House necessities?

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 9th, 2010, 8:39 pm

I just moved last weekend into a house that I am going to buy in a few months (EEK!). I've always lived in apartments/condos and have never had to do home repairs or lawn work. That being said, my tool collection is paltry and I have no lawn care items other than a lawn mower (given to me FREE by a coworker's dad!).

So what items do you all recommend I get for both inside the house and out? Right now I just want to worry about the stuff I'll need frequently, not once a year or so. I know I'll need the following:

ladder
stepladder
hedge trimmers
weed whacker
snow shovel
drill
decent set of screwdrivers
decent set of wrenches

Other suggestions for a total newb?

by **iluvk9** » May 9th, 2010, 8:48 pm

A man. So you don't have to do it all by yourself. :giggle:

by **Marinepits** » May 9th, 2010, 9:25 pm

A couple of snow shovels. It sucks when the only one you have breaks and you're left with a LOT of snow and no way to move it.

by **mnp13** » May 9th, 2010, 9:26 pm

don't just get a "drill" get a cordless drill, and you might as well get an 18v one.

Riobi ones are quite affordable, and my set has been VERY reliable.

When you get drill bits, get the ones with hex bases, they are more expensive but worth it.

a tape measure.

spend the extra money to get a step ladder with the rungs up and down both sides, they are really handy.

"little giant" ladders are not as sturdy as they look on TV

If you have the time, house sales are a great place to get tools for good prices.

by **katiek0417** » May 9th, 2010, 10:05 pm

Leaf blower and rake...

screws, nails, etc...and a level (they make levels with stud finders, and most even find electrical wires, too)

Pliers

Gas can

Shop vac

by **BigDogBuford** » May 9th, 2010, 11:03 pm

Wheel barrow
pruners
gardening/yard guide
hose
sprinkler
hula hoe
kneeling pad for when you're weeding

by **Malli** » May 10th, 2010, 2:28 am

hula hoe?

by **BullyLady** » May 10th, 2010, 7:08 am

Malli wrote:hula hoe?

A slutty Hawaiian girl, every household should have one! :giggle:

by **HappyChick** » May 10th, 2010, 7:23 am

a hammer
a couple of good flashlights
a shovel
a roll of duct tape

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 10th, 2010, 7:44 am

WTF is a hula hoe??? lol

Great ideas everyone, keep them coming!

by **PoodleMaMaKat** » May 10th, 2010, 8:56 am

A combination lock hide a key box for that oh crap moment, also great when walking the dog. I wish I'd gotten one sooner!

by **Pit♥bull** » May 10th, 2010, 9:09 am

iluvk9 wrote:A man. So you don't have to do it all by yourself.

by **Natalie** » May 10th, 2010, 9:25 am

All previous items mentioned are very necessary. Particularly the shop vac and ladder. Have you had an inspection done yet? This will help you determine which things on your house might need more immediate attention, thus which supplies you will need. Ex: does the basement leak? You might need a shop vac that handles water (let's hope not!). We replaced all the filters (water, furnace, etc) and cleaned out the water softener when we first moved in. Just the idea of other people's grime in the house creeped me out.

A caulk gun and a few tubes of silicone were one of our first buys. There was a teeny tiny hole on the roof where the chimney stuck out so we fixed that up and have been filling any holes and gaps ever since! Another good idea might be to check the caulking around all bathroom fixtures and fix any imperfect caulking. Can you tell water damage is my biggest fear?

A friend once told me that owning a house is like entropy. The house just keeps getting older and it's main goal is to fall down. Your job is to constantly fight to keep it up. Make friends with the nice employees at the local hardware store, put a good home repair DIY website on your bookmarks, and try to keep at least a few hundred bucks in savings for emergencies. Good luck!

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 10th, 2010, 10:22 am

The house has just been completely redone (plumbing, wiring, roof, walls, etc) and the basement is bone dry, so anything that needs fixed right now is just cosmetic.

by **amalie79** » May 10th, 2010, 11:48 am

We bought our first house a few years ago-- a 1920 fixer-upper, and have done almost all the reno ourselves (refinished floors, drywalled kitchen, laid countertop tile, built fences, etc.) with no experience, other than watching my father do some of these things when he was alive. I keep a blog about it, so I can remember how to do it again next time! In other words, if it's needed fixing, we've probably done it and recorded every little misstep for posterity :neutral:

. We still have a lot to do, but it's been one of the best decisions we ever made.

I whole-heartedly endorse the shop-vac WITH WHEELS. I love ours. Great for vacuuming the car, too! And we bought a Ryobi set on sale that I've loved with a cordless drill, circular saw, super powerful flashlight, 2 batteries and a charger (maybe $115 or so...) and a $20 set of cheap drill bits/screwdriver attachments, etc. It's come in handy many, many times, and then we've bought more expensive specialized bits if we need them; otherwise, the cheapos have been fine for little one-off things.

If you do ever end up doing anything more than the usual homeowner upkeep, a palm sander is the other thing I could not live without.

Consider yourself lucky with a newly redone house-- we had to completely rewire (hired an electrician who let us "help" to make it cheaper), add central heat and air; we had a big fat burst pipe about a week after closing, and decided to gut the kitchen a few weeks into the reno-- among other various stupid ideas. :crazy2: