The return of spring rhymes with the desire to do a lot of odd jobs in the house and on the ground. But after spending the winter indoors imagining everything you could do to improve your home, you often feel caught off guard: you don’t have any tools, you don’t know which ones to get, and we know even less how much we should expect to pay! Here is our list of the 6 essential tools to have at home to carry out all your small jobs.
The essentials of the essentials
1 Screws and screwdriver ($25)
You don’t get very far without a screwdriver! We recommend screwdrivers with several interchangeable heads (at least square #6 and #8, cross and flat), this will save you from desperately looking for the right screwdriver. And if you have to buy screws, take the #8 square head screws, they are the most resistant and the easiest to screw and unscrew, because their heads do not deteriorate over time!
2 The Hammer ($20)
No need to spend $50 on such a tool, a simple hammer with a wooden handle will do just fine. We won’t tell you how to use the main part, but if you didn’t know, the other side (the crowbar) is made to remove a badly installed nail!
3 The tape measure ($20)
Nailing and screwing is good, but nailing and screwing in the right place is better. Take it light (3 or 5 meters long), in inches and cm, and attachable to the belt. And check that it rewinds itself, it’s quite painful to wind by hand!
4 The flat head pliers ($20)
A set of 3 pliers is useful, but if you only need to hold one, we recommend the flat pliers, very practical for holding a piece of metal, wood or plastic, or for unclipping it if you have it. planted in the wrong place!
For bigger jobs
Do you feel comfortable with these tools and want to move on to bigger projects? Here is what you will need to build a house (or almost…).
5 The drill driver ($120-$150)
Photo provided by Les Affûtés
For one screw, the screwdriver is perfect, but when you have to screw 20, you feel the wrist cramps coming quickly. A lightweight drill/driver is therefore a great asset for DIY. We recommend a light model (12 V power). It will be much more relaxing and powerful enough for all daily uses. And it is better to have two batteries to alternate them if the work is long. Finally, no need for a separate screwdriver, you can do it all with one machine. A separate screwdriver is only useful if you are doing a lot of 2×4 pine projects.
6 The Jigsaw ($150)
Last essential tool, the jigsaw will allow you to cut all materials or almost, and in all directions (wall, ceiling…). We recommend battery-powered, to avoid cutting the wire (we’ve already done that!), and especially accompanied by protective goggles to avoid splinters in the eyes.
Other big tools
For tools that you only need occasionally, such as a sandblaster or round saw, you can turn to tool rental organizations, such as La Remise. Word of Affuté, it is formidable. Alternatively, you can also rent tools inexpensively from the Home Depot nearest you.
Happy DIY!