Most first-year repairs in a house are the same handful of jobs: hang something, tighten something, patch a hole, stop a drip, clear a drain. The kit below handles all of them. Buy it once, keep it in one box, and you’ll stop making a trip to the store for every small fix.
We don’t name brands, and we don’t rate tools. Buy the best you can afford in the tools you’ll use every month, and the cheapest that works for the ones you’ll use once a year.
The core kit: buy these first
Measuring and marking
- Tape measure. Long enough to measure a room, with a blade stiff enough to reach across a gap.
- Level. A medium level for shelves and pictures, and a small torpedo level for tight spots.
- Pencil, marker and a utility knife. The knife opens boxes, scores drywall and trims caulk. Keep spare blades. A dull blade is the one that slips.
Fastening
- Cordless drill/driver. The one power tool almost every job uses: pilot holes, screws, hanging blinds, assembling furniture. See Cordless drill vs impact driver before you buy.
- Bit set. Drill bits for wood and masonry plus driver bits (Phillips, square/Robertson, Torx). Square-drive screws are common in Canada.
- Screwdriver set. For outlet covers, hinges and anything a drill would strip.
- Hammer. A claw hammer for driving nails and pulling them.
- Stud finder. Heavy things belong on studs. See How to find a stud.
Gripping and plumbing
- Adjustable wrench and slip-joint pliers. Supply lines, faucet nuts and P-traps.
- Needle-nose pliers. Small parts and bending wire.
- Plunger. A flange plunger for toilets. A flat cup plunger works better on sinks.
- Bucket and old towels. Every plumbing job starts with one.
Patching and sealing
- Putty knife or a 4 in. drywall knife, plus spackle. Nail holes and dents. For bigger holes, see Drywall repair: which patch for which hole.
- Caulk gun. Tubs, sinks, trim and drafty gaps.
Safety gear
- Safety glasses, work gloves, hearing protection and dust masks. Cheap, and the first thing people skip.
- Non-contact voltage tester. Before you touch a switch, outlet or fixture, even with the breaker off. See How to shut off your water, power and gas.
- Flashlight or headlamp. Under sinks, in panels and in attics.
Buy these when a job calls for them
- Impact driver. Long screws in a deck, fence or shed. It’s a second driver, not a replacement for the drill.
- Circular saw. Cutting plywood and framing lumber.
- Oscillating multi-tool. Flush cuts in trim, cutting out damaged drywall, undercutting door jambs.
- Drain snake. A small hand auger for the clog a plunger can’t move.
- Multimeter. Testing batteries, fuses and appliance parts.
- Pipe wrench, tile saw, miter saw. Project tools. Rent or borrow them for the first project, and buy one when you’re sure you’ll use it again.
Use them safely
OSHA’s hand and power tool booklet boils tool safety down to five rules. They apply at home just as much as on a job site:
- Keep tools in good condition.
- Use the right tool for the job.
- Look over each tool before you use it, and don’t use a damaged one.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Wear the right protective gear.
Two more for home use: unplug a corded tool, or pull the battery, before changing a blade or bit. And keep tools and batteries away from children.
Where to start
Pick three jobs on your list, gather the tools those jobs need from the core kit, and do them. The kit grows from there. Browse jobs by tool on our tools pages, or start with a beginner job like patching a hole in drywall or fixing a running toilet.
Sources
- US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hand and Power Tools (OSHA 3080), five basic safety rules Source