There Are Just 8 Tools You Need For Essential Home Maintenance

There Are Just 8 Tools You Need For Essential Home Maintenance
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The sinking feeling you get when you notice you’re missing an essential tool that you need to finish building a new piece of flatpack furniture, or to make some quick home improvements with? It’s not great.

There are some tools that everyone should own. Even if you bought them years ago and they’ve been collecting dust under your sink, you never realise how badly you need something until you don’t have it.

Whether you’re someone who needs to tighten up the occasional cabinet hinge, or you live by the motto of “DIY or die“, these are the tool kit essentials that no home should be without.

Duct Tape

Duct tape is the definition of a tool that’s better to have and not need than to need it and not have it. You never know when you’ll need to quickly patch something up.

You should always have at least one roll stashed away in that one junk drawer where you keep things like spare batteries and old phone chargers.

Grab a roll of duct tape for $8.98 here.

Screwdriver Set

tool kit

If you’re going to buy one tool from this list, it should be a screwdriver set. If you’ve ever assembled furniture, performed some home maintenance or just tinkered around with DIY hobbies, you know how essential this tool can be.

The great thing about this Bosch screwdriver set is that it comes with interchangeable bits. These bits use the give common types of screw heads in 20 sizes, so you can swap out a tiny Phillips-head to a large flathead. The screwdriver bits are also coloured coded, making them easier to spot while you’re working.

The set also includes a small ratchet with four sockets, all housed in a small carrying case.

Pick up the Bosch 26-piece screwdriver bit and ratchet set for $22.95 here.

Screwdriver And Drill Bit Set

tool kit

If you just need a basic screwdriver set, the previous tool kit will do you fine. However, if your DIY interests aren’t exactly “basic” having a wider range of screwdriver bits to choose from will give you more than enough options to pick from. This particular Bosch set has 49 screwdriver bits, so you’ll be pretty set for choice.

This Bosch set also includes 30 drill bits, which are designed for wood, masonry, and general drill work. Those 49 screwdriver bits also include 15x 50mm bits that you can slot into any standard drill too.

The Bosch 91-piece titanium drill bit and screwdriver set is available for $49 here.

And speaking of drilling…

Cordless Drill

While a screwdriver will get the job done when putting together that one Ikea shelf everyone owns or fixing a droopy kitchen cabinet, your muscles can only take you so far. That’s where a cordless drill comes in. The convenience of being able to quickly tighten or remove screws can’t be understated.

Bosch’s cordless impact drill is lightweight but powerful. It features 20 torque settings and can be used for screwing, drilling and impact drilling.

You can grab the Bosch Cordless Hammer Impact Drill UniversalImpact 18 for $165 here.

Allen Key Set

If you’ve bought enough Ikea furniture, you probably have a pretty solid collection of Allen keys already. However, while those Allen keys are great for putting together an Ikea flatpack, that key size isn’t universal and you’ll eventually come across something with a keyhole that’s either too big or too small, be it furniture, a shower door joint or even a mounted toilet paper holder.

Keep your Allen key options open with this 22-piece set for $24.78 here.

Claw Hammer

tool kit

What, are you going to knock those nails into place with your hands? Good luck with that, buddy.

Add this $29.90 Spear & Jackon hammer to your tool kit for the inevitable hammer time.

Tape Measure

tool kit

Have you ever bought a new kitchen appliance, bookshelf or living room piece, only to realise that it doesn’t actually fit in its intended location because you didn’t measure it out beforehand?

Bet you wish you had a $9.49 tape measure on hand.

Utility Knife

A utility knife is another one of those tools that you should have on hand because of how utterly convenient it can be. This 9mm Scotch knife has a comfy grip and retractable blade, making it a great option if you have some precision cutting that needs to be done.

If your someone who particularly enjoys getting packages in the mail, a good utility knife makes flattening boxes a breeze too.

You can grab a handy Scotch utility knife for $8.58 here.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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