Cool home improvement tools

It combines a The laser actually takes measurements all by itself - up to feet! Automatic shut-off helps to preserve battery life. Instead of holding screws and nails between your teeth as both hands are busy, take this safer route. Made of ballistic polyester, it is exceptionally durable and can be used indoors and outdoors.

It uses a combination of radar and 3D imaging technology to look through solid surfaces, such as walls, ceilings, and floors. It detects studs, water pipes, wiring, and more. It has an LED display to help avoid over-inflation and comes with three nozzle adapters.

Keep your devices charged during power outages or while camping. According to one Texas Amazon reviewer he was able to use a heater, lamp and charge his devices for about eight hours during our ice storm earlier this year.

Optional solar panels are available. Speaking of tools - check out our mortgage calculator. Connect with a mortgage adviser who will tailor options that fit your unique situation. Start your pre-approval process in 90 seconds! The Basic Toolkit All-in-one toolkits are a great way to begin building your home maintenance arsenal. Digital Laser Tape Measure Replace his old-school tape measure with this digital version.

The compact design can squeeze into tight spaces, and we particularly like its three-way adjustable LED work light, which is incredibly bright. This is a great basic kit to have in your toolbox, but for heavy-duty jobs and carpentry projects, consider a more specialized drill bit set.

It can also detect live AC wiring, metal objects, plastic plumbing pipes, and rebar in concrete. There are nearly two dozen types of hammers out there, but none are as important as your basic curved-claw hammer that drives and removes nails. When you need brute force, you need a sledge hammer. Backed by a lifetime warranty, this steel Fiskars model has a dual-head with a wedge for demolition or splitting wood and a flat face for driving stakes into the ground.

The handle has shock-absorbing insulating material and a steel reinforcement sleeve to protect the tool—and you, if you accidentally miss your mark. Another helpful demolition tool is a pry bar. DeWalt designed this heavy-duty model with three nail pullers in addition to the curved end for removing trim and paneling. For more routine prying and scraping jobs, choose the Stanley Inch Wonder Bar.

An Allen wrench, sometimes known as a hex key, performs more like a screwdriver: It fits into a fastener head instead of around it, like most wrenches. The tool is handy for set screws and ready-to-assemble furniture. This piece set from Husky includes a range of SAE and metric sizes. Each key is stamped with its size and has a long and short arm so you can use it in tight spots. An adjustable wrench saves you space and money because it can tackle various tasks unlike the fixed jaw of a combination wrench.

The Channellock 8WCB has a maximum jaw capacity of 1. Remember: Apply force to the broad edge instead of the movable one to protect your wrench. And using them the right way ensures your investment will last. This Milwaukee model is more convertible than most. You can adjust the handle length for a , , or inch tool.

The longer options provide more leverage and reach but can be limiting in tight areas. For fastening or loosening nuts and bolts, you need a socket wrench set. Use the former for appliance and electronics repair and the latter for light-duty automotive work and appliance maintenance. The set also has 36 hexagonal sockets in imperial and metric sizes, a ratchet-compatible spinner handle, and an adapter that lets you use the sockets with a power driver.

Unlike an impact driver that works much like a cordless drill, an impact wrench is designed to tighten and loosen hex-hed bolts, nuts, and lag screws. But the Bosch Freak is half impact wrench, half impact driver. It has a quarter-inch hex-shank holder compatible with impact sockets or hex driver bits, as well as up to an impressively fast 3, rpm that easily removed lug nuts on an F with minimal vibration and noise.

Patented in , locking pliers might be more familiar to some people under the brand name Vise-Grip. Decades later, a Vise-Grip is still a reliable choice when you need a powerful grip.

It also includes a wire-cutter, just like the early models. Tongue-and-groove pliers were first invented in Similar to an adjustable wrench, users can set the jaw capacity for their given need, traditionally by moving a pin along a series of grooves. Needle-nose pliers have long, slender jaws that are ideal for fishing dropped screws out of tight spaces and performing exacting tasks like fastening wire to an outlet receptacle.

This pair from Klein is 8 inches long, features a smooth-moving joint, and has comfortable handle pads. The tool also has sharpened edges for snipping wires. Most electrical jobs are made easier with a wire stripper, which deftly removes insulated tubing from wires.

It has front, mid, and rear shears; a crimper; and bright, easy-to-read markings. The mid shear is long enough to cut a standard NM-B building wire, and you can adjust the tension on the pivot for the smoothest cutting. A multimeter combines a voltage tester—a critical safety tool for electrical work—with the ability to measure current, resistance, and more. As soon as you learn how to use one , it becomes a powerful part of your setup. We regularly turn to the highly accurate Fluke , which also measures continuity, frequency, and capacitance and can display the minimum, maximum, and average readings on its large screen.

Empire designed this I-beam with durable aircraft aluminum and impact-resistant vials, which the company says are accurate to 0. A straight line is guaranteed. The auto-locking feature makes this Milwaukee tape measure easy to operate alone, and its reinforced frame protects the mechanism inside if you drop it or it falls off your work table.

Attach it to your person with the steel belt clip for easy access. The foot version should be long enough for most uses, but you can also choose a full 8-meter length or the shorter foot model. This tool helps you measure, mark out, and test the squareness of corners.

For maximum precision, first position your pencil or scratch awl , then gently slide the square to the pencil and strike your line. Check the tool's accuracy by marking a line 90 degrees to a straightedge. Flip the square and make another mark next to the first. If the two lines are parallel, the square is, well, square.

This Ryobi was made for DIYers. The handle design has an enclosed gear train that delivers as much as pounds of force. Adjusting the lower clamping jaw is easy thanks to a small plastic latch. A pair of them can hold more than one ton, and the support arms can fit 2x4s and 4x4s. You can also adjust the height of these collapsible steel sawhorses for a more personalized fit.