trying to install something around your house (like shelves), then having both types will be the best option for you.
8. Stud Finder
A stud finder is a device that’s used to locate the studs in your walls. Studs are vertical beams that are used to support the framework of your house, and they’re usually two inches deep into the wall. If you want to hang something on a wall, or if you need to secure something using screws into wood, then knowing where these studs are will ensure that everything is stable and secure.
Stud finders come in magnetic and electric types, but a magnetic one is preferable and it can be moved over the wall.
We hope that this article has given you some insight into the tools needed for home improvement. Once you have the tools but cannot repair something on your own, finding a trustworthy handyman will be a wise choice. Don’t hesitate to contact us since our app not only provides you with the experts who can handle any real estate service, but also the resources and tools needed for that.