I have been working in construction and home improvements for a number of years. I have bought, renovated, and sold houses. While my passion is for 12v air compressors, I have a good all-round knowledge of tools and home repairs. When you were growing up you probably saw your parents doing repairs around the house. Watching them with these tools made more of an impression on me than on most of us, I loved the tools and wanted to know more about them but I know this is not true for most people. Now you are all grown up and have just purchased your own home. In the excitement of house hunting and moving in you probably overlooked that window that had a missing latch and a few other minor repairs that were going to be needed. It is now you that is going to have to fix these issues, and you will also find that you need to carry out maintenance work on your home. Now that reality has begun to set in it is time to think about some of the tools you are going to need to keep your house running like a well oiled machine. To keep organised and on track you need to keep a list of the tools you are going to need. I hope this helps you start that list.
Hammer
One of the tools you will need to ensure you have around your home is a hammer. There are many different types of hammers but the most useful and versatile hammer to have is what it known as a claw hammer. The claw hammer is a tool that has long wooden or metal handle, a head which is used to hammer nails. The second side of the hammer is divided in to two. This split or divided side is used to remove old or bent nails, the rounded top of the hammer head allows for a rolling motion to help ease out the nail. Of all the tools, you will be using for home repairs the claw hammer will see the most use. You will need this hammer for hanging pictures, making small repairs that require nails and a hammer can even be used to break up those ice cubes into slivers. You can use the hammer in your garden and not just in your home. It is a vital tool for your tool box and one you need to ensure you have.
Electrical tester
If you need to know if an electrical socket is live you should use an electrical tester. You need to pay particular attention to this when you are working on larger projects around your home such as moving and installing new electrical sockets. You don’t want to move live wires or poke other tools into outlets that have live electricity running through it. Is there power to the socket is one of the first things I ask when a piece of electrical equipment fails, it is vital to have an electrical tester so you know. When a fuse blows it can be a pain to check the older style cartridge fuses you can use an electrical tester, this is just one more use for this diverse tool. If an electrical appliance is wired directly into the wall like a cooker often is then a tester is a valuable safety addition. Once you have shut off the circuit breaker to the appliance you can use the tester to ensure that the wires are indeed free of live electricity before unhooking them. The use of the electrical testing equipment will help ensure you have the safest working environment possible.
Vice grips
As the name suggests vice grips are used for clamping, the 2 jaws are opened around a lever or screw. When working on something you would use the grip to stop it wiggling and moving. If you needed to glue 2 things together the grips would be a handy addition as they can hold them in place as the glue dry and the bond is made. Like the hammer and pry bar they are a basic useful item that should be in every home-owners tool box. Vice grips come in handy when you need to remove stubborn bolts that you won’t be using again as well as stripped and broken screws that need to be replaced. When using the grips to hold in place 2 pieces that are being glued it is possible the grips will leave an impression or mark on one or both of the pieces, to avoid this happening you should ass something between the vice grip and the object, so it can act as a cushion If you have needed to bend wire you will know it is important to hold one end still while you work on the other, the vice grip will let you do that so you can concentrate on the job in hand.
Although there are a host of additional tools you will need for home maintenance tasks these basic tools are a great place to begin when building a set of home maintenance tools for the first time.
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