Tool Recommendations

Every home should have a well stocked toolbox. From dorms to single family dwellings, everyone should have some basic tools to take care of emergency maintenance tasks. I’ve outlined below a few toolboxes that are ideal to serve each type of home. These lists are by no means exhaustive or apply to every situation. These are just my recommendations. These lists are also additive. Each list assumes that you already have the tools in the previous list. After the tool lists, there are two bonus lists. One is for additional items that will make things easier or faster. The other is for consumables.

A note on tool pricing and what to buy: In the vast majority of cases, you should get the cheapest possible version of a tool you can. In the US, you will find that Harbor Freight has a lot of extremely cheap tools. Some of these are good, some are very much not worth it. Some can be adapted or modified to make them better. Harbor freight has a really robust tool reviewing community on YouTube. If you are unsure, it’s likely a good idea to look up some impressions. If you use a tool enough to break it, then consider upgrading to a nicer version of the same tool depending on how fast it breaks. If you break a screwdriver after ten years, maybe just buy the same screwdriver again, for example. Similarly, keep an eye on the conditions of your tools. A worn out Philips screwdriver will almost always cause more harm than good. Replace tools that are worn out.

Minimal

These tools are the bare minimum I consider to be essential for any person living on their own.

• Tool box or bag – Always always have a home for your tools. Ideally this will be big enough for everything on the list, plus some room for expansion.
• Hammer – Any framing hammer will do. It should have a claw on the back for pulling nails and a flat head on the other side.
• #2 phillips screwdriver – Get one with a long shank (see Fig. 1) to fit into deep holes. #2 phillips is the most common screwdriver head you will likely find in the US. In Canada, you might want to add a Robinson screwdriver.
• Flathead screwdriver – Get a 1/4" wide one to start. This will fit most slotted screws you will come across. In a pinch, a flathead screwdriver is a good wedge or pry bar.
• Angled pliers – Also called channel locks. These pliers are at an angle to give you a little more mechanical advantage when turning bolts. The channels mean they are significantly more adjustable than standard pliers.
• Adjustable wrench – Sometimes also called a Crescent Wrench or a Monkey Wrench. These wrenches have a worm gear in the head that moves one of the jaws closer or further away. A small one is fine to start. This, plus your channel locks, will give you the tools you need to do most basic plumbing repair.

Apartment/Condo

While apartment maintenance people are available to fix basically anything you need them to, sometimes they can be backed up and whatever your repair is may not be high enough priority for them to get to you right away. You can make your apartment life a lot easier with a slight upgrade to the basic tool kit above.

• Magnetic Stud Finder – These little guys are extremely cheap. They find studs by magetizing onto the drywall screws used to affix the drywall to your walls. If you’re hanging anything heavier than wall art, screw directly into the studs. Just find a stud with your magnet, then put your screw in a couple inches up or down.
• Outlet Tester – Also a cheap tool that can be invaluable. You plug it into an outlet and it lights up to tell you if the outlet is working or not. It has a little bit of circuitry inside to diagnose common problems.
• 8/9/10/11-in-1 screwdriver – These screwdrivers have a wider variety of bits for unusual screw sizes, plus a couple common socket sizes for hex bolts. When I did apartment maintenance, this driver was my work horse. Look for one in a similar style to Fig. 2.
• 4 (or more) in-1 Paint knife – These cheap paint/putty knives have tools for opening paint cans, spreading spackle, cutting seam lines, and cleaning paint rollers. Don’t bother buying a single use putty knife when one with more function is the same price.
• Bright flashlight – Sometimes the lights go out, it happens. Having a nice, bright flashlight is important. A cell phone would work for this in a pinch, but having something dedicated that you always know the location of is useful. Especially if that light can be clipped onto a hat, strapped onto your head, or even held in your mouth as you do work in the dark.

Detached Home

Congratulations! You’re in a single family home and now you have to contend with all of the stress and work that entails! Most of these tools are about getting things juuust right or doing more involved repairs yourself, since you’re more likely to be in this kind of home for much longer than an apartment or similar.

• Measuring Tape – You know them, you love them. Get one of the silver metal ones. They are nearly indestructible compared to their plastic cousins.
• Bubble Level – They’re cheap, they’re simple, and they work. Get one and use it anytime you hang anything on the wall.
• Speed Square – Good for ensuring things are at right angles (or common other angles) to each other, has the bonus benefit of being able to carry lines between walls if you want things to be the same height around a corner.
• Straight Edge/Ruler – You never know when you’re going to need a straight line. Your bubble level may be able to double as a nice straight edge as well.
• Pipe Wrench – Confusingly, also sometimes called a monkey wrench. These wrenches are designed to bite into smooth, round surfaces and have a long handle to ensure you have a good mechanical advantage. You won’t use it often, but when you do, you’ll be glad you had it.
• Standard and Metric Hex Keys – Also called Allen keys or Allen wrenches. These are the things that Ikea gives out for free. There’s a wide variety of sizes in both metric and standard, so having a set of each is important if you don’t want to strip out the screws.
• Torx Wrenches – A set of torx wrenches is cheap and this style of screw is getting more and more popular. They don’t slip or strip out.
• Standard and Metric Box End Wrenches – Sometimes your adjustable wrench will just be too big to fit into a space. Having a complete set of box end wrenches is nice for that eventuality. If you are feeling fancy, wrenches with ratchets in the round end are nice.
• Standard and Metric socket sets – Sometimes you can only get to a screw from directly above it. That’s where sockets come in. You don’t need huge sets of each, just get small kits with common sizes.
• Drywall saw – A saw that can cut into a wall is nice to have and inexpensive. Drywall saws are specific in that they have a pointed end, good for starting a cut.
• Needle Nosed Pliers – useful for fishing things out of drains or clearing hair out of some more modern drain designs. Get a pair that are very long and narrow.
• Diagonal Cutters – We do not use the slang for these. Don’t ask. They look like pliers, but have a cutting edge. Most cut from both sides at once. A good set of diagonal cutters can be wire strippers, wire cutters, and even trimmers for plants in a pinch.
• Additional Flathead Screwdrivers, Additional Adjustable Wrench – A wider variety of these tools is useful in some circumstances, but not always required. If you followed the previous lists already, I would get a long handled flathead (12" shank) a wider flathead (3/8" or 1/2") and a longer adjustable wrench (12")

Upgrades

These are tools to buy as you feel you want them to save time, effort, or expand your repair possibilities.

• Power Drill and Impact Driver – A battery powered drill and driver set is not very expensive as far as power tools go and can be combined with a good set of bits to make any screwing task exceptionally faster and easier. Save money and get the impact driver first. You can get drill bits compatible with them and they’ll be significantly better at driving screws.
  • A Note on Power Tools – It is very likely that whatever power tool brand you buy into first will be the one your stick with, since the batteries are interchangeable. For this reason, I recommend Makita, Miluakee, and DeWalt. Ryobi has a huge variety of tools, but I have had some very bad experiences with Ryobi tools letting go of bits, sometimes in a very dangerous manner. Similar complaints can be leveled at the various home center house brands, Rigid and Kobalt. A dedicated tool maker and reputable brand is the way to go here.
• Nylon Deadblow Mallet – A deadblow mallet has metal ball bearings inside the head. As you land a swing, all of those pellets move from one side of the mallet to the other, preventing the mallet from bouncing back at you and ensure more fo the force from the swing goes into whatever you are hitting. A nylon head will prevent the mallet from marking whatever you’re hitting as much.
• Multimeter – One of those “you don’t need it until you do” style tools. A multimeter will detect AC or DC voltage, resistance, and continuity. Useful when dealing with battery backup systems, troubleshooting power tool batteries, or doing electronics projects.
• Headlamp – The big upgrade to a flashlight is a flashlight that you don’t need hands to use. They look goofy, but are dead useful.
• Precision Screwdriver Set – Useful for fixing electronics, taking apart toys to fix them, or doing any other small work. I like the ifixit Mako set.
• Infrared Thermometer – An invaluable tool for HVAC or refrigeration diagnosis. Point it at a vent and pull the trigger. If your AC is working, the air coming through will be very cold.
• Electric stud finder – These tools will tell you not only where the studs are, but also when you’re aimed at the center of them, if there are any electric lines nearby, and sometimes even if there are water pipes you are at risk of rupturing.
• Laser Level – Uses a compass and accelerometer to determine what is flat, then projects a laser along that line on the wall. Extremely useful for ensuring multiple items are exactly the right height on walls and significantly more foolproof than a bubble level.

Consumables

Stuff that’s useful to have on hand. Generally speaking, buy these in bulk rather than as a couple of individual pieces. It’s not much more expensive to do so and will save you a lot of time in the long run.

• 1 1/2" Wood Screws (I recommend torx head) – Wood screws only have threads closer to the tip. The benefit here is that they can pull two pieces of wood together with some clamping force better than other screws.
• 1 1/2" Drywall Screws – These phillips head screws are cheap and abundant. Good for hanging light decorations or doing drywall repair.
• 3" drywall screws – These are ideal for digging into studs for mounting heavier decorations like shelves.
• Drywall Anchors – Get the metal big screw kind (Fig. 3.) Anytime you hang anything on a wall, either drill into a stud, or use an anchor. Your curtain rods and photos will never fall off the wall with these guys.
• Picture Nails – If you don’t want to dig a big hole into the wall with an anchor, nails are cheap. I don’t personally recommend them, but hey, you do you.
• Painter’s Tape – Blue (or green) masking tape. Good for getting clean lines when painting. Just remember to pull the tape before the paint fully dries!
• Electrical Tape – Use this any time you need to wrap up a wire. Electrical tape is waterproof from the non-sticky side, but shouldn’t be used as a water seal.
• Duct Tape – The old standby. Get whatever color you want. This stuff is dead useful for temporary fixes.
• Teflon Tape – Use this or pipe dope on any plumbing connection you make, but not both! Teflon tape is significantly less messy. Just make sure you wrap it with the threads, not against them.
• Rug Tape – A great way to keep rugs stuck down to wood floors. Use some of this at each corner if your rugs slide around too much.
• Loctite (blue) – If you ever have screws that like to back themselves out due to vibration, thread locking fluid will help them stay put. The blue varietty is meant to be removable if you ever need to. The red kind will permanently affix whatever you use it on.
• Scotch Brite or 220-grit sandpaper – Useful for cleaning up pipes when making new connections, can also be used to sand down spackle.

What not to keep on hand

Some stuff just isn’t worth buying a lot of or keeping on hand. Things dry out or become unusable over time, so it’s better to just buy some when you need it. Stuff like spackle, caulk, and silicone sealant are in this category. Just buy enough to complete your current job and toss the leftovers.