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Best Stools
Kobalt Aluminum Step Stool
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Best Tape Measure
Stanley Fatmax 25ft Tape Measure
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Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife Read More Stud Finder Zircon 1.5 Inch Scan Depth Metal and Wood Stud Finder Learn More Let’s get down to the practical stuff: You can tackle most home repair and installation jobs. It’s okay if you’ve never done it before. That’s what the first time is for. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to do it yet: that’s what YouTube tutorials are for. All it takes is a proactive attitude, a little patience, the humility to know when to consult instructions, and the right tools. If you are willing to learn, you can save a lot of money and time. Instructions on how to build things can be found in manuals and YouTube videos, but whether you live in an apartment or a single-family home, you’ll inevitably need certain tools. We guarantee that if you enter with the right attitude and the right gear, you will be amazed at what you can achieve. 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 buying guide of a lifetime. UPDATE D JULY 2023: We updated pricing and availability, and replaced some old tools with new ones, such as the measuring ruler, monkey wrench, and step stool. Photo: Lowe’s Kobalt Aluminum Step Stool Most indoor jobs don’t require a large ladder. The step stool works in almost any situation, and it’s slim enough to slide under or behind the sofa. This Kobalt aluminum model can hold up to 250 pounds, yet weighs only 7.5 pounds. It’s easy to hide and most people have no problem operating it in their home or yard. There’s a $60 Kobalt steel step stool that can hold up to 300 pounds if you can handle 20 pounds. Both models can be folded for storage in a closet or under a sofa. Photo: Home Depot ft. tape measure Stanley’s Fatmax has a wider than typical tape that is less prone to bending and collapsing when stretched across a room. Supposedly, you can extend it 14 feet straight up in the air without anyone or anything supporting the other end, and then it just falls. In terms of length, 16 feet is about the shortest tape measure I would recommend, and 25 feet is a decent size for most homes. This one is marked with standard units, but Stanley also makes metric units. Photo: Milwaukee Utility Knife Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife In my experience, the utility knife is not as effective as . What really matters are the replaceable blades. That said, the Fastback is the best I’ve ever used (I’ve used a bunch!), and you can change the blades without having to find a screwdriver to take apart the knife. It’s also foldable—you can open and close it with one hand—and it locks securely, and the coating is tough enough to last for years. A nice plus is the built-in gut hook, which can cut string and plastic ties without opening the knife. It comes in handy more often than I thought. Photo: Home Depot Zircon 1.5 Inch Scan Depth Metal and Timber Stud Finder If you intend to secure any heavy object to the wall, it should always be mounted on vertical structural wood blocks (studs) behind the wall. That means you need to find them out of sight. The stud finder grips and rubs against the wall and lights up as it passes a stud so you know where to drill. Builders sometimes run wire along these studs, and to keep people from drilling into the wire and getting blown up like Daffy Duck, they put metal guards over the wire. Any decent stud finder, such as this Zircon, will warn you if it detects a stud. Plus, you can hold it up and it goes “beep beep, beep beep”. Stud detected. That will never get old.
Stud Finder
