The First Toolkit: Fifteen Tools, Bought Once

A tool kit assembled from a boxed set is mostly filler. A tool kit assembled fifteen items at a time, deliberately, will handle almost everything a home throws at you.

Buy these well

Tools that carry loads or hold an edge are worth real money, because the cheap versions fail in ways that cost you the workpiece.

1. Cordless combi drill, 18V, two batteries. The single most-used tool in any home.

2. A proper bit set — driver bits, HSS drill bits, masonry bits. Cheap bits round out screws and ruin work.

3. Claw hammer, 16oz, wooden or fibreglass handle.

4. Tape measure, 5 m, with a wide blade that stands out unsupported.

5. Combination square. Accuracy here defines the accuracy of everything else.

6. Spirit level, 600 mm. Longer than you think you need.

7. Handsaw, hardpoint, 550 mm.

8. Utility knife with plenty of spare blades. Change the blade far more often than feels reasonable.

Buy these cheaply

9. Screwdriver set

10. Pliers and side cutters

11. Adjustable spanner

12. Two G-clamps or F-clamps — buy four eventually, you always need one more

13. Filling knife and a sanding block

14. Safety glasses and ear defenders. Non-negotiable, and cheap.

15. A stud and cable detector. Cheap ones are imperfect; use one and still drill a shallow pilot hole.

Borrow or hire until you know

Circular saw, mitre saw, router, SDS drill, nail gun, orbital sander, wallpaper steamer, tile cutter. Hire shops exist for exactly this, and a weekend hire costs a fraction of ownership. If you hire the same tool three times, buy it.

Consumables worth keeping in a box

Assorted screws in a divided case, wall plugs, panel pins, wood glue, PVA, filler, masking tape, sandpaper in 80/120/180/240, and a pencil that lives with the tools and never migrates to a drawer.

One piece of advice above all

Buy the drill first, use it for a year, and let the gaps in what you can do tell you what to buy next. Every tool bought in anticipation of a project you have not started yet is a tool that lives in a cupboard.