Last Updated on June 10, 2024 by teamobn
Regardless of whether you build items all the time or do occasional DIY projects, there are some tools that every household should have. Here are twelve of the most useful that you should own.
Must-Have Household Tools
1. A Claw Hammer
A claw hammer is an essential household tool that should be found in every home toolkit. Its primary function is to drive nails into various materials and to extract them as needed. This capability makes the claw hammer extremely useful for a wide range of home improvement projects.
Beyond its basic uses, a claw hammer can also function effectively as a makeshift crowbar. This is particularly beneficial when engaging in tasks such as dismantling built-in wardrobes or removing old floorboards. For these reasons, a claw hammer is considered a versatile and indispensable household tool.
When choosing a claw hammer, it’s advisable to opt for one with a synthetic handle. Synthetic handles are generally more durable and resistant to breaking compared to traditional wooden handles. This durability ensures that the hammer can withstand repeated use without compromise, making it a reliable choice for your household tools collection.
In addition to its practicality, a good claw hammer balances well in the hand, which minimizes fatigue during use. This ergonomic feature is crucial for homeowners who use their household tools frequently. Whether you’re assembling new furniture or making minor home repairs, a claw hammer is a fundamental component of your household tools arsenal.
2. A Circular Saw
There are lots of different types of hand tools and power tools that should be in every home. One of the most useful power tools to own is a circular saw.
The versatile handheld cutting tool is ideal for making smooth, rigid, and controlled cuts through the timber. It’s perfect for things like cutting mouldings for shelving and trimming floorboards.
You can also get specialist circular saw blades that can cut through metal, masonry, and granite.
For tougher jobs, such as cutting pipes and tubes, consider getting a refurbished cold saw machine. The machines use circular saws to cut metal using a toothed blade that transfers heat, enabling the blade and the material that you’re cutting to stay cool.
All DIYers should have some type of circular saw among their collection of tools.
3. A Handsaw
A handsaw is an indispensable household tool, essential for a variety of woodworking tasks including trimming lumber, cutting floorboards, and building bookshelves. Its straightforward, manual operation makes it a reliable choice for those who prefer to handle their cutting tasks without the need for power tools.
When planning to build bookshelves, a handsaw is particularly valuable. It allows for precise cuts and easy adjustments, which are crucial when customizing shelf dimensions. A handsaw ensures that you can achieve the exact fit and finish required for home carpentry projects like bookshelves, making it a must-have tool in your household tools kit.
The market offers a wide array of handsaws, each designed for specific materials and types of cuts. For instance, rip-cut saws are ideal for cutting along the wood grain, while cross-cut saws are better for cutting across the grain. This variety ensures that, regardless of the project at hand, there’s a handsaw suited to the job.
Considering the frequent need for different cutting techniques in home projects, it’s wise to equip yourself with several types of handsaws. Each saw will enhance your capability to tackle various challenges, from crafting intricate joints to making straight cuts for bookshelf components. This strategic selection makes handsaws an essential part of your collection of household tools.
For anyone involved in home improvement or DIY projects, having the right handsaw can make the difference between mediocre and professional-grade results. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand the specific requirements of your projects and select the appropriate handsaw to add to your household tools arsenal.
4. A Cordless Drill
You won’t get far in your DIY projects if you don’t have a drill. If you need to put a hole in a piece of wood or a wall, drilling is the quickest and easiest method.
But it can take time to plug in and roll out extension cables or get into hard-to-reach places, in which case it really helps to have a cordless drill that’s battery-powered.
Cordless drills have enough power for most basic household DIY tasks, such as driving screws through thick materials like planks of wood.
You may want to get a corded drill as well, but having a drill that you don’t need to the plugin can be very handy for accomplishing lots of different tasks.
5. A Screwdriver Set
A screwdriver set is a fundamental component of any household tools collection. Even if you frequently use a power drill for driving screws, there are numerous tasks around the house that still require the precision and manual control of a traditional screwdriver. From tightening screws in floorboards to adjusting small appliances or changing fuses in plugs, a screwdriver proves indispensable.
In addition to these tasks, screwdrivers are exceptionally useful for other household duties such as opening paint tins. Whether it’s a simple touch-up or a full room refresh, having a screwdriver on hand when dealing with paint can make the process smoother and cleaner.
When assembling your household tools, it’s essential to include both a crosshead screwdriver and a flathead screwdriver in your toolkit. Each type serves different purposes, with crosshead screwdrivers typically used for more modern screw types and flathead screwdrivers necessary for older or simpler screws.
Given the variety of screw sizes you might encounter in typical home repair and maintenance tasks, owning screwdrivers of various sizes is highly recommended. A ten-piece screwdriver set is ideal as it ensures that you have a suitable tool for any screw size, enhancing your efficiency and preparedness for any task.
By integrating a comprehensive screwdriver set into your collection of household tools, you ensure that you’re well-equipped to handle nearly any minor repair or DIY project that might arise in your home. This makes the screwdriver set an essential selection of household tools for maintaining an orderly and functional living space.
6. A Level
There’s nothing worse than wonky shelves. If you’re putting up shelves at home, you need to have a level to ensure they are straight.
Levels can be very handy for other tasks too, such as hanging paintings or building cabinets. Levels can also be very handy for drawing straight lines when you do not have a steel rule to hand.
7. Pliers
Pliers are an essential component of any home toolkit since they may be used for a wide variety of activities requiring gripping, bending, or cutting.Pliers are the tool you’ll grab for time and time again, whether you need to bend metal, cut and strip wires, or remove nuts that just won’t go away.
Pliers are an essential household tools for plumbing jobs. They can be used to firmly secure pipes, which makes it simpler to work on little plumbing repairs by yourself without any assistance.
With little effort, you can preserve the integrity of your home’s plumbing system with the help of this useful tool.
Another common use for pliers within your collection of household tools is providing extra leverage when working with metal clips or pins. Whether you’re tackling automotive repairs or assembling furniture, pliers can give you the mechanical advantage necessary to manipulate tough materials with precision and ease.
Having a variety of pliers in your collection of home equipment is a good idea. Common types include locking pliers for a secure hold on things, wire strippers for electrical operations, and needle-nose pliers for precise work. This variety guarantees that you’ll have the appropriate pliers for every given activity.
Maintaining a home renovation and repair job successfully requires having a trustworthy pair of pliers in your toolkit.
Because of their many uses, pliers are an essential part of every well-stocked toolbox, useful for a variety of household chores.
8. A Nail Gun
If you are doing a DIY project that involves hammering in lots of nails, it can take a lot of effort and sweat if you use a handheld hammer. Instead, opt for a nail gun instead of other household tools.
Most nail guns use compressed air, but electric models are also available. They are ideal for driving in lots of nails quickly, and there are numerous types and sizes available to suit your needs.
9. An Electric Sander
It doesn’t seem to matter what type of building project or DIY task one does, it always seems to involve sanding. A decent electric sander is one of the recognizable household tools that smoothen surfaces much better and much more quickly than by hand.
There are lots of different types of electric sanders available, so you should shop around to find the right household tools for your needs. You could consider a belt sander, which is larger than many models, making it ideal for sanding large workpieces in no time.
You could also consider an orbital sander, which has a circular sanding surface that is great at getting into corners and against edges, or a disc sander, which is perfect for rounding edges and straightening surfaces.
10. A Tape Measure
Tape measures may be small, but they help you to accomplish big things. The little tools enable you to measure anything you need to measure, from the thickness of a plank of wood to the wall area for a painting project.
You can find tape measures at varying lengths to suit your specific needs.
11. A Jigsaw
How did builders survive before the invention of the jigsaw household tools? The power tool can cut shapes into numerous types of materials, including shapes like curves, which are difficult to do with other tools.
For any hard-to-cut angle, a jigsaw is ideal. Also, you can adjust the angle of the blade on many models to get even more versatility.
12. A Mitre Saw
Another cutting household tools that will be invaluable to people doing lots of building projects is the mitre saw. If you’re currently taking online courses for carpentry or other related building courses, you should already have a quality mitre saw in your toolbox.
The power tool’s circular blade can cut a wide variety of angles. The blade is attached to an arm that pulls down to cut the workpiece. Despite being hefty and powerful machines, it is easy to use. You can use it for numerous tasks, such as timber cutting and crown moulding.
Conclusion
“Making do” with what you have is generally a very inefficient use of your time. The right household tools for the job at hand will ultimately save you time and money and give you a better-finished result! That means you, the DIYer, are going to be happier with your work.
Were you able to tick these items off your checklist?
