30 Essential Home Repair Tools You Should Have

In my experience, utility knives don't vary that much in effectiveness. It's the replaceable blade that really matters. That said, the Fastback is the best I've used, and you can replace the blade without having to find a screwdriver to take the knife apart. It also folds—you can flick it open and shut it with one hand—and it locks securely, plus the coating is tough enough to last for years. A nice plus is the built-in gut hook for cutting string and plastic ties without opening the knife.

More knives? Yeah, but this isn't a substitute for a utility knife, or vice versa. A precision knife is used for very delicate jobs in which a utility knife or pair of scissors would be too clumsy or too big. X-Acto knives come in a range of sizes and blade shapes, but the good ol' No. 1 is my pick of choice for trimming off the edges of painter's tape on wood projects, decals when assembling my niece's and nephew's toys, and backing paper when framing pictures. It's the size and shape of a pencil, and the blades are cheap, easy to find, and easy to swap when dulled.

If you want to attach anything heavy to a wall, you should always mount it to the vertical structural pieces of wood (studs) behind the wall. This means you need to find them without being able to see them. A stud finder, held and rubbed against a wall, will light up when it passes over a stud so you know where to drill.

Builders sometimes run wires along with these studs, and to keep people from drilling into a wire and getting fried like Daffy Duck, they place metal guards over them. Any decent stud finder, like this Zircon, will warn you if it detects one. Plus, you can hold it up to yourself and go “Beep, beep, beep. Stud detected.” That'll never get old.

Twelve volts will do for most home jobs, but if you ever end up having to drill 1/2-inch holes into wall studs to mount a heavy shelving unit or a beefy sound system, you're going to want the extra torque of an 18V or 20V drill. This 1/2-inch chuck will accept bits as large as you need, and at this price (which includes two batteries and a charger), it's too good a deal to pass up. The batteries work with more than 200 other DeWalt power tools too.

For all but the smallest of jobs, it'll go easier if you drill out a hole before driving screws and bolts into a wall. The black oxide coating on these drill bits reduces friction, which speeds up drilling and resists rust. These are good for general use and will handle wood, metal, plastics, wallboard, and fiberglass.

Home tool kits can get unwieldy with too many gadgets in them, which is why I recommend an adjustable wrench as a stand-in for an entire wrench set. Six inches is a good size to give you enough torque for big jobs without being too unwieldy to handle the small stuff. You adjust the width of the jaws by spinning the knurl. I've replaced the Crescent brand wrench with this one for Channellock because, while the latter costs more, its quality means it can be a buy-it-for-life item.

You don't need a metal toolbox at home. Your toolbox is going to live an easy life on a closet shelf, not banging around a construction site. Fabric makes it lighter, and the open top means it's easy to pop in and grab something for a quick job. Harbor Freight is hit or miss on some products, but this tote is the best I've come across. The quality of the fabric and construction makes this a great deal, and I like it better than the bigger brand-name totes. It has 22 pockets on the inside and outside, perfect for tools you want to keep easily accessible. You can fit the bulkier stuff, like a power drill and hammer, in the wide main compartment.

Depending on where you live, the Harbor Freight tote may only be available for store pickup. In that case, check out the Kobalt 12-Inch Tool Tote for $30. It has fewer pockets—12 compared to the Harbor Freight's 22—but it's made of a tough 1680-denier fabric and has a sturdy, padded metal handle.

A lot of furniture needs a few whacks during assembly, but if you hit it too hard with a regular hammer, you can damage it. Some jobs require a rubber mallet to snug pieces together without chipping off bits of plastic or wood. While 16 ounces is pretty light for a mallet, it should be heavy enough to bang furniture and shelving units together without being cumbersome for most people.

This hammer has all the features needed for general, around-the-home use, including a smooth head. It's at the top end of that 16- to 20-ounce range, making it perfect for handling most jobs, and it's got a curved claw to pull out nails, which you want. A straight rip claw is more versatile but unnecessary for most people.

There are many types of clamps, but the bar clamp is arguably the most versatile. It can give you an extra hand when you need to keep two parts on a project together and free you up to secure it or consult the instructions. These plastic models won't do the trick for big jobs with heavy objects, but they'll suffice for the majority of simple home repairs. These Irwins can grasp objects and surfaces up to 6 inches thick and produce a clamping force of 140 pounds, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Yeah, you can use the cheap ones that furniture makers include when you buy something that uses Allen bolts (excuse me, hex bolts). But as with screwdrivers, you'll feel the difference with a good set of hex keys. I've bent cheap hex keys while torquing something down and then brought out the Bondhus to finish the job with no problems. The keys in this set, in metric and standard measurements, have a rust-resistant finish and fit snugly in any hex bolt you'll come across. And believe me, apartment dweller or homeowner, there are many hex bolts in your future.

A good level is an absolute necessity for work around the home. This one is accurate to plus or minus 0.0005 inches. It's made of aluminum for toughness, and the ends are capped in plastic so you don't end up scraping the hell out of your walls when you're using it. Get a 48-inch level. It's one of the typical sizes, and longer levels are more accurate than the short ones.