The Ultimate Beginner DIY Toolbox: Essential Tools to Get Started
The day we moved into our house was pretty indicative of how everything seems to go for us the last few years.
It was a Friday, we were both off work, and we had perfectly crafted our plan of attack, but the timeline was tight. We had to pick up our Uhaul at 8 a.m., had closing at 10 a.m., had to return the Uhaul at 3 p.m. and had to drive an hour to New Orleans to drop Alex off by 5:30 p.m. for a flight to a friendās wedding. Of course, it all went to shit within like, an hour of the clock starting to tick on this timeline.
We went to the Uhaul location where weād reserved our truck and Alex dropped me off so I could drive it back. After heād left, of course, we found out the truck wasnāt there and it was actually at another location eight miles in the opposite direction from our house.
That second location turned out to be one of those gas station/convenience stores where the cashiers speak only in grunts and death stares and it was in a not-great part of town. So, we got zero loading of our belongings onto the truck done before closing, and had to hastily load all our heavy furniture into the scorching metal sauna that is a Uhaul truck on a Louisiana June afternoon.
Our new house was only three blocks from our rental which was nice but also meant we didnāt implement the meticulous packing strategies weād used for our other interstate moves – it was more a shove-it-in-as-best-it-fits-and-without-labeling-anything kind of scenario. Four hours later and we had moved everything – including the dreaded old Wayfair dresser that must be lined with lead for how inexplicably heavy it is – into our house.
The dogs were confused but settled and we were on the way to the airport, but about 10 minutes into the drive Alex realized he didnāt pack the ONE bag he was taking. He literally got in the car with just a wallet for a weekend away. TSA wouldāve almost certainly tagged him as a psychopath.
I then spent a blissful weekend home alone unpacking everything where it needed to go without any argument about which compartment of the cutlery tray should be for spoons vs forks, and decided to make our hall closet the home of what we call our Frequently Used Tools box.
We figured now weāve expanded our collection to include a few more power tools and specialty items that no longer fit in just our hall closet, we should throw back to our old faves and give a rundown of the items weāve used in 99 percent of our projects so far.
If youāre just getting started developing your DIY toolbox, you could really do almost anything with this squad.
On This Page
Level
If thereās one thing weāve learned about doing projects in our 1940s-built house, itās that nothing will ever be level or plumb and our eyes cannot be trusted. A little level like this guy will do just fine, but we recently got a 24ā level and itās been really helpful for bigger projects like a set of cube storage shelves we just built. I think the latter may have created a monster though because now Alex is checking how level almost every surface is even in the middle of drilling something we know isnāt level yet. Thatās how much fun you can have with a level, guys.
Stud Finder
Another very important one, lest you want your shelves to come crashing down in the middle of the night. We originally had a stud finder that you were supposed to slide across the wall and it would light up when it hit a stud edge and it would light up again when there were live wires in the back of the wall to worry about. Either it didnāt work properly or the insides of our walls are like Joyce Byersā mental breakdown living room in Stranger Things, so we ended up going with another super simple contraption.
Our new stud finder doesnāt have the electricity element, but it was like $7 and works by magnets connecting to the nails in your studs. Once you find one, just slide it vertically from there to find the next one and make sure itās a stud going the whole way up from floor to ceiling.
Hammer and Nails
This oneās kind of obvious, no?
Screwdriver
Also obvious, but get one like the one we have that comes with different head shapes and one base. Itās way more convenient than having multiple screwdrivers and most of the time you can use special driving bits if youāve got a weird shaped screw.
Drill
There are a ridiculous number of drill options when you go to the store. It came with a box of drill bits and driver bits, but we didnāt use the drivers for about six months because weāre idiots who like having RSI in our wrists from hand-screwing our screws into place.
Painters Tape
We use this stuff for everything. Beyond the obvious painting, weāve used it to mark spots on the wall like where we find a stud, we mark the height we want shelves to be and measure the tape horizontally to make sure itās level before we put holes in the wall, and we use it to plan out our gallery wall photos. Also, if youāre drilling into something thatās pretty thin and you donāt want it to go the whole way through, wrap a tiny piece of painterās tape around the drill bit at the depth you need to stop at so youāve got a guide and wonāt ever go too far.
Wood Glue
We use this kind. This stuff takes a while to dry so youāll need some clamps or something heavy to hold your piece in place for at least 30 minutes of drying, and youāll need to make sure when applying it that you donāt put it too close to the edges of your piece or itāll seep out.
Clamps
Probably my favorite, most-helpful tool. We started with just a couple little grip-type clamps, but definitely recommend these and these. The longer, 3-foot clamps arenāt necessary if youāre on a bare-bones beginner kind of budget but they have come in handy. We actually only bought them recently but have used them a lot already. Corner clamps are next on our list.
Sander
We talked in our wall spackling post a bit about our sander and how handy it is – our is just a basic one. Especially if youāre trying to go the budget route on projects and buying the cheaper wood panels, youāll need a good sander. Usually those lower end wood pieces come a little rougher around the edges, but with a good sanding theyāre golden.
Extension Cord
Less exciting but will save lots of time and sliding your half-screwed-in wood pieces across your floors. A lot of the power tools weāve got donāt have very long cords and youāre almost never bumped right up against a wall while working. Preferably get one like this with two outlets at the end, which comes in handy if for example youāre sanding and drilling a piece at the same time.
Just be sure not to overload an extension cord – donāt go attaching it to like a table saw or anything.
25 ft. Outdoor/Indoor Extension Cord
Circular Saw
Speaking of saws, this is the first saw we ever bought. It got us through many, many cuts of wood but if we knew more and were more confident with our tool ability we wouldāve probably picked a miter saw first. Nonetheless, this guy is easier to move around than miter or table saws and when you use a good, solid table, a level guide and clamps, is pretty quick and easy to work through cuts.
A Million Pens
Yes, it must be a million. Make sure youāve got a few working pens in every location youāre going to be working on a project. I canāt tell you how many times weāre only using one between us both and weāre also going back and forth between a room weāre working in and our backyard where weāre using a saw of some kind. Usually the room weāre working in is also covered in plastic sheeting, old paintbrushes, dog hair and the tears weāve shed when we inevitably realize weāve messed up some measurement.
Measuring Tape
We use this one, but itās pretty standard as long as itās more than a few feet long and can be locked off to the length you need it at (as in itās rigid, not like one of those soft sewing measuring tapes).
Wood Filler and Caulk
The power couple of hiding your imperfections. Itās amazing what kind of janky edges and warped board have been fixed by these two. The caulk does sometimes take some practice, and youāll need a gun to go with it. Basically you load the tube onto the gun, cut the tip at a 45-degree angle, and feed it along your seam. There are a lot of fancy caulk tools that go with it, but we just dunk our finger in some warm water and smooth over it to remove the excess and thatās worked the best for us.
Miter Saw
Like we said above, we started out with a circular saw because those big, tabletop power tools were intimidating. Looking back now weāve got both, I maybe wouldāve preferred to start with the miter saw because even though itās big and loud, itās a lot easier to measure and stay consistent with your cuts. Though, it is more expensive.
So there you go. Of course you could always use more or less depending on what youāre doing and how invested you are in making and fixing things yourself. This crew has gotten us through everything from building a coffee table to hanging curtains and building an entire plank accent wall, though, so theyāre solid.
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