We didn't want to put together any old list of tools, that home owners should have in their home. We wanted to bring together the ULTIMATE LIST, and with these in your possession, there is no job beyond your capability.
Let's not waste any more time introducing this list, and let's just get started.
Tool No 1 - An Adjustable Ladder
Everyone will need a ladder for their home. The big question is which is the best one to own? Many home owners end up buying 2 or 3 sets of steps and ladders, when one will be able to do all of the jobs.
Think of changing light bulbs, painting ceilings, hanging curtains etc and you will see how having a ladder, that can quickly be adapted to different heights, makes any of those tasks really easy.
So when buying a ladder we recommend that you think about all the uses. Include things cleaning your upstairs windows, cutting high hedges, hanging wall paper and getting in and out of the loft.
Now you know why people end up buying 2-3 ladders, from a small set of steps to larger external ladders. Save yourself some money, and just buy one ladder that you can quickly adjust to be able to do all of the jobs.
This type of ladder is also great, as they fold up quite small and don't take up a lot of space.
Tool No 2 - A Compact Power Washer
If you own a small, lightweight and portable power washer machine, then that is a great cleaning tool to have.
They work great on cleaning things like garden furniture, bicycles, cars and small areas around the house.
They are easy to use, and save you hours of otherwise pain staking work, which is just sore on the back.
High pressure water is just really fast at cleaning everything such as stubborn moss on your driveway, cleaning your car, your patio or decking and just about anything else that needs cleaned.
These are pretty simple to use. Attach it to an external tap, plug it into the mains and let the pressure washer do the work. I warn you now though, cleaning with this is addictive so leave the neighbour's cat and children alone.
Tool No 3 - The Best Window Cleaner on the Market
The choice I faced was pretty simple, sack another useless window cleaner, and do it myself, or try getting another window cleaner, who actually did what he was supposed to do.
Thank goodness for Karcher. I went on a product research as there was no way I was getting out a bucket and water, and then a chamois or squeegee and all of that nonsense.
If I had given up on window cleaners then I wanted something fast, and something that worked.
My brother told me about his Karhcer WV2, let me borrow it, and my friends the rest is history. There are over 6,000 online reviews on this product and that just tells you how many home owners have bought this super product. I have often used a power washer to get the rough off, if the surface is very dirty.
It cleans windows like you wouldn't believe, does it really fast, and the end result even passes the very critical eye of my better half. Don't delay and get it today.
Tool No 4 - The Easy Way to Hang Your Pictures
Leave your hammer in your tool box, and make sure to leave the nails there as well.
Why risk hitting a water or heating pipe, and why risk knocking a nail into an electric cable.
Use these instead, and hang pictures straight, fast and easy with these affordable picture hanging strips.
If you have never tried these, then I urge you to give them a go. There is no need for any nails, screws or bruised fingers and thumbs. These will easily hang pictures on painted walls, wood, metal and yes even tiles.
The best part if you ever want to move a picture, then no holes in the walls and no sticky marks either. Use the smaller strips to hang pictures weighing less than 1.8 Kg, and the medium strip for anything up to 5.4 Kg
Tool No 5 - Just Buy One Cordless Drill/Driver
If you want to call yourself the full blown DIY home owner, then you will need a drill and a screwdriver.
You don't need a drill and a screwdriver, you just need a good quality tool that does both jobs.
I would advise to buy a cordless drill/driver with a good battery, that will allow you to drill into wood, metal and masonry.
To be able to drill into masonry it needs to have a hammer function
Buys one with a Lithium-Ion battery as they hold their charge for a long time, are fast to charge and very powerful. Ideally buy a drill/driver with two batteries as that way you use one and charge one.
The Bosch PSB 1800 shown above ticks every box, and you will not need any other drill or screwdriver ever again. You will of course need to buy a set of drill bits and screwdriver bits.
Add to that a set of socket wrenches, and then you are done and finished.
Tool No 6 - One Set of Sockets, Drill and Screwdriver Bits
When combined with the drill/driver kit above, this turns you from a normal home owner, into Mr, Mrs, Ms or Miss DIY person overnight.
In this kit you get socket wrenches for working with nuts and bolts, drill bits for wood, metal and masonry and a whole assortment of screwdriver bits.
This one comes with everyyhing you are every likely to need and it will last a lifetime.
They come in a neat carrying case which also has a handy measuring tape. With this kit and the matching drill shown above, you will be able to do 99% of all drilling and driving jobs in the home and the garden.
Tool No 7 - A Selection of Nails
It is always a very good idea to have a selection of nails for use around the home and garden. There is no need to go crazy and buy a lot of these. All you really need is 20-30 nails of each different size.
I recommend getting some 1/2", 1", 1.5" and 2" nails. Just get the normal round head wire general purpose nails, and keep them somewhere dry. That means if you need to do a quick repair, hang a picture, or put up a shelf, you will have them close to hand.
If you are working on a bigger project, then you can go out and buy the nails that you will need to do the job.
You can usually find boxes with a variety of nails and hooks etc in most bargain sections of your local DIY shop. The next time you are in, why not pick up some and then you will always have them.
Tool No 8 - A Selection of Screws
It is also a very good idea to have a selection of screws for use around the home and garden. Like the nails I described above, you do not need to buy a lot of these.
I recommend getting some 1/2", 1", 1.5" and 2" screws. In all honesty you will probably use more of these, that you will use nails.
Nails are good for rough type of work such as nailing fences. For stronger joints you will always want to use screws.
Again you will find plenty of these screw sets in your local DIY store. If that set also includes wall plugs, then buy that type. The screws inside the kit will fit the wall plugs, and make putting up shelves, or hanging things a great deal easier.
You also get the opportunity to use your drill/driver as well.
Tool No 9 - One or More Extension Leads
I honestly don't know how many of these I own, but there are a lot of them.
These are great when ever appliances don't come with long enough leads, or when you need to plug one or more things, and there is only one electric socket on the wall.
These come in a whole range of styles, shapes and sizes. You can buy them as a 2-gang, 4 gang, 8 gang and many others in between. The gang bit simply refers to the number of outlets. I would also check out the latest Smart Plugs and extensions as they are very handy and can also save you money.
You can buy them with switched outlets, and you can also buy extension leads with a built in RFID to prevent your from shocks. These are a good choice for outdoor use.
Tool No 10 - A Good Hacksaw
These come in a few different styles and sizes but basically you will just need to get a junior and a standard size hacksaw. Most households will have had some type of hacksaw at one time or another.
This is one of the first saws I ever bought. There are always "wee" jobs to be done around the house and sometimes a saw is required. They are totally versatile and will cut various other materials, like plastic, metal and wood, They really are a multi-purpose saw.
I always keep a junior hacksaw in the kitchen drawer and find that I use it for cutting virtually anything, they are so handy. I also have a full sized one and I use this if its a bigger job, the junior will get into smaller places though.
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Tool No 11 - A Tin of WD40
This stuff can fix so many things it is unreal. If you have a door that squeaks, spray the hinges with WD40, and the irritating noise is gone. Have an old rusty gate that squeaks everytime someone opens it or closes it, squirt it with WD40.
What about a nut and bolt that will not budge. It is covered with rust and refuses to move. Spray it with WD40, have a cup of tea, come back to it and then open it, it works every time, even without the tea break.
It is also great for cleaning metal, and for anything that needs a little drop of lubrication. Buy a big tin though as using it becomes addictive.
Tool No 12 - Duck Tape
I am sure there is a really good reason why this tape is called duck tape, but they can call it whatever they like. This is without any question the best tape in the world.
If something has fallen apart, then fix it with duck tape. It is strong tough and holds just about anything together.
The great news is that this type of tape is waterproof so ideal for repairs, fastening and attaching indoors and outdoors
You can write on this tape with a marker which can often be handy. They also tear by hand so pretty easy to use
Tool No 13 - Cable Ties
I would always recommend having a few bags of these around the house. They can be used for a multitude of tasks. Initially these were designed for holding cables in place around trunking.
They are now used a lot in the garden for tying up shrubs and small trees, fixing wire fences, and even attaching cable to outside surfaces like pipes. There are a hundred other uses for these and they come in different sizes.
I find them really useful for hanging things up in the garage. They are really tough and a very handy thing to have around.
Tool No 14 - Mould Spray
If you have a bathroom or kitchen that has tiles then at some stage that mould will need to be cleaned up and/or removed. You normally first see it around the edges of a bath or shower tray.
It can happen anywhere that is damp. Treat it quickly and you really will help bring it under control quickly. The longer that you leave mould, the quicker and thicker it will grow.
A tin of mould spray is not expensive and works like a treat, leaving your room fresh and healthy.
Tool No 15 - A Set of Paint Brushes
The big question here for many people is do you buy expensive paint brushes, or buy cheap ones and chuck them out when they are done. Well here is what I do, and it seems to work really well.
I buy good quality paint brushes for emulsion painting like ceilings and walls. Emulsion paint is very easy to clean and simply washes out. Once the brushes have dried out, you can use them over and over again.
Gloss paint is what you normally use on doors and skirting boards. That is a proper pain to clean off. I buy moderately priced brushes for working with gloss paint, and then throw them out when I have finished.
Cheap brushes for gloss paint is a bad idea as the thicker gloss paint pulls the hairs out of the brushes and that is very annoying. You don't need that many brushes for gloss paint, and something like the basic set from B&Q will do the job nicely.
Tool No 16 - Fuse & Light Bulb Checker
An appliance stops working so what is the first thing you normally check. Most people have a look and see if there is any obvious damage, like a broken lead, or something loose inside.
The next thing people check is to see if the fuse is blown. Now as a retired electrician I use a multi-meter to check that. However most homes will not have one of those, and in all honesty you probably don't need one either. (though they are nice to have).
However I would recommend buying a fuse checker. These are cheap and cheerful and are great for checking for faulty fuses and light bulbs
Tool No 17 - A good Quality Claw Hammer
Every house needs a hammer, and in the UK, I would guess that every home has at least one of these in it. It is of course a tool that will get plenty of use.
My advice is to just buy one, and make it a good one. They are not expensive, and if you buy something decent it will last you a lifetime. One with a fibre glass handle is the best idea.
It means the handle will not rot, and there is always less vibration with a fibre glass handle.
Tool No 18 - A Good Quality Hand Saw
There are a lot of electric saws on the market, and they can deliver a whole range of wood cutting options. Unless you are a big DIY person, the chances are you will never need to buy one.
It is however really handy to have one saw around your home. It doesn't need to be anything fancy or super, just a good basic hand saw.
Like the hammer above, these are also not expensive, and again if you spend around £10, it will last you for many years.
Tool No 19 - A Utility Knife
Out of every single tool that I own, and believe me that is a lot of tools, my utility knife (well knives) is the one that gets the most use. There are hundreds of uses for a knife, from cutting up cardboard to trimming carpets.
These are very inexpensive and most people I know will have a few of these in their possession. It is always good to have 1 or 2 of these in your tool box, in the garage and in the "spare drawer."
It is also a great idea to have one of these in a car tool kit. You just never know when you might need it.
Tool No 20 - A Set of Wood Chisels
Now we do understand that we are all not born to be woodworkers. I have used these for all types of small jobs as they are just handy to own. I used them for removing some wood under a door jamb, so as I could get a telephone cable slipped underneath.
I also needed them when my wife wanted the door handles changed downstairs, and the internal lock mechanism was a slightly bigger size.
I also used them on a few projects such as building my deck, adjusting a few fence panels and when making my work bench.
The first set I bought was from the pound shop, and the handles split after about 5 minutes use. Don't make that mistake.
Tool No 21 - A Set of Precision Screwdrivers
I have seen these many times and to be honest avoided buying them as I managed to convince myself that I had no real need for these. However, when I became a grandfather, I realised that I was also the new and official toy fixer.
Many of those have small screws the size of a pin head, even just to be able to change the batteries. They can be very handy for other small jobs as well, especially certain hobbies.
- This little mini screwdriver kit is excellent and can be used to repair most household appliances, car repair, repairing laptops, smartphones, watches, and other electronic devices. (Not forgetting toys)
- There are 98 bits made of chrome vanadium which means they will last for a long time
- The screwdriver head is magnetic
- They come in a storage box which is very important