Essential Tools for a Beginner DIYer

Aside from having minimal building knowledge, a lack of tools can also be frustrating when you purchase a home and start looking at your DIY renovation options. Even the most straightforward projects can require tools, and you might be unsure what you need to buy that will be suitable for multiple projects now and in the future. While it can take some time to build up a helpful arsenal of essential tools for different building projects, you might like to start with some of the following.

Power Drill

After you learn more about the different building supplies you can purchase for home renovations, you might realize that a power drill is an essential tool to own. Rather than using labor-intensive screwdrivers to drive screws into plasterboard and other materials, you can purchase a battery-powered power drill that requires minimal effort and time to achieve a cleaner and tidier result. Power drills are helpful for all manner of DIY projects, such as installing shelves, attaching drywall, and putting together flat-pack furniture.  

Miter Saw

While you’ll need to learn a few safety tips to avoid injuring yourself, a miter saw can be a practical and valuable addition to your tool arsenal. Miter saws are preferred by home DIYers and professionals alike for their usefulness in general carpentry applications. As you can purchase many different blades for them, they can assist with a wide range of cuts, including straight crosscuts and angled cuts.

Miter saws might look scary and complicated, but even beginners can master their use before long. We’ve included some helpful tips below, but don’t forget to refer to your user manual and follow all safety tips.

1. Connect it to a power supply
2. Measure the materials you need to cut and mark them
3. Put the materials on a board and place the saw flush against the saw fence
4. Loosen the miter gauge handle, lower the lock handle, and move the handle to the angle you need
5. Lower the handle to ensure the blade meets your marked line
6. Clamp the board in place and keep one hand on the board while operating the handle with the other
7. Engage the trigger and lower the handle until the blade touches the wood
8. Release the trigger when the blade completes the cut

Essential Tools – Jigsaw

Not all materials you’ll be cutting will have a straight edge, which means a miter saw won’t be able to fulfill your every cutting need. As a result, it’s a good idea to invest in a jigsaw, a cost-effective and easy-to-use saw that can make cuts of any shape.

While you can still make straight cuts with a jigsaw, they are also perfect for making curved and angled cuts through wood of various thicknesses and densities.

Oscillating Multi-Tool

It can sometimes feel like you have to purchase a different tool for every DIY project you undertake, but an oscillating multi-tool might make that a problem of the past. These tools are designed to saw, sand, scrape, and grind, and you merely need to purchase different blades and accessories to use them to their full potential.

Oscillating multi-tools are helpful for sanding, cutting PVC pipes, removing timber dry rot, making drywall cuts, and much more. Some homeowners even use them to flush-cut bolts, strip paint, and remove tile grout.

Brad Nailers

If you’re planning on installing trim or making cabinets for your home, a brad nailer can be a must-have DIY tool to add to your collection. Both cabinet making and trim installation typically require delicate 18-gauge nails, which can be challenging to drive into materials like wood with a hammer without missing them and damaging your wood or bending them. Brad nailers, which are interior nailers, are light-duty tools that take all the effort and manual labor out of the job.

Every DIYer has to start somewhere, especially when you’d rather do renovations yourself than pay a professional. Start with some of these essential tools above, and you might soon have everything you need to renovate your home from top to bottom.

Photo by Hunter Haley on Unsplash