We have yet to live in a home that did not require a dizzying amount of DIY improvements— that's half the fun, right? The not so fun parts are the constant trips to the hardware and craft stores to gather supplies, and accumulating useless extra equipment along the way. Experience has taught us a thing or two about what's worth having on hand and what's better left to borrowing from a friend or renting for the day...
Setting Up Home: DIY Tool Basics
Obviously, our needs will be quite different depending on our DIY abilities and the scope of our projects, but we've found that there are some tools and supplies that nearly every DIYer should find worthy of coveted storage space. Here's our short list...
1.) A Basic Tool Kit:
• hammer
• screw driver (with interchangeable flat and phillips head bits in a range of sizes)
• monkey wrench
• pliers
2.) Measuring Tape
3.) Level
4.) Fabri-tac (I prefer this to a glue gun for most craft projects because it isn't as messy, has a much stronger hold, binds almost every type of material including wood and glass, and requires very little storage space.) You can find it at any craft store.
5.) Heavy Duty Staple Gun
6.) Hand Saw and Mitre box (if you have storage space to spare, a power miter saw is worth the investment, but for the occasional small project that requires angle cuts, these will do the trick)
7.) Scissors (a good, heavy, sharp, fabric-cutting pair)
8.) Electric Drill (some may find this unnecessary for a basic DIY set, but if you're like me, and are a) impatient, or b) lacking in upper body strength, this tool is indispensable)
What else would you add to the list?
(Image: Flickr member geishaboy500 licensed for use under Creative
Commons)
Comments (10)
Daily Email
Top Tours
- Gretchen & Brad's Slice of Light
- Julia's Refreshed Bedroom on a Budget
- Michael & David's Modern Classic
- Hunter's Dramatic DIY
- Elizabeth & Kevin's Eclectic & Very Narrow Rowhome
Top Posts
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Putty Knife
view anmar's profile
a fair assortment of screws and nails.. funny this is up- just bought my first house and am experiencing the daily run to the hardware store.. argh.
view lz's profile
diagonal cutters an utility knife.
view aarongburton's profile
I bought a 100 year old house a 1 1/2 years ago. I've done a lot of small, mostly cosmetic projects. Here are my suggestions. When you buy a level, don't buy a short 1ft one. It is much more useful to have a longer one. A good studfinder is a must. Also, a good drill with a set of drill bits and a set of screw bits (usually drills have an adapter that allow you to use the same scew bits you use with an interchangeable screwdriver). A rubber mallet has also come in handy especially for assembling furniture and shelves. I've also accrued a lot of painting supplies. I've found that smaller rollers (8 inch I think) are much easier to use than the standard larger ones. I also think it is a good idea to have more than one tape measure.
view littlepaperheart's profile
Box cutter/Utility Knife
Normal screwdrivers (those interchangeable ones don't always fit)
Wrenches
Extra screws and nails
view ChrisGal's profile
Leatherman. Great tool that while it may be a jack of all trades, it packs a lot of punch in one handy package.
view tallguylehigh's profile
Multiple screwdrivers. Those interchangeable ones are a pain!
Hack saw.
Stud finder.
Sand paper, in varying grits.
C clamps.
Different types of glue.
Painting supplies.
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
For those of us incapable of swinging a hammer in a straight line, I suggest plaster.
For simple electrical work, I suggest one of those simple light up circuit testers and maybe a ground tester. They cost less than $10 and are incredibly useful. If you have the cash (about $60 - $200), a tone tracer (sometimes called a fox and hound) is awesome at tracking down where that weird wire is going or what that orphaned switch does.
As I look through my accumulated set:
Pipe snake for clogs. Teflon tape, electrical tape, zip ties, cable holders, safety goggles, dust masks, mini sander, flashlight.
view Jason's profile
Cordless drill and bit set for same. Single best DIY tool investment evar. Especially when assembling DIY bookshelves or anything else held together with a lot of screws, having the drill makes everything go together so much faster.
view Ulrika's profile
Allen wrench (six-sided) bit attachments for the screwdriver, ratcheting if possible. Not always needed for DIY, but essential if you need to put together furniture, and since a lot of my DIY projects end up being Ikea hacks, they two run together in my mind. Also useful for bike maintenance.
Sandpaper is essential. Electric sander may not be absolutely necessary, but it is probably be the biggest time saver of all my power tools. The others make DIY projects easier and somewhat faster, but the sander can cut an hour or two off the total project time.
Wire cutters: for everything from the DIY hat--rack I made from twisted tiny guage wire, binder clips, and pushpins (the wire was small enough to use scissors yes, but it would have dulled them) to the chandelier I rewired.
Dropcloth: With limited space for DIY, most of us probably can't afford to get paint or glue all over. When we moved into the apartmet, I got a plastic mattress bag to keep the mattress clean. Now I use it to keep from getting paint spatter all over the garage floor. Sure, it's just a concrete slab, but I think my landlord appreciates it.
view lurker2209's profile