If you own a House, your ownership is not complete without these Tools. No matter you own an Apartment or an Individual House, you always need to have these tools ready with you. At some point, they always come in handy. Situations like lockdown in recent times may have pointed you towards this article. The Tools that I have listed below are very basic, in all sense, you must have them in your household. So here are the Tools that every Homeowner should own.
Hacksaw Blade with Frame
If you have never used a Hacksaw before, let me convince you that it is the very basic tool that everyone must own. It can be handled by anyone. Nothing dangerous about it. The blade is not Sharp. If the right type of blade is used, you can cut Steel, Aluminium, Copper pipes, Water pipes, Padlocks, etc. You can cut almost anything. You name it!
Tape Measure
When you need to take measurements for the space for your sofa or need to decide the size of Appliance that will fit in your Kitchen, or decide yourself if the 55″ TV is enough or not. A Tape measure always comes in handy to measure distance and height. Generally, Tape measures, if handled properly will last a lifetime.
Electrical Tester
A tester is an electrical device which by all means is very safe to use directly in any electrical socket to test the presence of voltage. Whether your Socket is receiving Voltage or not, this is the device to be used. The one shown in the picture has a digital display to show an approximate voltage. Others just have a basic neon lamp to indicate voltage. All testers can be used as screwdrivers too.
Aluminium Ladder
What if you want to install the Electric Bulb with Alexa yourself? or, need to clean the fan? Do you think using Tables and Chairs is safe? No! they are not safe unless there is someone to guide you. Being unsafe always leads to accidents. Modern Aluminium Ladders are foldable. Some designs are so innovative that allows them to be used as Storage Racks when not in use. A Ladder always finds its use inside your house, garage, or garden as well. One-time investment.
Basic Safety Items
Safety First! As always. No matter what kind of DIY job you are carrying on, parts of the human body cannot be replaced. Hence it is always a good idea to have proper Safety Gear ready when necessary. Whether you are hammering a nail or cleaning your ceiling fan, cutting something using a Hacksaw, you need a pair of safety glasses to protect yourself.
Assume that you are trying to remove the clog from the sink. Caustic soda is generally used as a cleaning agent, which when mixed with water can be harmful if in contact with eyes and skin. So, having a good pair of rubber gloves comes in handy during these situations.
Pliers
Pliers cannot be ignored at all. If you want to hold something with a better grip or want to cut some electric wires, remove bolts and nuts, this is the must-have tool.
It is always a good idea to keep at least one 8″ combination plier in your tool bag. I also suggest purchasing a 6″ Nose Plier. It can hold the grip in confined spaces where you can’t move in your hands.
A good set of these Pliers will last you a lifetime. If not used, it may get jammed. Spraying a drop of WD40 will solve everything.
Rust Spray
As mentioned above, if metal parts are jammed together, in order to lubricate them, WD40 can be used. I assume this is not the first time you hear about it. WD40 is word famous for many decades now. It is like a thin layer of oil that can penetrate easily. Hence it can be used to remove rust from bolts/ nuts, lubricate bike chains, can be used as a lubricant while cutting metal using Hacksaw, loosen jammed hinges, hard scissors? jammed locks? jammed bag zippers? stuck Bolts and Nuts? You name it!
Claw Hammer
If you want to install nails on walls or wood, Don’t just buy a basic hammer. Buy a Claw Hammer. The claw helps you to remove already driven old nails. Claw also helps you to lift heavy objects with less effort. One-time investment and they will last a lifetime. They are sold depending on their weight. I suggest you to but the 220gm/8oz Hammer which will work fine for most jobs.
Screwdriver Set
If you want to remove/ drive screws, you must need a set of screwdrivers. You can buy individually or in a Set. Some screwdriver sets come along with a tester and you can skip the individual tester. Overall, in order to repair any kind of machine, or to open an appliance to find faults, you need this tool. If you own a bicycle, car, or motorbike, the screwdriver always has a job.
Adjustable Spanner
If you want to tighten nuts or bolts, tighten the kitchen tap, remove the ceiling fan, service a gas stove, you always need the right sized spanner to loosen the nuts and bolts. Buying individual spanners wouldn’t be a worthy purchase for home users and this is where Adjustable Spanner comes in handy.
Flashlight
Nowadays Smartphone Lights have replaced Torches. But that’s not the end of it. Here is some reason why you must purchase a Flashlight today. You can take your Quality Torch into rains, can take it for outdoor hikes, it is brighter and illuminates longer distance, can run for a longer time than smartphone lights, easy to hold, durable, and last longer if well maintained. Always comes in handy in emergency situations within the Home or Outdoors.
Utility Knife
You cannot use Kitchen Knife for all purposes. You will damage that expensive knife. This is where the Utility knives with replaceable blades came into existence. The blade is retractable allowing it to carry safely. The uses are numerous. You can strip wires, cut foam, carry it to outdoor hikes, open carton boxes from Amazon, Flipkart, etc., other uses? You name it!
Electrical Tape
Generally used to cover the exposed wires, the uses are not limited. It can also be used like tape to cover broken garden water pipes or to cover up a PVC pipe crack. It is just a temporary fix for anything that’s broken. They arrive in various colors too. I also suggest you have one piece of 1-inch masking tape. The benefit of masking tape is that the glue won’t stick permanently to the surface, when the tape is removed the glue comes along with the tape keeping the surface clean. It’s basically a Paper Tape that can be used for marking, writing addresses on Parcels, etc.
Teflon Tape
If there are any leaks of all kinds, they can be in your kitchen sink, garden water pipe, between pipe joints, water pumps connectors, leakage from LPG pipe, etc., using a thin layer of Teflon Tape will stop that leak. Generally used as Thread Sealing tape which means you can use them on nuts and bolts or any such joints to make an air-tight connection.
Extension Socket
Working from home? Just by looking at the picture one can guess the use from it. You probably already own one. Where there is only a Socket available, you can use this extension socket to connect multiple electrical appliances to the same port. Just remember that all extension sockets have an amp rating. This means you cannot use heavy appliances like Mixers and Iron Box, this may burn its wires. You can also design and build a heavy-duty extension socket yourself.
Tool Bag
It’s just a bag to arrange all the tools you own in one place. You can buy toolboxes too. It’s all personal preference. The space is not confined to Tools only. You can carry anything in it. They come in a variety of materials like Plastic, Steel, Stainless Steel, Aluminium, Leather, Wooden, Drawer Type with and without casters. For a home user, my suggestion would be either plastic or bag type. Toolboxes always ensure that none of your tools go missing if you place them back after use.
Assorted Hardware
Some basic hardware items should always be kept in the household. This includes nails and screws at least along with some wall plugs and Glue like Fevicol and Fevikwik.
Nails can be used to hang things on walls and wood. Just remember that normal steel wire nails won’t work for concrete walls. Concrete nails themselves are available. For screws, I recommend you to have some Black Drywall Screws handy along with some wall plugs.
First Aid Kit
Either with you, your children, or your neighbors, Accidents happen!. Be prepared. Keep First Aid Kit of some kind ready.