Essential Tools for Home Improvement
While your home may be your castle and an escape from today's hectic world, it's probably not perfect. Decorating styles change. There are pictures to hang and shelves to install. Things break. It's too pressing to ignore, but too minor to engage a professional. The question becomes one of where to begin.
Start with a good how-to book. Two that come highly recommended are Better Homes & Gardens – New Complete Guide to Home Repair and Improvement and New Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual by Reader's Digest.
With knowledge in hand, it's a good idea to have a basic set of tools. When choosing yours, experts advise that you buy the best quality you can afford. Good tools can last a lifetime and help you get results like the pros, while poor ones tend to break or malfunction, resulting in frustration and potential damage to your hard work.
A hardware or home center professional can help guide your selections. Here are the top ten tools that home experts say should be in every toolbox.
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Toolbox – Start with a sturdy, latching container that can protect your tools and keep them together and ready to go.
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Safety goggles – Protecting your safety is the first step in any do-it-yourself project.
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Screwdrivers – Start with a couple sizes of both flat blade and Phillips types.
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Hammer – Choose a standard, 16-ounce claw hammer that will be heavy enough to accomplish most tasks and light enough to handle easily.
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Metal tape measure – Choose one with a shock resistant case in a bright color that can be easily spotted in the toolbox.
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Slip-joint pliers with wire cutting jaw.
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Adjustable wrench.
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Utility or box knife.
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Drill – This is the one power tool that's a must.
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Stud finder – Whether you're hanging a picture or doing a major remodel, a stud finder can be worth its weight in gold. For example, the Zircon EDGE is compact, easy to use and it costs less than $10.
