Tools for The Home Handyman

NEXT TIME YOU receive a repair bill, check out the breakdown of the invoice. Most of the time, the bulk of the cost doesn't come from parts. It comes from labour. Paying people to fix things is expensive. You can save a ton of money—and a ton of waiting—if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and tackle household jobs yourself. Instructions on how to construct things can be found in manuals and YouTube videos, but there are certain tools you inevitably need, whether you live in an apartment or a single-family home. We've rounded up all the best tools you should have to handle all but the biggest DIY jobs.

The Tape Measure

Stanley Fatmax 25-Foot Tape Measure

Stanley's Fatmax has a wider-than-typical tape that is less prone to bending and collapsing when extended across a room. You can supposedly extend it straight through the air, without anyone or anything propping up the other end, for 14 feet before it falls down. As far as length goes, 16 feet is about as small a tape measure as I'd recommend, and 25 is a good size for most homes. 

The Utility Knife

Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife

In my experience, utility knives don't vary that much in effectiveness. It's the replaceable blade that matters much more. The Fastback is the best I've used (I have used a bunch!), and you can replace the blade without having to find a screwdriver to take the knife apart. It also folds—you can flick it open and shut it with one hand—it locks securely, and the coating is tough enough to last for years. A nice plus is the built-in    hook for cutting string and plastic ties without opening the knife. It came in handy more than I thought it would.

The Stud Finder

Zircon 1.5-Inch Scan-Depth Metal and Wood Stud Finder

If you want to mount anything heavy to a wall, you should always mount it to the vertical structural pieces of wood (studs) behind the wall. This means you need to be able to find them without being able to see them. A stud finder, held and rubbed against a wall, will light up when it passes over a stud, so you know where to drill.

Builders sometimes run wires along with these studs, and to keep people from drilling into a wire and getting fried like Daffy Duck, they place metal guards over them. Any decent stud finder, like this Zircon, will warn you if it detects one. Plus, you can hold it up to yourself and go “Beep, beep, beep. Stud detected.” It'll never get old.

The Power Drill

Milwaukee Tool M12 FUEL 12V Li-ion Brushless Cordless 4-in-1 Installation 3/8 in. Drill Driver Kit W/ 4 Tool Heads

This might seem like overkill, however the usefulness of the interchangable heads cannot be underestimated.  Twelve volts will do for most home jobs, this is more powerful then you think.   Weather you mount a heavy shelving unit or a beefy sound system, this will do the job.. This 1/2-inch chuck will accept bits as large as you'll need, and at this price (which includes two batteries and a charger), it's too good a deal to pass up. 

The Drill Bits

DeWalt Black and Gold 14-Piece Drill Bit Set

For all but the smallest of jobs, it's going to go easier if you drill out a hole before driving screws and bolts into a wall. The black oxide coating on these drill bits reduces friction, which speeds up drilling and resists rust. These are good for general use and will handle wood, metal, plastics, wallboard, and fibreglass.

The Tool Bag

Milwaukee 15 inch packout Tote

You don't need a metal toolbox at home. It's going to live an easy life on a closet shelf, not on a construction site. Fabric makes it lighter, and having an open top makes it easy to pop in and grab something for a quick job on a whim, which is common with a home tool kit. This also fits with Milwaukee’s PackOut system if you want to add to your kit in the future. The quality of the fabric and construction makes this a great deal, and I like it better than the brand-name totes. It has 22 pockets on the inside and outside, perfect for tools you want to keep easily accessible. You can fit the bigger stuff, like a power drill or hammer, in the wide main compartment. 

The Mallet

Stanley 16 Oz. Mallet

A lot of furniture needs a few whacks during assembly, and if you do it with a regular hammer, you can cause some damage if you smack too hard. Some jobs need a rubber mallet to snug pieces together without chipping off bits of plastic or wood. Sixteen ounces for a mallet is pretty light but should be sufficient for banging together furniture and shelving units without being cumbersome for most people.

The Hammer

Estwing 16oz Claw hammer

This hammer ticks the necessary features for general, around-the-home use, such as having a smooth head. It's at the top end of that 16- to 20-ounce range perfect for handling most jobs, and it's got a curved claw to pull out nails, which you want. A straight rip claw is more versatile but unnecessary for most people.

The Hex Key

Bondhus L-Wrench Standard and Metric Set

Yeah, you can use the cheap stuff furniture manufacturers include for free whenever you buy something that uses Allen bolts (excuse me, hex bolts). But as with screwdrivers, you'll feel the difference with a good set of hex keys. I've bent cheap hex keys while torquing something down and then brought out the Bondhus to finish the job with no problems. The keys in this set, in metric and standard measurements, have a rust-resistant finish and fit snugly in any hex bolt you'll come across. And believe me, apartment dweller or homeowner, there are many hex bolts in your future.

The Level

Stanley 48-Inch Box Beam Level

A good level is an absolute necessity for work around the home. This one is accurate to plus or minus 0.0005 of an inch. It's made of aluminum for toughness, and the ends are capped in plastic so you don't end up scraping the hell out of your walls when you're using it. Get a 48-inch level. It's one of the typical sizes, and longer levels are more accurate than the short ones.

The Screwdriver

Klein Racheting Screwdriver

It's easier to spot the difference in quality when using screwdrivers. I've started plenty of jobs with a junk one, only to have it cam out of the screw's head or start to strip a stubborn screw. A better screwdriver makes the job go as smooth as butter, and Klein Racheting Screwdriver is real quality.

Made in the US, it has Phillips #1 and #2 and slotted 3/16-inch and 1/4-inch heads, plus the shaft can be used as a 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch nut driver. This combination screwdriver will cover your bases for regular home repairs and maintenance, and it takes up a lot less space than a set of full-size screwdrivers.

For Smaller Screws

Wiha 7-Piece Precision Screwdriver Kit

Every so often, to repair things such as eyeglasses and electronics, you're going to need a set of very small screwdrivers. For whatever reason, manufacturers tend to use soft tiny screws that deform easily, so good precision screwdrivers are especially important. None of the combination precision screwdrivers I've ever used has impressed me, so buy a full set. They won't take up much room since, you know, they're tiny. Use six of the seven you get in this kit. You can stick the Phillips #1 in a drawer somewhere if you get the Channellock above.

The Magnetic Parts Dish

Titan 4 1/4-Inch Magnetic Parts Dish

It's easy to lose screws, nails, and bolts in the carpet when you need them, and then when you find them it's usually by accident with your feet … in the middle of the night. You don't need anything fancy for a parts dish—it's just a bowl of magnetized steel—but it'll keep all your little metal bits in one place when you're working. If you tip it over, they won't be going anywhere.

The Adjustable Wrench

Crescent 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench

Home tool kits are all about saving space, which is why I recommend an adjustable wrench as a stand-in for an entire wrench set. Eight inches is a good size that'll give you enough torque for big jobs without being too unwieldy to handle the small stuff. You adjust the width of the jaws by spinning the knurl, all the way up to fit a 1 1/8-inch nut.

The Pliers

Knipex Water Pump Pliers

Pliers will be some of your most-used tools, and here it pays to fork out the money for a good set that'll last forever. As the saying goes, buy once, cry once. The large tongue-and-groove pliers are what you need for large pipes, such as in plumbing.   The push button adjustablity shows why these are the top of the line pick. 

The Caulk Gun

Newborn Smooth Hex Rod 10:1 Ratio Caulking Gun

Caulking guns got fancy in the past decade or two. Who saw that coming? The predominant type had ratchet designs that'd ooze caulk everywhere when you stopped squeezing, and you had to hurriedly unscrew the rod to make it stop. But this smooth-action gun lets you release the trigger and caulk won't dribble. In the handle, there's a hole that cuts the tip off a new tube of caulk, as well as a puncture tool that unfolds from the barrel to break the seal. 

The Caulk Smoother

Allway 3-in-1 Caulk Tool

The old-school way is to use the tip of your finger, but why cheap out and risk making it look sloppy? Caulking is typically highly visible, so make sure it's smooth and even with this caulk tool. It's the best I've ever used. The silicone head can be taken off, rotated, and put back on for three different widths, depending on the width of the caulking bead you're applying. And because it's silicone, sticky caulk comes right off with no trouble. On the other end, there's a very effective metal scraper for removing old caulk.

The Shears

Wiss Titanium Tradesman Shears

There are certain jobs that will break or jam up regular scissors. When I was cutting thick rug pads to place under area rugs, these Wiss shears were the only thing that could finish the job. They come in handy when you don't have enough room for wire cutters and can snip off plastic shipping ties and even cut thin wood shingles. They're made by Crescent, a quality tool company that's been around for generations.

The Yardstick

Empire Aluminum Yardstick

Levels are your go-to when you need to make something absolutely parallel or perpendicular to the ground, and tape measures are great and necessary, but a good yardstick should be in your tool kit. It's handy when a tape measure won't sit quite flat enough against a wall to trace a line. This one from Empire has standard markings and not metric. It won't fit in your tool tote, but it's thin enough to stick in the closet (or almost anywhere).

The Ruler

Westcott Metal Ruler

Sometimes a yardstick is too big and unwieldy and instead you'll need to break out the foot-long ruler. There's no need to spend big on a ruler, but some of the cheap competitors have wavy edges that make them useless for drawing straight lines on walls. This Westcott has a perfectly straight edge and costs little more than a street taco. The reviews are correct, though—don't try to remove the barcode sticker. It'll pull off the cork material on the back. No matter. The label doesn't get in the way of using it.

More Bits

DeWalt Maxfit 30-Piece Driving Bit Set

You'll get a variety of bits in this kit 15 1-inch bits and 11 2-inch bits. Not just the usual Phillips and slotted, but hex and Torx bits too. The two nut drivers are 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch, popular sizes in case you need to drive bolts instead of screws. For you butterfingers out there, the screw lock sleeve is magnetic, so they're less likely to tumble out of your drill and disappear. DeWalt counts the sleeve and the case as parts 29 and 30, in case you were coming up short on your mental math.

You do not need all of these tools every day, but you will need all of these someday.      Your other option is to hire somebody who has invested in the tools and we are always here to help.