For Anna and I, we scrimped, saved, sacrificed, and dreamed of owning our own home from day one of our marriage. At times it seemed that we would never have the ability to be homeowners due to a myriad of reasons, and it seemed that with each child the desire grew, but the reality seemed a little more out of reach. Once we finally had our finances in order, and ended the long search for a place to call home, it was one of the greatest days of our life.
Needless to say, we place great personal value in owning a home, and hope to be able to properly maintain it. But, proper maintenance requires the proper tools. Keep in mind that there are many handy tools for homeownership, and a homeowner does not need all of the required tools immediately. We have started out with the most basic tools every homeowner should have when starting to build their tool repertoire. This is by no means a complete list, and we will be adding more specific tools as we go!
10 Basic must-have hand tools:
Phase 1 Tools you will likely need within the first year of home ownership.
1. Claw Hammer – This is the universal hammer with a flat head on front to drive nails and a claw for prying up objects on the back. Some even have a magnetic nail starter on front that help you hammer in a nail without the need to hold the nail in place with the opposite hand. This can come in very handy in a pinch.
2. Adjustable Wrench (Spanner for those in the UK) – An adjustable wrench has one fixed jaw and one adjustable jaw that allows you to adjust the size to fit a wide variety of nuts, bolts, and other fasteners. If you are on a tight budget and are in need of a wrench this should be the first that you purchase. Pick up both a big one and a small one for more versatility.
3. Foldable Allen Wrench – An allen wrench is a small hexagon faced, often L shaped, wrench. If you have ever assembled furniture from Ikea or Target, you have probably used one they provided to assemble the furniture. What is great about a foldable set is that it is set up like a folding Swiss Army knife with nearly every useful size in one compact place. Pick up one standard inch (SAE) and one Metric and you will be set. Honestly, this is one of my most often used tools.
4. Multi Bit Screwdriver – A multi bit screwdriver is a screwdriver that can quickly change not only the type of driver head (phillips head or flat head) but also the size of the head. For quick jobs it can’t be beat, but can be harder to use in tight spaces, or if a longer shaft is required. Eventually you will want to purchase a full set of screwdrivers, but in the short term, this will serve you fine.
5. Tape measure – 25 ft – This, well it measures the length of stuff, just as the name says. This is by far my most used, and most misplaced tool item. Pick up one that is at least 25 ft so you can measure the full length of large rooms if need be. No in fact pick up two and hide one away knowing that it will go missing at the most inopportune time. I personally like tape measures that is self locking.
6. Bubble Level – Every homeowner needs to hang things on a wall at some point, and this is a nearly impossible task to perform properly without one of these magical little things. I started out with an 8 inch which worked great, but once I got my 2 and 4 ft levels, I rarely used my little 8in.
7. Basic Pliers Set – These are invaluable hand tools for gripping, cutting, stabilizing, and bending all sorts of small things. When looking for a pliers set, looks for one that has the following: long nose pliers, diagonal pliers (for cutting), slip joint pliers (for gripping round objects), and lineman pliers.
8. Utility Knife – I prefer a folding utility knife that can clip onto my pocket. I use it for all of my cutting needs.
9. Putty knife – 1 ¼ in – This cheap little metal blade can patch drywall, a concrete floor, a wood table, and just about any other surface that needs patching. It also doubles as a scraper, and even a cutting blade if in a real pinch. I find so much use for my putty knife that I actually have three, one for my tool box, one for my garage, and one for my shop.
10. Stud finder – First, let me say that I am going to avoid all of the cliche jokes that usually go along with the name of this tool. Second, if you have interior walls, which I assume all homeowners do, then a stud finder is a must for hanging and mounting on the interior walls. Whenever mounting heavy objects or shelves always mount in a wall stud when possible. The stud finder makes that task much easier.
We hope these design/home basics posts will be helpful for you throughout the year! Let me know if you have any questions below:)
– Gabe
