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The Best Step Stool
Kobalt Aluminum Step Stool
The Best Tape Measure
Stanley Fatmax 25-Foot Tape Measure
A Utility Knife
Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife
A Precision Knife
X-acto No.1 Precision Knife
Nobody ever lounged around while waiting for a home repair person. Nail-biting impatience is more comnmon. How long will they take? When will they get here? What will it end up costing?
A home repair tool kit can save you a lot of time, money, and stress if you’re willing to tackle a few tasks yourself. It doesn’t much matter if you’ve never done it before. That’s what first times are for. And it doesn’t matter that you don’t already know how to do them: That’s what YouTube tutorials are for. All it takes is a can-do attitude, a bit of patience, the humility to know when to consult the instructions, and the right set of tools. With the right attitude and the right gear, you’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish.
Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including our Favorite Cold-Weather Gear Under $100, the Best Climbing Gear for Beginners, Emergency Gear to Keep at Home, and our Buy It For Life Guide.
Updated November 2023: We’ve updated pricing and availability. We’ve also added an X-Acto knife, Dremel power tool, and caulk tube cap, as well as updated our recommendations for caulk.
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Photograph: Lowe’s
The Best Step Stool
Kobalt Aluminum Step Stool
You don’t need a big ladder for most indoor jobs. This step stool will do in almost any instance, and it’s slim enough to slide under or behind a couch. This Kobalt aluminum model holds up to 250 pounds, yet weighs a scant 7.5 pounds. It’s easy to stash, and most people will have no problem maneuvering it around the home or yard. There’s also a Kobalt Steel Step Stool for $69 that holds up to 300 pounds, if you can handle its 20-pound weight.
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Photograph: Home Depot
The Best Tape Measure
Stanley Fatmax 25-Foot Tape Measure
Stanley’s Fatmax has a wider-than-typical tape that is less prone to bending and collapsing when extended across a room. As far as length goes, 16 feet is about as short a tape measure as I’d recommend, and 25 is a good size for most homes. This one is marked in standard units, but Stanley also makes metric ones. We’ve tested a few other tape measures, including standard-width Stanleys and Harbor Freight models, but they collapse sooner than the Fatmax when extended.
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Photograph: Milwaukee
A Utility Knife
Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife
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.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Precision Knife
X-acto No.1 Precision 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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
A Stud Finder
Zircon 1.5-Inch Scan-Depth Metal and Wood Stud Finder
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
The Best Power Drill
DeWalt 20V Max 1/2-Inch Cordless Drill
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
My Favorite Drill Bits
DeWalt Black and Gold 14-Piece Drill Bit Set
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.
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Photograph: Channellock
An Adjustable Wrench
Channellock 6-Inch Adjustable Wrench
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.
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Photograph: Harbor Freight
A Small Tool Bag
Harbor Freight Hercules Tool Tote
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
A Mallet for Whacking
Stanley 16 Oz. Mallet
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
A 20-Ounce Hammer
Plumb 20 oz. Claw Hammer
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.
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Photograph: Lowe’s
To Get a Grip
Irwin Quick-Grip Bar Clamp Two Pack
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
Hex Keys
Bondhus L-Wrench Standard and Metric Set
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.
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Photograph: Home Depot
A Good Level
Stanley 48-Inch Box Beam Level
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.
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Photograph: Amazon
The Best Screwdriver
Channellock 6-in-1 Screwdriver
It’s easy to spot the difference in quality when using screwdrivers. I’ve started plenty of jobs with a junk one, only to have it pop out of the screw’s head or start to strip a stubborn screw. A good screwdriver can save you aggravation, and Channellock’s 6-in-1 is real quality.
Made in the US, it has Phillips #1 and #2 and slotted 3/16-inch and 1/4-inch heads. And the shaft can be used as a 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch nut driver. This combination screwdriver will cover you for regular home repairs and maintenance, and it takes up a lot less space than a set of full-size screwdrivers.
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Photograph: Amazon
For Smaller Screws
Wiha 7-Piece Precision Screwdriver Kit
Every so often, to repair things such as eyeglasses and electronics, you’re going to need a set of very small screwdrivers. For whatever reason, manufacturers tend to use soft, tiny screws that deform easily, so good precision screwdrivers are especially important. None of the combination precision screwdrivers I’ve ever used has impressed me, so buy a full set. They won’t take up much room since, you know, they’re tiny. Use six of the seven you get in this kit. You can stick the Phillips #1 in a drawer somewhere if you get the Channellock above.
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Photograph: Home Depot
For Just a Touch-Up
Varathane Wood Touch-Up Marker Kit
Furniture is a high-wear item. The longer you live with it, the more knicks, scrapes, and dents it’s going to accumulate. Sometimes you don’t even have to hit it with anything for the stain or wood veneer to wear off and expose a lighter shade of wood. Make your furniture look new with these markers, which come in a variety of common wood stain colors. They dry quickly, and it takes just a few seconds to apply them.
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Photograph: REI
The Best Multi-Tool
Leatherman Wingman
This one’s a luxury, not an absolute necessity. A multi-tool is a jack of all trades (and a master of none) but it’s often supremely handy to have a small tool in your pocket or on a shelf that you can grab for quick jobs. The Wingman is one of my favorite affordable multi-tools. It has 14 tools built into it, and in contrast to a Swiss Army Knife, it has oft-needed needle-nose pliers. Check out my guide to the best multi-tools for more recommendations.
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Photograph: Swanson Tool Co
A Metal Yardstick
Swanson Tools Metal Yardstick
Levels are your go-to when you need to make something absolutely parallel or perpendicular to the ground, and tape measures are great for long measurements. But a good yardstick should be in your tool kit too. It’s handy when a tape measure won’t sit quite flat enough against a wall to trace a line. This one from Swanson has both US and metric markings. It won’t fit in your tool tote, but it’s thin enough to stick in the closet. The aluminum is thick enough that you can hold it out with one hand for measurements without it flopping over.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Magnetic Parts Dish
Titan 4 1/4-Inch Magnetic Parts Dish
It’s easy to lose screws, nails, and bolts in the carpet when you need them, and then when you find them it’s usually by accident with your feet … in the middle of the night. You don’t need anything fancy for a parts dish—it’s just a bowl of magnetized steel—but it’ll keep all your little metal bits in one place when you’re working. If you tip it over, they won’t be going anywhere.
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Photograph: Home Depot
Some Pliers
Channellock 4-Piece Plier Set
Pliers will be some of your most-used tools, and here it pays to fork out the money for a good set that’ll last forever. As the saying goes, buy once, cry once. The large tongue-and-groove pliers are what you need for large pipes, such as in plumbing. The cutting pliers will go through anything, and if you have kids who get toys packaged with those little plastic ties, these’ll save your sanity. The slip joint and needle-nose pliers are catch-all tools to save the day.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Jack of All Small Power Tools
Dremel 4000-2/30 Variable Speed Rotary Tool Kit
Dremel has become shorthand for any kind of ultra-portable, plug-in power tool. Of the 30 attachments, there’s a wide array of tool heads for grinding, cutting, and carving, and engraving wood, plastic, and metal. Most of those types of jobs around the house call for a Dremel and not anything larger. Some like the line of Rotozip tools, but I prefer the smaller, more nimble Dremel for most mild jobs. I’ve used several Dremels, but my favorite bang for the buck is the 4000. It has variable speed, which came in handy when mounting new legs to my old couch, and also when cutting and grinding down an axle skewer on my ebike. Some say it’s underpowered, but you’ll have no problem cutting through a typical bolt or screw you’d find in the home. I also appreciate the carrying case to keep everything organized, because keeping all the parts loose would be a nightmare. Make sure you use safety glasses.
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Photograph: Home Depot
Eye Protection
HDX Safety Goggles
Protect your eyes from wood dust flying from the electric drill and any caustic chemicals splashing around. You don’t need to spend big on a pair of safety goggles. These HDX-brand ones will work just fine, and they’ll fit over a pair of regular glasses. Pick up a pair for everyone who may be working in the area at the same time. For certain jobs—particularly those where there’s no risk of chemicals splashing—you can get by with a pair of HDX Safety Glasses for $7, and these won’t fog up as much as goggles.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Caulk Gun
Newborn Smooth Hex Rod 10:1 Ratio Caulking Gun
Caulking guns got fancy in the past decade or two. Who saw that coming? The predominant type had ratchet designs that would ooze caulk everywhere when you stopped squeezing, and you had to hurriedly unscrew the rod to make it stop. But this smooth-action gun lets you release the trigger, and caulk won’t dribble. In the handle, there’s a hole that cuts the tip off a new tube of caulk, as well as a puncture tool that unfolds from the barrel to break the seal. The 10:1 ratio and padded trigger make squeezing out caulk easier on the hand muscles. For general-use caulk, I recommend GE Paintable Silicone Supreme for $13. I’ve found it shrinks (and therefore cracks) less than DAP Alex Plus, although the later is an acceptable replacement if GE is unavailable.
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Photograph: Lowe’s
A Caulk Smoother
Allway 3-in-1 Caulk Tool
The old-school way to smooth caulk is with the tip of your finger, but why cheap out and risk making your work look sloppy? Caulking is typically highly visible, so make sure it’s smooth and even with this caulk tool. It’s the best I’ve ever used. The silicone head can be taken off, rotated, and put back on for three different widths, depending on the width of the caulking bead you’re applying. And because it’s silicone, sticky caulk comes right off with no trouble. On the other end, there’s a very effective metal scraper for removing old caulk. Go ahead and buy a DAP Cap for $4 to keep opened caulk tubes fresh, but forget using its finishing edge tool.
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Photograph: Home Depot
Quality Shears
Wiss Titanium Tradesman Shears
Certain jobs will jam up regular scissors—or break them. When I was cutting thick rug pads to place under area rugs, these Wiss shears were the only thing that could finish the job. They come in handy when you don’t have enough room for wire cutters, and they can snip off plastic shipping ties and even cut thin wood shingles. They’re made by Crescent, a quality tool company that’s been around for generations.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Ruler
Westcott Metal Ruler
Sometimes a yardstick is too big and unwieldy and you’ll need to break out the footlong ruler instead. There’s no need to spend big on a ruler, but some of the cheap competitors have wavy edges that make them useless for drawing straight lines on walls. This Westcott has a perfectly straight edge and costs little more than a street taco. The reviews are correct, though—don’t try to remove the barcode sticker. It’ll pull off the cork material on the back. No matter. The label doesn’t get in the way of using it.
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Photograph: Home Depot
More Drill Bits
DeWalt Maxfit 30-Piece Driving Bit Set
You’ll get a variety of bits in this kit of 15 1-inch bits and 11 2-inch bits. Not just the usual Phillips and slotted, but hex and Torx bits too. The two nut drivers are 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch, popular sizes for when you need to drive bolts instead of screws. For all you butterfingers out there, the screw lock sleeve is magnetic, so the bits are less likely to tumble out of your drill and disappear. DeWalt counts the sleeve and the case as parts 29 and 30, in case you come up short on your mental math.
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Photograph: Lowe’s
Mounts for Hanging Things
Wall Anchors
For anything more substantial than a coat hook or picture frame, you should upgrade the hardware used to mount items to your walls. Screwing brackets directly into wall studs is the most secure method, but due to positioning it may not be an option. Buildings built or renovated in the past 30 years may have metal studs, too, which also removes that option.
E-Z Ancors have excellent holding power and can be used for a wide variety of jobs. These plastic bolts mount into wallboard, and then a metal screw inserted into them splits the end deepest inside the wall, holding it into the wallboard like a fish hook. You just need a screwdriver to mount them. For heavier jobs, use the 75-pound version for $15, although the holes are a little bigger. For extraordinarily hard wallboard, or if you have to go into a wooden stud, use the metal E-Z Ancors for $19.
For the heaviest items, such as televisions, indoor bike racks, and shelves used to hold books, break out the big guns and use toggle bolts. They’re extremely strong, and I’ve used them in dozens of applications over the years. The downside is that you have to drill a half-inch hole in your wall, which is rather large. But hey, that’s what wall putty is for.
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Photograph: Amazon
Other Handy Essentials
Odds ‘n Ends
A $6 roll of duct tape will fix everything that can be fixed with tape, and super glue will fix everything else. Duck, Gorilla, and 3M are good brands. Scotch tape for $5 is good to have in your tool kit too. If you don’t have a pair already, get yourself some household scissors. The Westscott KleenEarth Recycled Scissors for $5 have lasted me through years of tough jobs, and the plastic handles are made of 70 percent recycled plastic.
Wood cracks as indoor humidity fluctuates with the weather. Left unaddressed, these cracks can widen and spread. For hairline cracks, use Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Glue for $2 and use your clamps to hold the piece together while the glue dries. For larger cracks, dents, and missing chunks of wood furniture, use Elmer’s Wood Filler for $4. Once it dries, you can touch up the filling with paint, wood stain, or a furniture marker.
Grime and grease have a way of defeating common hand soaps and can leave you looking like you just rode into town on the Exxon Valdez. Dish soap works wonders, but the heavy-duty option is Fast Orange for $8, a powerful hand cleaner that goes on dry hands and washes off with water. Its grittiness helps scrub anything off your paws.
Have an eraser and a carpenter’s pencil for $5 handy—those are the flat pencils that won’t roll away if you put them down. You don’t need to buy spackle until you’ve got a hole in the wall that needs filling, like when you’re moving out or rearranging wall decor. DAP DryDex for $8 is a solid spackle. Use a Husky 2-Inch Flexible Putty Knife for $10 to apply it.
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Photograph: Alvaro Medina Jurado/Getty Images
A Bit of Knowledge
Handy DIY Tips
These all-purpose tips can simplify your DIY jobs and reduce headaches. An old trick is to put a square of masking tape or painter’s tape on the wall before hammering a nail into it, as it’ll keep the plaster from cracking. Unlike other tapes, these likely won’t take your paint off when you remove them.
Whenever you remove screws or bolts to take something apart, put the screws or bolts back into the holes. That way, when you need to reassemble it, you’ll know exactly where they are without having to hunt down loose hardware that—face it—you’ll never find.
Take lots of photos when you’re disassembling anything. I learned this working on cars, but the principle is the same in the home. Use your phone to photograph each step, and put the pictures in a separate photo album so you can easily find them in the future. When you need to reassemble whatever you just took apart, you’ll see exactly where and how everything fits back together.
If you’re working on something symmetrical—say, replacing faucets on a two-sink counter or taking apart legs on a table—do one side at a time, rather than taking both apart or putting both together at the same time. If you get stuck, you always have the other side as a point of reference.
Matt Jancer is a staff writer for WIRED who focuses on reviewing outdoor gear. Previously, he spent a decade as a freelance writer covering automobiles, motorcycles, and lifestyle stories for magazines. Some of his longest gigs were at Car and Driver, Outside, Esquire, Playboy, and Popular Mechanics.
