by Blair MacNaughton
Ensuring that you’ve got the appropriate tools in your home can be a real lifesaver in an emergency. For example, if there’s a burst pipe somewhere in your home, you might not be able to totally fix the issue, but you can turn off the water at the isolation point with a screwdriver. Simple tasks like that, when done in advance of an expert arriving, can save you a lot of money!
Here, let’s talk about some key tools to have in your home, and how they can help you.
Tape Measure
A tape measure is essential if you’re doing any kind of removal or renovation work. Ensuring that the items you want to fit into your home will fit is vital: you don’t want to have to cut a beautiful piece of furniture down to size.
Tape measures can also be really handy when doing basic installation, even for things like hanging mirrors. In that situation, you want to ensure that the mirror is around eye level, which is typically around 60 inches from the floor. A taupe measure can ensure you get that right every time!
Level
A level is vital for ensuring anything that you might be hanging in your new home is sitting level. This may include pictures and mirrors, as well as more robust pieces of wall-mounted furniture, such as shelves and sinks.
A level can also be important for ensuring that doors are hung properly in your home. Whether a door into a room or a door for a cupboard, ensuring there’s no mistake is vital for daily use.
Screwdriver Set
A screwdriver set is a vital addition to a home, especially when you take into account that not all furniture will come flat-packed, with an Allen key to help you assemble it.
It’s certainly wise to buy a whole screwdriver set from a trustworthy builders merchants. A diverse and well-made set will stay with you for your whole life, and help you to make sure that there’s rarely something unfixable in your home.
Ensure that you buy both Phillips head and flathead screwdrivers – it might not seem like it, but they do different jobs to one another, and you do need both to make sure you’re always prepared.
Hammer
While a hammer isn’t really a precision instrument, it certainly works well for hitting something very hard. This can be precisely what you need, particularly if you’re renovating a home, and you find yourself in the midst of wrecking and removing some pre-existing fitted furniture.
It’s worth considering getting both a metal-headed hammer and a rubber- or plastic-headed mallet. A metal-headed hammer will be ideal for getting nails into walls, while a softer mallet will help you tap things a bit more gently, perhaps to ensure that furniture is in good alignment, or to clear a blockage without damaging anything.
A great set of tools will last for a lifetime, and make sure that you’re prepared for almost any eventuality. If you’re a new homeowner, you certainly won’t regret ensuring that you’re prepared!
