July 21st, 2021 by Sarah Miles

While not everyone is handy around the house, there are certain jobs that are too small to really warrant getting someone in to do them and some that are simple enough for even the least practical person to have a go at. All you need is some common sense and a basic tool kit.

Here are the essential DIY tools that every home should have:

Screwdriver set

Few homes can really function without a decent set of screwdrivers. Whether it’s just tightening up the toilet seat that’s come loose or assembling flat-pack furniture, a set of screwdrivers with a range of heads is a basic must. Cheap ones will be ok if you only plan to use them for taking the odd shelf down, but it pays to get a good quality set if you’re likely to use them for anything more intensive as it will be much easier on your hands.

Allen key set

Allen keys are used to tighten and loosen screws with hexagonal slots, most commonly used in flat-pack furniture. While most self-assembly furniture does come with an Allen key, they tend to be cheap and fiddly to use so having a set of your own to call upon is useful. More significantly, if you ever come to disassemble the furniture at a later stage, how many of us can ever lay our hands on the original key that came with the set? That’s when having your own pays off. Allen key sets come as a single set, sort of like a keyring, or as separate keys in a carry case. Both make it easy to keep them together for storage so they’re much less likely to be misplaced – keep them in your tool kit to be dug out when needed.

Hammer

Handy for many jobs in the home and garden including hanging pictures, fixing fencing, organising cables, tapping backboards onto wardrobes and cupboards etc. the most common type of hammer for general use is the claw hammer that has a striking surface on one side and a claw on the other for removing pins and nails.

Adjustable wrench and/or spanner set

Wrenches and spanners pretty much do the same thing – tighten or loosen nuts and bolts. The difference is that an adjustable wrench is a single item with a moveable jaw so can be used on a range of sizes of nuts and bolts. Spanners are size specific so you would tend to have a whole set of them in different sizes, allowing you to select the right one for the job in question. While it might seem like the wrench seems like the most practical purchase as one tool can be used on a variety of jobs, just bear in mind that the bulkier size of it, compared to a size-specific spanner, could make it harder to get into tighter spaces. +

Spirit level

Judging whether something is truly straight can never be done by eye, especially if you’re holding an object up and can only view it from arm’s length. A spirit level is essential for putting shelves up, hanging pictures, or tiling. You can get them in a number of sizes from just a few centimetres to around 180cm. Having a couple at around 23cm and 60cm will cover you for most DIY jobs. Some come with 3 bubbles to help you level things vertically, horizontally, and on a 45° angle, which can lend themselves to a variety of tasks.

Tape measure

One of the most basic items, yet one of the most valuable. A tape measure can be used for everything from a guide for cutting materials to size to working out whether you can fit a piece of furniture into a space. Just as you can’t gauge level by eye, neither can you guess measurements.

Staple gun

A staple gun is used for driving heavy-duty staples into wood, plastic, and masonry. You can use them for laying carpets, insulation, upholstery, and many garden projects. They’re even good for putting up bunting for parties in the garden or securing slip-proof matting to decking in the winter.

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Drill

You may think, given the manual nature of all the other items on the list, that a power tool like a drill is the reserve of the DIY expert, but this is not the case. Drills are actually much easier to use than you might think can make DIY jobs such as putting up shelves accessible to almost anyone. Assembling the flat pack furniture we’ve already mentioned a few times also becomes a cinch with screwdriver bits. If you’re just starting to accumulate your own tool kit you can even buy drills that come complete with a number of the items we’ve already mentioned here, such as this one from MYLEK.