Building a basic tool kit for home repairs

Why a proper kit saves you money and hassle

Most household jobs don't fail because they're difficult. They fail because you're trying to tighten a hinge with a butter knife, or hang a shelf with a screwdriver that's two sizes too big. A modest, well-chosen tool kit turns a frustrating afternoon into a twenty-minute job, and it pays for itself the first time you avoid calling someone out to hang a curtain rail.

The good news is that you don't need a workshop full of kit. For the vast majority of jobs around a UK home — squeaky doors, wobbly handles, flat-pack furniture, picture hooks, leaking tap washers — a focused collection of hand tools and a bit of safety gear will cover around ninety per cent of what you'll ever face. Build that core first, add specialist tools only as jobs demand them, and you'll never waste money on things you use once.

The core hand tools

Start with the tools you'll reach for constantly. Buy decent quality here, because these are the ones that get abused.

• A claw hammer — around 450g (16oz) is the sweet spot. Heavy enough to drive a 75mm nail into timber, light enough to tap in picture hooks without denting plasterboard.
• Screwdrivers — you want a set covering flat-head and Pozidriv (PZ) in sizes 0, 1 and 2. Most flat-pack furniture and door hardware in the UK uses Pozidriv, not Phillips, and using the wrong one chews up screw heads. A stubby driver earns its keep in tight corners.
• Pliers and grips — a pair of combination pliers, a pair of long-nose pliers for fiddly work, and an adjustable spanner. That trio handles most nuts, bolts and stubborn fittings.
• A spirit level — a 600mm level is the practical size for shelves, pictures and anything else that mustn't look crooked. Buy one with a solid frame; cheap plastic ones flex and lie to you.
• A tape measure — 5m is plenty, with a locking mechanism and a clear metric and imperial scale. You'll use it more than any other tool.

Measuring, marking and cutting

Getting things square and straight is most of the battle, so it's worth having the right kit for marking and cutting accurately.

• A retractable craft knife — for trimming plasterboard, cutting carpet, scoring timber and opening packaging. Buy blades in bulk, because blunt blades cause more accidents than sharp ones.
• A tenon saw or fine-tooth panel saw — for cutting timber, shelf brackets and dowels. A cheap saw will wander off your pencil line and leave a ragged edge.
• A folding rule or steel rule — handy for checking depths and short distances where a tape measure flops about.
• A carpenter's pencil — flat, so it doesn't roll off the ladder, and it marks timber far more clearly than a biro.
• A bradawl — a small pointed tool that makes starting holes in timber and plasterboard simple. It stops screws skidding and splitting timber near the ends.

Safety kit you shouldn't skip

This is the part most people leave out, and it's the part that matters most. None of it is expensive.

• Safety glasses — essential for drilling overhead, cutting, or anything where dust and fragments fly. Plaster dust in the eye is genuinely miserable.
• Work gloves — a pair of snug-fitting gloves for handling rough timber, clearing debris and anything involving metal edges.
• A dust mask — for sanding, drilling into masonry and anything involving old paint or MDF dust.
• A first aid kit — keep a small one nearby with plasters, antiseptic wipes and tweezers. Splinters and small cuts are part of the job.
• A torch or head torch — for working under sinks, inside cupboards and behind radiators. A head torch keeps both hands free.

Consumables and fixings worth keeping in stock

Half of DIY is having the small bits to hand when you need them. Keep a box stocked with the following, and you'll rarely need an emergency trip to the shops mid-job.

• Assorted wood screws — sizes 3.0mm to 5.0mm, in lengths from 20mm to 75mm.
• Wall plugs (rawl plugs) — assorted sizes for masonry, plus a few heavy-duty ones for anything load-bearing.
• Picture hooks and hanging hardware — including a couple of heavy-duty hooks for mirrors and larger frames.
• PTFE tape — the white tape for sealing threaded plumbing joints. A roll lasts years.
• Gaffer tape and masking tape — one for holding things together, one for protecting surfaces while you work.
• Wood filler, silicone sealant and a sealant gun — for filling gaps, sealing around baths and sinks, and tidying up edges.
• Spare drill bits — a set for wood, a set for masonry, and a couple of flat wood bits for larger holes.

Where to spend and where to save

You don't need to buy everything at once, and you certainly don't need a top-of-the-range version of each item. Spend your money on the tools you'll use hardest: the hammer, the screwdrivers, the tape measure and the spirit level. These take the most punishment and a cheap version will let you down at the worst moment — usually halfway through a job with the shelves already drilled.

Save on the occasional-use items. A basic tenon saw, a modest set of pliers and a mid-range craft knife will serve a household perfectly well for years. If you buy a cordless drill, a mid-priced one with two batteries and a decent clutch will outperform a bargain model every time, and you'll use it for everything from assembling furniture to drilling masonry for wall plugs.

Finally, give your kit a home. A sturdy toolbox or a wall-mounted pegboard keeps everything visible, stops screws migrating to the bottom of a drawer, and means you can grab what you need in seconds. Wipe tools down after use, keep blades and bits in their cases, and store anything metal somewhere dry. Look after your kit and it will quietly look after your home for decades.