Best Tools for DIY

We want to show you some of the best tools for DIY, because we didn’t know where to start when we began our DIY journey. My husband and I have a lot of DIY aspirations around the house. We want to redo the pantry. Then I’ll see my closet and think “We can make this better”. Or we want to renovate our bathroom or other rooms too. But the tools to be able to do all that are expensive. That was a difficult first hurdle for us to overcome. We are the definition of DIY because frankly, we can’t afford otherwise.

We’ve made plenty of mistakes and I’m sure we’re going to make more in the future. But I’d like to take a few minutes to pass on what we’ve learned. And I’d like to start with the first part, buying tools to even be able to begin. Like I said, our budget was the main problem. We couldn’t go out and buy a bunch of Dewalt or Milwaukee tools. They’re regarded as the best of the best, and I would agree. But when something simply isn’t an option, a strong third place is a great place to start. That’s why we started our DIY journey with Ryobi. 

There’s a stereotype associated with Ryobi that they’re unreliable, they break easily and often and they aren’t worth the money. And though that may have been the case a decade ago, our experience the last two years and the anecdotal evidence from people we know shows that they’re a great option now. We have been using them for two years for both home projects and for my husband’s stair installation company, putting about 12-16 hours a week on the tools. Let me explain to you what tools from Ryobi we like and why:

Here’s a combo kit we love because it’s a great value for the money. You get quite a few tools for a really great deal. A drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, circular saw, multi-tool, LED light, two batteries, a charger, and bag; some of the best DIY tools for getting started. Most large projects you do you’ll probably need more than just this, but it’s great for all manner of small things. It’s a great deal you shouldn’t pass up. Definitely a great place to start. A Miter saw is a great next tool, and opens your world up immensely. This is the same one we’ve used and abused for two years, and has never failed us. You can save even more money by getting the corded version. But we really like being able to run everything off batteries so it doesn’t matter where we set up shop.

There aren’t a lot of projects you can do without a nail gun or pin nailer, and Ryobi has you covered for that too. Here’s the only two nail guns we’ve needed so far, and they’ve been working great. There’s a 23 gauge pin nailer for the smaller stuff that leaves almost no hole behind. There’s a larger but not overbearing 18 gauge that will really hold your material together. And to finish off the best starter tools for DIY, a good ol’ palm sander. This particular one is a kit with two more batteries and another charger, so whatever you’re working on, you can work for longer without having to stop to charge.

So at the time of writing this, all those come out to about $790, which is about half of what you’d pay for the same tools by Dewalt or Milwaukee. If it weren’t for Ryobi, we wouldn’t have been able to start the projects when we did. And we would have had to spend a few more months saving up money instead of working on what we wanted to. And if you need ideas on How To Organize Your Tools you can read this post.