A home tool kit usually starts with a small investment. Then, grows over time as new projects need to be completed and skill level improves. Here are some of the tools that everyone should start with
11 Tools You Should Have in Basic Tool kit
You can fix almost anything with some basic hand tools.
1. Screwdriver Set
The simple beauty of screwdrivers makes them the ideal tools to tighten cabinet hardware, install light switches, and crack open the lids on metal paint cans.
2. Tape Measure
Keep it on hand to measure anything from the wall area for a paint project to the thickness of lumber at the home center—where you’ll learn that a 2×4 is not exactly 2 by 4 inches.
3. Toolbox
Keeping your collection of drivers, screws, and bolts in an easy-to-haul toolbox keeps things organized and handy. A removable tray is great for assorted fasteners.
4. Hammer
A 16-ounce smooth-faced claw hammer has a nice mix of heft and versatility for driving nails into walls to hang pictures, knocking together ready-to-assemble furniture, and building birdhouses. The curved claw is useful for pulling out the nails that inevitably get bent.
5. Duct Tape
This super sticky tape adheres to just about anything for quick fixes around the house and has a thick, woven backing that is thicker than most rolls, yet easy to rip to length. Use it to repair torn tarps, broken buckets, and just about everything except ducts.
6. Flashlight
Get a rechargeable work light that you leave plugged in, you won’t have to go looking for fresh batteries the next time the breaker trips or when you have work to do inside a dark sink cabinet.
7. Set of Pliers
Use them to straighten bent power-cord plugs, replace old showerheads, slice wiring, and get a good grip on just about anything. A kit from Channellock includes tongue-and-groove, side-cutting, needle-nose, and slip-joint pliers.
8. Utility Knife
You’ll be reaching for this tool, again and again, to open boxes, sharpen pencils, mark mortises, and shave wood. Spend a little more upfront for one with a comfortable rubber-covered handle and built-in blade storage. Then you’re more likely to pop in a fresh blade rather than forcing a dull one, which isn’t safe.
9. Putty Knife
Just the tool you need to spread a smidgen of spackling compound, reglaze a window or scrape off paint or wallpaper. Try one that has a flexible 2-inch-wide blade.
10. Handsaw
Less intimidating than a power saw and faster to set up, a handsaw is good for trimming lumber or molding stock because it cuts on the pull and push strokes.
11. Adjustable Wrench
You need one to tighten and assemble all manner of swing sets and appliances as well as plumbing fixtures. This pair of Crescent wrenches has 6- and 10-inch-long handles. Opt for the longer handle when you need extra leverage to free a stuck nut; go for the shorter handle when space is tight.