Top 10 tools for house rennovation

[Grahamshed]

Another vote for the multi tool, they really are multi tasking and the Makita is a good brand.

 

[Graham Orm]

Cordless drill maybe 2 if you plan on building a lot of stud work without a nail gun. DON'T buy lower than 18 volt unless you want to be continually changing batteries and cursing slow speed.
Get yourself some 100mm Screwfix Turbogold for the stud work, and other work too if you can run to the extra (they're not as cheap as others). They are superb screws for heavy work and will make the job much easier. http://www.screwfix.com/p/turbogold-woo ... ces/40237#
Bosch multi tool (mine gets trade use and is superb)
Laser level
Trestles (4 of, this allows you to cut up sheet without one end falling and potentially damaging the piece).
SDS drill with chisel option
Adjustable square. I use Bahco they go up to 24"
Large tee square or rafter square
2ft 4ft & 6ft levels. I use all three, the 6ft will seem expensive but is well worth the investment as it doubles as a good straight edge for cutting board etc.
Pump type clamps http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-quick-g ... wwodJi4Auw
If you are doing kitchen worktops you'll need a half inch router and a worktop jig. Might be worth thinking about hiring these for one off jobs.
Reciprocating saw I use one constantly. Very versatile, not just for demolition. Excellent for cutting open floor boards.
Jig saw. Don't buy cheap!

 

[dickm]

Another vote for the multi tool, they really are multi tasking and the Makita is a good brand.

On the other hand, our local Lidl still had three of the £29.99 multi-tools in stock, so the OP could have all of them for less than the price of one Mak

 

[Halo Jones]

I've never used a multi-tool so just picked up a Draper branded one in ASDA for £20! All the designs seem the same externally - I'll bet it is the brushes and quality of the gearing that makes them more expensive. If I find it useful I will upgrade when it breaks.

I also notice that Screwfix have a good deal on a makita 18V Li-ion driver. £109 with a battery and another £30 for an additional battery. I am very tempted :-k

The sds drills seem quite expensive and I already have a decent corded hammer drill that has served me well so I will only buy one if the need arises.

Compound mitre saw - borrowing my dads when needed. In return I will buy a decent blade for it.

Dust collection - I have my trusty wickes hoover and thein baffle on the bin to gather the dust!

Door making - this and the island unit is the bit I am most looking forward to. Won't be built entirely by hand but will be pretty traditional. I built my workbench (Paul Sellers English workbench variant) last year and already have 2 x 1/2 inch routers so feel pretty ok with woodworking tools.

Have the engineer coming this week to do measure up for calc on removing a supporting wall and removing a roof truss for the velux. Once that happens there is no going back (hammer)

No doubt I will pester the kind folks on here as I progress and I promise to try and post some of the more interesting happenings!

Ooh. Nearly gin time!

ccasion5: Cheers,

H.

 

[Graham Orm]

An old fashioned hammer drill compared to an SDS is like comparing a pedal bike to a motor bike they really are that different. You also get the option of a powered chisel which is useful for all sorts of things.

 

[Soylent1]

Have you got an impact driver? (they are AMAZING!) also SDS is basically the same as a corded hammer except that you don't have a chuck, the bits just slide in and lock but most have a hammer only mode - for using chisel bits etc.. if your cordless hammer doesn't have a hammer only mode I'd seriously think about a decent SDS drill. Plasterboard lifts are really good as you can do ceilings completely on your own! and the cheap ones (less than £100) are well worth buying new. HTH
Tony

 

[chippy1970]

Hi

I'd start with a decent spirit level or maybe a laser level

Regards Mick

+1

That was my first thought too , get a decent laser level , will save you lots of time with your walls etc

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[ColeyS1]

Get a 'brushmate' for when it gets to the painting stage. It'll save you having to wash out your paintbrush after every sesh

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[n0legs]

Also I have 6 sq m of iroko blocks to strip tar off. What do I want to do that? - a decent multi tool maybe?!?

H.

I've got a choice of 2 methods here depending how you're equipped.
Hot air gun and a paint scrapper then give them a real good sanding to remove the remaining tar.
Or what we used to do -
Get a piece of ply and around the edge fix a low level "fence" on 2 adjacent sides. Place as many blocks as you can fit onto the board face down then clamp them in with 2 more pieces of "fence". I had a floor sander but you could use a belt sander with a very coarse grit belt, and sand off the tar/adhesive. This way is very quick and would leave a great surface for the new adhesive when relaying them.
If anyone suggests you use paraffin, petrol, white spirit or any other solvent well to be honest ignore it. The blocks swell and some split.The blocks end up stained and it's a hell of a mess and quite unsafe.
The sanding method can be a bit of a mess but it will all sweep up and you should be wearing a mask anyway. Do it on a cold day and definitely not in the sun.

 

[Halo Jones]

Was given explicit approval for a cordless driver of some description for about £150 \/

But now confused. #-o

If I compare:
http://www.onlinepowertools.co.uk/p...gle+Shopping&gclid=CPXYwojI8rwCFSgGwwodjQIAjA

with

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dh...tracking url&gclid=CMzJtr3I8rwCFVKWtAodEAMAWA

What extra is the the first one (impact driver giving me?) :?

Also:
I have a couple of decent spirit levels and a plumb bob. Have never used a laser level. I can imagine their worth if it was mission impossible (maybe it is ) but how does it help, and a recommendation would be great!

nolegs - thanks for advice. I have a crusty belt sander that deserves that job. May look out for a respirator on gumtree though!!

My mum also just got me a couple of pairs of work trousers from Aldi - with space for knee pads! Gotta love your mum

H.

 

[Halo Jones]

Oh. forgot. SDS drills obviously need more research. Will get back to all on that one.

 

[Graham Orm]

Was given explicit approval for a cordless driver of some description for about £150 \/

But now confused. #-o

If I compare:
http://www.onlinepowertools.co.uk/p...gle+Shopping&gclid=CPXYwojI8rwCFSgGwwodjQIAjA

with

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dh...tracking url&gclid=CMzJtr3I8rwCFVKWtAodEAMAWA

What extra is the the first one (impact driver giving me?) :?

Also:
I have a couple of decent spirit levels and a plumb bob. Have never used a laser level. I can imagine their worth if it was mission impossible (maybe it is ) but how does it help, and a recommendation would be great!

nolegs - thanks for advice. I have a crusty belt sander that deserves that job. May look out for a respirator on gumtree though!!

My mum also just got me a couple of pairs of work trousers from Aldi - with space for knee pads! Gotta love your mum

H.

Go for the cheaper combi drill much more versatile. I have used that model for trade use for years, a good tool.

A laser level is indispensable for all sorts of tasks. You place the sprung pole wherever convenient, attach the level to it and switch on. It will cast a red line vertically or horizontally or both at the same time perfectly level and plumb. This is ideal for countless jobs. You will use it for ever even after your refurb is finished for putting shelves up etc. It's one of those tools that you wondered how you managed without.

This is ideal.
http://www.onlinepowertools.co.uk/prod/ ... -with-pole

PS another contributor mentioned SDS drills being 'the same as a hammer drill but without the chuck'. They are far from being the same. An SDS bit slides in and clicks into the chuck. It then floats backwards and forwards which gives the hammer action a pneumatic effect. This multiplies the effect ten fold and makes drilling into the toughest strata effortless. Further, most don't have the hammer only mode. Most have three modes, 1.drill, 2.drill with hammer, 3.hammer only. Why must people post rubbish in reply to a request for advice when they clearly don't know the first thing about the subject?

PPS. Knee pads are good.

 

[Grahamshed]

PS another contributor mentioned SDS drills being 'the same as a hammer drill but without the chuck'. They are far from being the same. An SDS bit slides in and clicks into the chuck. It then floats backwards and forwards which gives the hammer action a pneumatic effect. This multiplies the effect ten fold and makes drilling into the toughest strata effortless. Further, most don't have the hammer only mode. Most have three modes, 1.drill, 2.drill with hammer, 3.hammer only. Why must people post rubbish in reply to a request for advice when they clearly don't know the first thing about the subject?

PPS. Knee pads are good.

I have also been wondering what difference there was apart from the chuck. That explained it nicely.

 

[dickm]

+1 for SDS drill. When I got my first Bosch SDS (£5 from a carboot), wasted a good couple of minutes drilling holes in the concrete outside the garage just for the fun of it (hammer) . That was after burning out a couple of ordinary hammer drills trying to put 6mm holes in Aberdeen granite, which the SDS went through almost like a knife.
Though, of course, for bigger holes, you really need a Kango

 

[Rhossydd]

Looking back at the OP.

It looks like you're planning on a lot of plumbing work so +2 on a good set of pipe benders. They really make life easier. (a good set of stilsons and adjustable wrench should also be de rigeur too)

A good 18v Li ion hammer drill will be pretty much essential with a spare battery. Add to that a good set of masonry and standard drill bits too.
Don't waste lots of money on an expensive SDS drill unless you're sure you're going to be dealing with a lot of stone or concrete. Whilst they are absolutely indispensable tools for those materials, they tend to be big, unwieldy and imprecise tools that can do more damage than they fix in brick and breeze block construction. The cheapest one from B&Q will be fine for the odd emergency.

For the construction tasks, doors & island unit, a good set of sash cramps will be pretty important. T section ones make life easier and are more rigid and last several life times. Saving money on cramp heads that fit on battens was a poor choice I regretted.

A good handheld orbital sander is worth considering too.

Another useful tactic is to declare that you're not going to spend lots immediately and buy good kit as and when you need it. That way your budget might get extended with time, plus you won't buy anything you don't need.

 

[Halo Jones]

Well first purchase made. Just bought a new combi drill as my old one really did die at the weekend - battery only lasted 3 screws!

Finally went with this:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/makita-18v-combi-drill+30ah-li-ion-batt/invt/104014/

Went to buy it this morning and discovered an additional 20% off if I handed in an old power tool. Luckily had my dead drill in the boot of the car. Got the kit for £99 \/

 

[morfa]

In no order of importance:

1. 18v Combi drill (or SDS if you've got lots of chiseling to do) + some decent qualty bits
2. 10.8v drill driver
3. Multi Tool - mines an Erbaur, but I suspect they're all much of a muchness
4. Selection of hammers, chisels (wood (inc mortice chisel) and bolster) and a big and small crow bar
5. Trowels
6. Couple of buckets and those big placcy holder things to put stuff in, also some small tubs and sticks for mixing
7. Mains tester and pipe / stud finder
8. Levels, pencils, tape measures (find a decent one and buy several)
9. More clamps (is it possible to have too many?)
10. Sander for the floors? Abranet sanding sheets are excellent

I can't comment on the plumbing stuff, I tend not to bother with it, I've had some bad experiences, so I'm happy to pay plumbers to do that.

BTW, as no one else has commented, I like the username. I hope you're a 2000AD fan?

 

[RogerS]

....... Most have three modes, 1.drill, 2.drill with hammer, 3.hammer only.....

The hammer only mode is incredibly useful. Reverse is also handy but you don't always get that.

Someone mentioned pipe benders. TBH I bought one when we moved here but after some pretty feeble attempts at getting the right bend in the right place and without crinkling up the tube, I flogged it and went over to either pushfit or soldered fittings plus the occasional compression.

On the subject of plumbing if you do have a lot of long awkward runs then installing a hybrid system of plastic and copper works well.

One other policy that you might like to think about and is one that I adopted when i renovated an old black & white a few years back, was to buy tools just for the project and then sell them on eBay afterwards. I bought a Paslode, SIP table saw, SIP mitre saw and after two years only lost about £50 across the lot which i reckoned was a pretty good deal.

 

[RogerS]

.....
What extra is the the first one (impact driver giving me?) :?

.....
H.

Once you've used an impact driver you will wonder how you did without it in the past. An impact driver will drive a 6mm screw into solid oak without any pre-drilling. Try that with a normal cordless ! NB You do need decent screws with an impact driver.

 

[Halo Jones]

BTW, as no one else has commented, I like the username. I hope you're a 2000AD fan?

Well spotted! No one has mentioned this in the 4 years I have been a member here. I liked 2000AD when younger but haven't read it for quite a few years now. I am more a Alan Moore fan as it happens but did like Rogue Trooper and Strontium dog (as well as Dredd). Just for the record my forum usernames are made-up of the graphic novels that sit on the shelf above the computer!

Don't waste lots of money on an expensive SDS drill unless you're sure you're going to be dealing with a lot of stone or concrete. Whilst they are absolutely indispensable tools for those materials, they tend to be big, unwieldy and imprecise tools that can do more damage than they fix in brick and breeze block construction. The cheapest one from B&Q will be fine for the odd emergency.

I now realise that this is a tool I should have used plenty of times previously - if I had known they existed I see I can get one for about £50 so will wait until it is needed and pop out to buy one.

It looks like you're planning on a lot of plumbing work so +2 on a good set of pipe benders. They really make life easier. (a good set of stilsons and adjustable wrench should also be de rigeur too)

On the subject of plumbing if you do have a lot of long awkward runs then installing a hybrid system of plastic and copper works well.

Having refurbished our other bathroom/and ensuite I think I have the plumbing tools I need. Due to working with existing fixtures etc I have always found it best to go with a hybrid system. Must admit I only learned this after bending some pipe and realising that I could not then manouvere it into place :roll:

I'm getting impatient to start now. Structural engineer comes tomorrow to do the proper measurements and then I can get the application off to building control.