What I Would Buy First If I Had to Start My Toolbox Over Again

I've been doing this for over 25 years. Electrical. Plumbing. Carpentry. General repairs. Handyman work all over Las Vegas, Henderson, and Summerlin.

And in all that time, I've noticed something consistent: new homeowners don't have a tool problem. They have a priority problem.

They either buy nothing and call someone for every small repair — or they go to Home Depot, drop $400 on a kit that looks impressive in the garage, and still don't have what they actually need when something breaks at 10pm on a Sunday.

Something always breaks. A cabinet hinge works itself loose. A toilet starts running. A smoke detector starts chirping in the middle of the night. A curtain rod pulls clean out of the wall.

The homeowners who handle those things themselves — without calling me, without panicking — aren't the ones with the biggest collection. They're the ones who bought the right tools in the right order.

Here's exactly how I'd do it if I had to start from zero.

The First $100 I Would Spend

These five tools solve somewhere around 70% of the everyday problems homeowners deal with. They're not glamorous. You won't post about them. But they're the difference between handling something in ten minutes and waiting three days for a callback.

1. Multi-Bit Screwdriver

I've shown up to jobs where someone called me to tighten a hinge. Not because they couldn't do it — because they didn't own a screwdriver. It happens more than you'd think.

Loose hinges. Outlet covers. Cabinet hardware. Door adjustments. Appliances. Battery compartments. The list goes on. A good multi-bit screwdriver handles all of it. Buy one with a comfortable grip and real bit variety — Phillips, flathead, Torx, and square drive at minimum. This is not the place to save $4.

2. Tape Measure

Every single project starts with a measurement. Every expensive mistake I've ever seen started with someone skipping one.

Furniture that doesn't fit through the door. Shelves cut an inch too short. Blinds ordered for the wrong window. A 25-foot tape measure with a wide blade costs less than $15 and saves you hundreds. Get one with a locking button that actually holds.

3. Utility Knife

This is one of those tools people don't think they need until they have it — and then they reach for it constantly. Boxes, drywall, caulk lines, flooring, shims, weather stripping, carpet, packaging. Buy a model where the blade retracts fully when not in use, and keep a pack of replacement blades with it. A dull utility knife is a dangerous one.

4. LED Flashlight

In 25 years, I have never once had something break in a well-lit, easy-to-reach location.

It's always under the sink. Inside the attic access. Behind the water heater. At the back of a crawl space. Outside after dark. Get a quality LED flashlight — not a phone, not a tea light, a dedicated flashlight with fresh batteries — and keep it somewhere you'll actually find it when the power's out.

5. Adjustable Wrench

One good adjustable wrench handles the majority of plumbing and hardware issues a homeowner will run into. Supply line connections. Shutoff valves. Fixture hardware. Hose bibs. Compression fittings. Before you buy a full socket set, get this. One tool, dozens of jobs.

- Multi-bit screwdriver (with Phillips, flathead, Torx, and square bits) - 25-foot tape measure with locking blade - Utility knife with spare blades - LED flashlight with batteries - Adjustable wrench (8-inch or 10-inch)

The Tools That Prevent Wall Damage

Over the years I've patched a lot of drywall. More than I can count. And the vast majority of it came from the same two words: "I guessed."

These three tools exist so you don't have to.

6. Stud Finder

The phrase I've heard a thousand times before a drywall disaster: "I thought there was a stud right here."

There wasn't.

Don't buy the cheapest stud finder on the shelf. A $8 model that gives you false confidence is worse than no stud finder at all — you'll drive a screw into empty drywall at full speed and turn a simple shelf installation into a drywall repair. Spend $25–$35 and get one that actually works.

7. Level

Crooked shelves bother people for years. I've seen homeowners re-hang the same shelf three times because they eyeballed it and it was never quite right.

A decent 24-inch level costs less than a lunch out. Use it every single time. You'll never hang something crooked again. For most homeowners, a 24-inch torpedo combo level does the job — it handles everything from shelves to cabinet installs to checking if an appliance is sitting flat.

8. Cordless Drill

This is the one tool on the list where I'll tell you to spend real money.

A cheap drill fails exactly when you need it most: mid-project, mid-screw, with no backup. I've seen homeowners strip dozens of screws and give up on a job because their bargain drill didn't have enough torque to finish what they started. The clutch slips, the battery dies after 20 minutes, and suddenly a simple job turns into a frustrating afternoon.

The Tool Nobody Thinks About Until They Need It

9. Step Ladder

Nobody gets excited about buying a step ladder. I've never once heard someone say "I can't wait to get home and use my new step ladder." But I've watched homeowners change air filters standing on dining chairs, swap smoke detector batteries on bar stools, and try to paint a ceiling from a stool that's clearly not rated for it.

You'll use a step ladder constantly — air filters, smoke detectors, light fixtures, painting, reaching storage, holiday decorations. A solid 4-foot or 6-foot step ladder with non-slip feet is one of the best purchases a new homeowner can make. Most people don't buy one until after they've nearly hurt themselves without it.

Building Your Toolkit From There

Once you have the first nine handled, these tools are the next logical additions. I've organized them by how quickly most homeowners reach for them.

10. Hammer

You'd think this would be in the first five. But honest answer? Most everyday homeowner repairs don't need one — that's what the drill and screwdriver are for. When you do need it though, nothing replaces it. Driving nails, setting anchors, adjusting stuck door frames, light demolition. A 16-oz curved claw hammer is the standard for a reason. Don't buy a novelty hammer — buy a basic, well-balanced one.

11. Needle-Nose Pliers

Reach into tight spaces, grab small parts, bend wire, hold hardware while you thread a bolt. Needle-nose pliers are one of those tools where you think you'll rarely need them — and then you realize you need them constantly. Any time you're dealing with electrical work, plumbing compression fittings, or small fasteners in awkward spots, you'll be glad you have them.

12. Tongue-and-Groove Pliers

Known by most people as Channellocks or slip-joint pliers. These are the pliers you use when an adjustable wrench isn't enough grip. Stubborn PVC fittings. Threaded pipe. Compression nuts. Anything that needs two-handed leverage. Keep a medium pair (10-inch) and a large pair (12-inch) and you'll have most plumbing situations covered.

13. Hex Key Set

Also called Allen wrenches. You'll need these for IKEA furniture, cabinet hardware, bike seats, faucet handles, and dozens of other things that use recessed fasteners. A basic SAE and metric set covers nearly everything. The folding style keeps them organized and won't let you lose individual keys.

14. Putty Knife

Patching nail holes, scraping old caulk, applying wood filler, spreading joint compound. A stiff 3-inch putty knife and a flexible 6-inch version cover almost everything. These cost almost nothing and eliminate a surprising number of small finish problems before they become visible eyesores.

15. Pry Bar

A flat pry bar does light demolition, pulls nails, pries up flooring, removes old trim, and separates stuck wood pieces without destroying what's nearby. For most homeowners, a 12–18-inch flat bar is the right size — small enough to be useful in tight spots, sturdy enough to actually do the job.

16. Headlamp

Once you've worked under a sink while holding a flashlight in your mouth, you'll understand why this is on the list. A good headlamp keeps your hands free while working in dark, tight spaces — under cabinets, inside crawl spaces, behind appliances, in attic access. Battery-powered LED headlamps are cheap and last for years. Get one with adjustable brightness.

17. Non-Contact Voltage Tester

If you're ever going to work on anything electrical — swapping an outlet, replacing a light fixture, checking if a circuit is live — this tool is non-negotiable. A non-contact voltage tester lets you confirm a wire is dead before you touch it. They cost $15–$25. They have prevented more trips to the emergency room than I can count.

Never assume a circuit is off because you flipped the breaker. Always verify with a non-contact voltage tester before touching any wire. This is the one safety tool on this entire list.

18. Caulk Gun

Caulk around tubs, showers, sinks, windows, door frames, and exterior penetrations is the first line of defense against water damage in any home. In Las Vegas, it also seals out dust and pests. A basic caulk gun costs $8 and makes it possible to apply a clean, consistent bead instead of squeezing tubes by hand. Pick up a tube of paintable interior caulk and a tube of silicone kitchen/bath caulk when you buy the gun.

19. Shop Vacuum

A household vacuum isn't made for construction debris, drywall dust, screws, or water. A shop vacuum is. Even a small 5-gallon wet/dry vac handles the messes that come with home repairs — and it doubles as a quick solution when there's water in a floor drain or under an appliance. In a house, this is the tool that makes cleanup possible instead of miserable.

20. Bucket, Rags, and Basic Cleaning Supplies

This sounds like a joke. It isn't.

A five-gallon bucket holds tools, water, or supplies. Rags handle spills, wiping surfaces, and drying out spaces before you seal them. Basic cleaning supplies — TSP cleaner, white vinegar, baking soda, painter's tape — solve more small maintenance problems than most dedicated tools do. A bucket and a stack of rags belong in every utility space in a Las Vegas home.

What I'd Actually Tell You to Skip

**Cheap cordless drills** — the drill is the one tool where the cheap version genuinely costs more in the long run. Stripped screws, failed batteries mid-project, and eventual replacement add up fast.

320-piece mechanic tool kits — they look great in the garage. In 20 years, I've never met a homeowner who used more than a small fraction of those pieces. Buy for actual jobs, not optimistic ones.

Bargain stud finders — false confidence is worse than no stud finder. A $8 model that confidently marks the wrong location leads directly to a drywall repair bill.

The Real Way to Build a Toolbox

Don't go out and buy everything at once. That's how you end up with a garage full of tools you don't know how to use and still call a handyman for the things that actually matter.

Build your toolbox the same way professionals do — one project at a time. Every repair teaches you what tool you'll need next. Five years from now you'll have a collection built around actual experience instead of a shopping cart impulse. That's exactly how most tradesmen build theirs, and it's the reason those toolboxes get used instead of collecting dust.

Start with the first five. Handle the small stuff yourself. Call a pro for the work that genuinely requires one.

That's not just good advice for your tools. That's good advice for your wallet.