[Closed] List of tools for the do it all DIY-er

Depends on the house and what needs doing... just buy tools as you need them and rent the big stuff. I reckon my favourite tool on your list is the mitre saw, used that loads, and i wouldn't buy a vice, cement mixer or sds drill.

A decent lithium wireless drill / driver set pretty much the best purchase I reckon.

Yorkshire screwdriver.

Buy as you need . Too many varibles

Left handed screwdriver, invaluable.

Yorkshire screwdriver.

Pretty high on a list of things i never knew existed but don't know how i have managed without one!

I think it depends on how quickly you want to go at it.

Circular and mitre saws save a heap of time for slicing timber.

Battery drills have more than one and make sure one is a meaty hammer and the other lighter and smaller. Swapping bits endlessly is an arse.

Definitely chisels. My cheap ones have lasted surprisingly well and I don't feel bad misusing them.
Lump hammer (I have a light and a heavy)
Decent panel and tenon saws
Lots and lots of clamps. G clamps, speed clamps, spring bulldog clip type ones
Good claw hammer
Nice screwdrivers. Cheap ones suck.
Jigsaw
Sanders appropriate for what you need
Heat gun
A four inch wall paper removing scraper and a steamer thing
Good paint brushes and rollers
Long and short levels
Squares /angle setting tools
A plane or two (electric planes are savage but effective)

Loads more I'm sure but most of my most used are up there

For a mixer they're a pain/big to store but if mixing regularly a must. Rent?

I'm doing up a house now. Most used are
Tape measure
Set square with 45 and 90 degrees
Mitre saw
Battery drill/driver,really worth splashing out on a fancy one.
B&D workmate
Clamps
Hammers lump and claw
Spirit level

Otherwise just get stuff when/if required.

Hire big stuff ...e.g. cement mixer.

A good box for it all, where you can put it all quickly and neatly.
I also have a big box of all the typical screws, nails, rawlplugs etc I need, all in little compartments.

Don't hire a cement mixer, you'll get one on gumtree for a ton, and sell it on for the same.

Impact driver, awesome bit of kit.

Workshop, ie somewhere other than the home house.

Best Grand Designs I saw was where the guy built the garage/workshop first.

You want a good quality impact driver and drill set, a case of drill and driving bits and a power mitre saw. Nice tote bag and a rolling tool chest for all the other tools you are going to buy could be good too.

Buy quality buy once, cheaper flimsy tools do crappy jobs and break. The only cheap tool i got that i was happy with was a £40 direct power SDS drill i bought, huge thing could drill through a wall like it was made of cardboard.

If doing skirtings etc.

Id rather do the mitres by hand and buy a finishing nail gun than cut with a mitre chop saw and nail them up with a hammer 😉

Blow torch, pipe cutter, and a pipe bender if your going to tackle any plumbing. Insurance for you and the house 🙂

Fien multimaster.
Corded sds.
Corded drill.
Cordless drill/impact.
Sander. (I prefer random orbital ones)
Mitre saw (the best your money can stretch to)
Selection of hand tools, buy decent stuff as it just works better.
A Skelton gun from a pvc supply co. They just work better as well.

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Non obvious stuff suggestions.

Masks & separate goggles. (All in ones just don't work as well IME)
Truggs (Rhino preferably)
Cheap paint sprayer or the like for helping suppress dust if taking down ceilings/plaster etc.
Sander that you can just put normal cheap-as-chips, torn-up sheets in.
A pick axe has been used for an alarming amount of jobs 🙂
Good quality rigger gloves.
Hand cream.
Good quality & range of bolsters.

..and if you have a saloon car, sell it and buy something else 🙂

"Fien multimaster"

AKA the dremel of this decade.....

there are a handful of jobs that this tool is the only way ...or it does really well and once you have it you find other things it can do quicker than by hand.

I have one - it was bought to do one of those jobs that this was the only way...

But i wouldnt suggest someone buys one just incase.... Plus genuine bits are expensive and dont last very long - and copies last even less time.

good call on the truggs....

so handy for all aspects from takign your tools to job site to carting away the rubble....

multimaster"
AKA the dremel of this decade.....

I've had one for 2 decades! I fit kitchens and it's a must. Yes blades are expensive (copies are reasonable) but it will always cut that little awkward bit off without damaging the surroundings. Doubles as a scraper/detail sander, Great for undercutting for flooring, the list goes on..……....

Woven plastic sacks for rubble, from toolstation, reuseable.

a wet and dry vacumn cleaner invaluable,

crowbar, and floorboard lifter from toolstation,

Radio and kettle,plus lots of cups,

face masks and safety glasses,

handsaw, and hack saw,

Club Hammer,

spirit level,

plastic sheeting and props to block off rooms when removing plaster, helps keep dust in one room,

toolbox, and a secure box secured to floor to store stuff, probably upper floor, so its not seen,

tool belt with pouches, invaluable to hold nails screws tools etc.

an impact driver is about a million times better than a drill/driver - a 14v impact/drill kit, plus an SDS drill will do all your drilling & driving needs

an electric plane is easier to use (imo) than a hand one. You can use a router rather than a chisel if you have lots of doors to hang.

my cats paw gets a huge amount of use considering its size/value

Set square with 45 and 90 degrees

If you're working on a Victorian Terrace like mine you need to get yourself a Wrong Angle, as there isn't a right angle anywhere in the building.

I would not bother with a plunge saw usless you have a specific needmfor one, a circular saw is is usually more appropriate and cheaper for building work

i rarely use my circular saw either - yet i use my table and
chop saw alot (its a flip over combo elu job from 19 oatcake i dont just have heaps of tools lying about)

a wet and dry vacumn cleaner invaluable,

This times a million , using cheap vacums as disposables is a false economy- they dont suck near as well and clog up easy . A propper shop vac is worth its weight in gold and really helps with dust control 😀

for mitres when your not doing them regularly i like this tool.

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Set your blade to the metal tang angle and away you go !

i also like

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these - mines not trend and has a wider base on it

Two little things that just make life easier on repetitive tasks.

Just finished mine and the one tool that was used all the way from the demolition to the decorating stages was my hop-up

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so much easier to [s]move[/s] kick around than a set of ladders

Definitely an impact driver. An impact driver and drill driver set all the better.
I have the hitachi 18v set and it's the bomb.

I do a fair bit of this now, I know I'll be duplicating some/most of the above but here goes,
Cordless Impact Driver - my most used tool a definite must have!
Cordless drill driver with hammer action.
A good bit set.
SDS+ Drill with chisel action (Hitachi) + bits
Sliding Mitre Saw.
Circular Saw.
Hammer, club/lump hammer, sledge hammer.
Various screwdrivers.
Pry bar/crow bar.
PPE hardhat, goggles, glasses, masks, hearing protection.
Steel toe cap work boots.
Orbital sander/Detail sander.
Multi tool.
Good kit boxes.
Tile cutter.
Pliers, grips, wrenches.
Chisels.
Hop up, decent step ladders.
Decent trowel for plaster repairs I use a marshaltown.
Trowels for bricking up holes, replacing bricks etc
Buckets lots of buckets!

If you're starting from scratch look at the 6 or 8 piece 18volt cordless sets from Makita/DeWalt/Hitachi/Bosch they will probably work out cheaper than buying singly.
Good luck, let us know what you buy, I love tools me lol

i rarely use my circular saw either - yet i use my table and
chop saw alo

Table saw is best if you have the space agreed. I had one of those elu flip saws, design looks the same as the newer dewalt one. Really useful sold it as I did not find it repeatable enough for accurate work and did not have room for a solid table saw and the elu. Shame as it was really good in at it job as a site saw.

Forgot spirit levels and laser level!

Yes, most of the above, but something that will last forever and be well worth it is a really good quality set of screwdrivers. Using a well made screwdriver that is the correct size for the screw in question means no more mangled screws and getting stubborn screws out that much easier

A decent workbench is invaluable. This folding one is brilliant and can also be found branded as a Keter folding workbench.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-folding-workbench/9312j

A little pocket hole jig is also very handy.

set of trestles and an old door to use as a table top, get two sets and use one as a table to leave tools on saves all the bending to pick up stuff.

Register at wickkes as a tradesman and get 10 % off all stuf. and register at Band Q trade and get cheaper prices, toolstation is also cheaper then screwfix both have free delivery over a certain amount as well.

The numbers for a plumber, electrician, carpenter & a plasterer.

(They'll all be at their Tuscan Villa's till September though).

Decent chisels.
Decent screwdrivers.

Lithium cordless drill with metal gears and spare battery

Mitre/chop saw

Carpenters bevel - you'll never find a square corner!

Vacuum cleaner (or you'll trash the Mrs' one)

If you're channelling blocks/brick for cables - angle grinder and SDS drill

Whole load of other stuff if you're doing plumbing and electrics

Catalogue for the local tool hire place

Some excellent lists cheers. There'll be a lot of learning, and I want to use the right tools, so even seeing the names of some of these tools mentioned is enough to make me go and check out their function!

I just got my 9" grinder (as well as the sds plus drill) - holy cow that's quite a scary tool! Got a diamond disc ready for some shenanigans tomorrow evening on this car port. I'll take pictures. Dog tag round neck with emergency contact details.

vacuum cleaner is a good one and the only thing I thought was missing from others' lists. An old Dyson from the recycling centre for a fiver did me well.

Accurate measuring and marking are essential. As is the skill to know what side of the mark to cut. This takes a while to master.
When I go abroad I come back with a selection of metric-only tape measures and rules. But a tape measure is only any use if the zero tab is perfectly straight.
My current fave is the Hultafors tachymeter (screwfix have them) which lets you measure internal widths perfectly.
Always use the same measure for the whole job. They're not all the same.
A pile of Hb pencils and some good pocket sharpeners too. And some masking tape for when you're working on dark materials.