Being a new homeowner can be one of the most intimidating things many people will do in their life. Suddenly you are the proud, but nervous, owner of an asset that is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The property is likely a few decades old, and with that age, many issues have arisen.
Most people that purchase their first home don’t have a lot of experience fixing things, like garbage disposals, water heaters, sprinkler systems, clogged pipes, leaky pipes, and more. As a renter all of those issues simply required a phone call to a landlord or management company, and the problem was taken care of. As part of this, most new homeowners don’t have the basic tools that they will need to fix the never-ending supply of repairs that arise as a homeowner.
Here are four tools that every homeowner will likely need to own, as they will be used frequently throughout the time the home is owned.
1. Stud finder
Many people do not even know what a stud finder is. Stud finders are used to find the studs behind the sheetrock in a home. Think of your home when it was first framed. A frame was created using a lot of 2×4 pieces of wood. These are the studs in a home. If you are putting up pictures, replacing toilet paper holders, installing mirrors, or doing anything else that involves screwing or nailing in walls, you will want a stud finder. When you nail into a wall you don’t want to just go into sheetrock, because sheetrock is weak and over time it will rip out. Use a stud finder to find the studs behind the sheetrock, and nail into those instead. Many places will have electric stud finders, but magnets are usually cheaper, and often work even better.
2. Torque wrench
Unless you work out and have muscles as strong as machines, you will want a torque wrench. These are incredibly handy and usually cost less than $10 for a decent wrench. Torque wrenches are used to tighten bolts as tight as possible in an efficient manner. Your new home will likely have bolts in all kinds of crazy places that are hard to reach. Torque wrenches can get down into tiny spaces to tighten and loosen those bolts. As a homeowner you may find yourself using a torque wrench multiple times in your first year of owning a home. There are also quite a few kinds of torque wrenches with different bells and whistles. Here is a decent buyers guide for choosing the torque wrench that matches your needs as a new homeowner.
3. Ladder
This is typically a slightly more expensive purchase, but a ladder is typically almost essential for homeowners. Whether you are trying to get into your attic, put up Christmas lights, paint a ceiling, clean out your rain gutters, wash your windows, or do any other tasks that need to be done on the top half of your home, a ladder will be essential.
Don’t be the homeowner that discovers too late that they need a ladder. You can start looking now on places like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and get a good used ladder for significantly cheaper prices. If you wait until you need the ladder to start looking, you will not be able to wait until a good deal comes up.
4. Extension cord
If you don’t have an extension cord, get one in your first week. You will find yourself starting a new project and just when you think you are ready to dive in you will realize that you do not have electricity in the area you are planning on doing the project. Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop a project in the middle and go purchase something simple like an extension cord. There is almost no chance you do not need an extension cord at some point, so why not get one to start? Make sure to buy an outdoor one. You can use it indoors, but it is always good to have the option.
