Realistic Toolbox

Not to knock TV, but do you ever notice that they seem to have all the biggest and baddest gadgets and tools right in the backyard? They're like, oh yeah, it's simple, I just took this mega circular black diamond ricocheting table saw and made this perfect cut on the first try in this very expensive and gianormous piece of granite. All under the giant tent in the very spacious backyard to shield them from the hot sun or pelting ice.  Pretty nice huh? No wonder we want them to come to our house-they come with a lot more than good looks  and big muscles.

When we lived in our 675 square foot condo, I had two plastic storage bins with wheels and a toolbox in which to fit everything I needed for house projects. No backyard, no garage, no tent. I didn't even own a bucket because I had no where to put one! Any tools we had or purchased had to fit into those two storage tubs. When we did larger projects, we borrowed stuff from friends, or if we had to, rented a larger item for a day.

Here is a list of tools and supplies I use most often for realistic renos:

Power Drill:  A must. If you can use small kitchen appliances, you can use a drill! Don't believe me? See my post "how to use a power drill" for step by step directions.

Screwdrivers: Two kinds: Flathead (for screws with the line down the middle) or Phillips Head for screws with the "x". There will be times a drill will not help and you will have to give it some muscle. Have several sizes of these because you never know what size you will need.

Alan Wrenches: Every so often you will find a hexagonal shaped hole, so have a small set of these on hand.
These are simply an L shape small tool with hexagonal ends.

Paint brush: If you buy a good paintbrush, and clean it well each time, you can get buy with one. I bought a Benjamin Moore paintbrush with an angled edge six years ago, and I still have it and it works great. I think it's 3 inches wide, maybe four. I have painted an entire condo and now our whole house with this one brush. Do not get cheapy brushes!

Paint Roller: Again, one will do the trick. If you invite others over to help, have them bring their own supplies. Get a good quality roller cover (I can't remember what you actually call them-the part you put on the metal roller part) Again, Benjamin Moore has great ones. Spend the extra money on a three pack and clean them really well when you are done each time and you can reuse them over and over. Do not get the cheap foamy ones- you will end up using more paint and only get one use out of them.

Paint Tray: Get a decent metal tray.

Pliers: A few sets, one small one large.

Sandpaper: Have 60 for really rough surfaces, and 150 for most other surfaces.

Hammer
Wrench
Tape Measure- at least two
Industrial Scissors
Drill Bits
Mini saw
Spackling Knife
Joint Compound Knife
Caulking gun
Level
Prybar
Hacksaw with extra blades.
Face Masks (for sanding dust and fumes)
Safety goggles
Plastic gloves

In addition to these tools you will want to have some basic supplies also:

Spackle: Get the kind that goes on pink and dries white. This will save you lots of time. But make sure you wait till it's white to sand and paint. I learned the hard way.

Joint Compound: This stuff is cheap and is for repairing wall damage or patching large cracks. It's just like frosting a cake! Just make sure you dress for mess. It needs lots of time to dry so plan accordingly when you do a project or plan to paint.

Screen patches: These are for major size holes in the wall that you can't spackle. You stick the patch on then use joint compound on top.

Box of screws and mollies: IKEA sells these small kits with different size wood screws and drywall screws, which need these plastic mollies. It's all in one box- I highly recommend this. If you don't have a IKEA nearby, go to the hardware store and get an assortment of various screw lengths for both drywall and wood, plus mollies of varying sizes.

Toggle bolts: These are really long screws with a flat end that have a metal piece on them- they can be really good if you need a little extra support, or if you accidentally put too big hole on the wall! They make fairly large holes though so only use them if you need to.

Assorted picture frame hooks, nails for hanging pictures and art, finishing nails

Caulk: There are different kinds for different surfaces:  For the tub surround and behind the kitchen sink I prefer silicone, because it won't turn orange and grow mold. It's more like glue so make sure you don't touch it much. For walls and trim, get the kind that has part silicone but paintable. For moist areas that don't get dirty, you can use the non silicone water resistant kind.

Liquid Nails: A strong adhesive

This is a pretty good basic set of supplies for your average realistic renovation.. If you need a specific thing you can always go buy it when the need comes up.