Whether you are hanging photos in your Kansas City home, building shelves or doing home repairs, you need quality tools to get the job done correctly. Here are a few of the essentials every homeowner should have, and some common uses for them:
Measuring Tape
A quality measuring tape is an absolute requirement for many home projects, such as:
- Measuring windows for curtains, blinds or shades.
- Making sure large appliances will fit correctly in your home before purchasing them.
- Finding the area of a room or wall for flooring, carpeting or painting purposes.
Hammer
A smooth-faced hammer, about 16 to 20 ounces in weight, has many uses besides simply driving nails, including the following:
- Pulling nails from discarded lumber for safety purposes.
- Driving stakes into the ground for a string line when laying out decks or fences.
- Preparing door jambs for new hinges or locksets, in combination with a chisel.
Level
A carpenter’s level makes sure your work is plumb and level and can be used for the following:
- Hanging art and photos precisely.
- Plumbing doors and windows so they operate properly.
- Tracing a straight line for plywood cuts.
Square
Either a carpenter’s square or a framing square can be used for several purposes, including:
- Ensuring corners are perfectly square when building furniture or laying out walls.
- Calculating the angle of a roof when repairing minor roof damage.
- Tracing a straight line across lumber before cutting it to length.
Stud Finder
A stud finder with the ability to sense live electrical lines can be used for the following tasks:
- Locating studs to mount heavy objects to the wall, such as large televisions or cabinets.
- Finding the location of the empty space between studs to make drywall repair easier.
- Double-checking that there are no live electrical wires present before cutting into a wall.
Power Drill
An electric or battery-operated power drill can make tasks such as the following much easier:
- Drilling pilot holes for large screws or lag bolts.
- Assembling furniture that is fastened together with screws.
- Drilling a starter hole for jigsaw or reciprocating saw cuts.
While there are many projects around your Kansas City home that you can accomplish yourself, you should leave major jobs, such as repairing serious roof damage, to the professionals. Our team at Bill West Roofing has been doing quality repair for roof damage in the Kansas City area since 1980.