A toolkit may save the day
Oct 02, 2009
Gone are the days when you had to wait for a technician to do household and emergency repairs. With a home repair kit, the technician will no longer be needed. You can hang your pictures and repair leaking taps.
By Godwin Ayesiga
Gone are the days when you had to wait for a technician to do household and emergency repairs. With a home repair kit, the technician will no longer be needed. You can hang your pictures and repair leaking taps.
A home repair kit is a handy multipurpose set that contains all the hand tools and accessories you will need to tackle everyday home repairs.
It comes with a number of tools like a medium-weight hammer, an adjustable wrench, a set of pliers and screwdrivers.
To avoid losing them, use a case for storage and religiously replace them after use. Owning a home repair kit comes with a number of advantages like saving time, money and providing you self satisfaction besides making you busy.
Kato Munyolo, a mechanic at Kasambya Motor Garage in Kampala says people who live busy lives are discovering more and more that do it yourself repair kits are the way to go.
He says with the right tools, it is easy to carry out minor repairs like fixing a bulb, changing your car accessories like a battery.
If, for instance, your car fails to start; the problem could be loose battery terminals. So, with your home repair kit you have the tools to tighten the terminals.
It is however, cost effective to buy the entire kit than purchasing the tools separately.
A complete home repair tool kit costs between sh45,000 and sh425,000 depending on the number of tools in it.
The hammer
This is a medium weight hammer with claws for pulling nails and you will use it to handle most of your household jobs.
Torpedo Level
For accuracy, the level is a must for hanging or straightening pictures, mounting towel bars and curtain rods. It is accurate, lightweight and easy to handle.
Tape measure
The 3/4-inch wide by 16-foot long tape measure comes with a thumb lock and English markings. It will help you take measurements.
Pliers
An 8-inch needle-nose pair of pliers with wire-cutting a blade fits well into small spaces and grips small nails, screws and nuts.
A 7-inch nickel-coated locking pair of pliers is essential for getting a good, solid grip, especially when working in small spaces that do not allow you to grip with your full strength.
Screw drivers
These come in two types; the flat and a star-drive screwdriver. The choice of which one to use depends on the size and type of the screw.
However, some kits contain screw drivers that have a ratcheting handle with a selection of interchangeable bits to provide an array of screw drivers in all sizes and head shapes.
The ratcheting handle is a nice feature, making it a lot easier to drive screws that are upside down or in hard-to-see places.
An adjustable wrench
This is a spanner with a movable jaw that adapts to different sized objects. It is used in tightening or loosening bolts, nuts, and other fasteners.
However, you should adjust the jaws so they just slide over the object and fit entirely around the nut, bolt, or fastener and fit neatly.
Other fixed spanners can also be found in the kit.
Utility knife
This is used to cut out the damaged or unwanted parts of what you are repairing.
However, you can also build your home repair kit by buying the tools you need for a given job.
For instance, if you are hanging a picture you need a hammer, a level and possibly some pliers, you do not need a wrench.
Buy the ones you need for the job at hand but with every task the toolbox will fill up eventually.
Gone are the days when you had to wait for a technician to do household and emergency repairs. With a home repair kit, the technician will no longer be needed. You can hang your pictures and repair leaking taps.
A home repair kit is a handy multipurpose set that contains all the hand tools and accessories you will need to tackle everyday home repairs.
It comes with a number of tools like a medium-weight hammer, an adjustable wrench, a set of pliers and screwdrivers.
To avoid losing them, use a case for storage and religiously replace them after use. Owning a home repair kit comes with a number of advantages like saving time, money and providing you self satisfaction besides making you busy.
Kato Munyolo, a mechanic at Kasambya Motor Garage in Kampala says people who live busy lives are discovering more and more that do it yourself repair kits are the way to go.
He says with the right tools, it is easy to carry out minor repairs like fixing a bulb, changing your car accessories like a battery.
If, for instance, your car fails to start; the problem could be loose battery terminals. So, with your home repair kit you have the tools to tighten the terminals.
It is however, cost effective to buy the entire kit than purchasing the tools separately.
A complete home repair tool kit costs between sh45,000 and sh425,000 depending on the number of tools in it.
The hammer
This is a medium weight hammer with claws for pulling nails and you will use it to handle most of your household jobs.
Torpedo Level
For accuracy, the level is a must for hanging or straightening pictures, mounting towel bars and curtain rods. It is accurate, lightweight and easy to handle.
Tape measure
The 3/4-inch wide by 16-foot long tape measure comes with a thumb lock and English markings. It will help you take measurements.
Pliers
An 8-inch needle-nose pair of pliers with wire-cutting a blade fits well into small spaces and grips small nails, screws and nuts.
A 7-inch nickel-coated locking pair of pliers is essential for getting a good, solid grip, especially when working in small spaces that do not allow you to grip with your full strength.
Screw drivers
These come in two types; the flat and a star-drive screwdriver. The choice of which one to use depends on the size and type of the screw.
However, some kits contain screw drivers that have a ratcheting handle with a selection of interchangeable bits to provide an array of screw drivers in all sizes and head shapes.
The ratcheting handle is a nice feature, making it a lot easier to drive screws that are upside down or in hard-to-see places.
An adjustable wrench
This is a spanner with a movable jaw that adapts to different sized objects. It is used in tightening or loosening bolts, nuts, and other fasteners.
However, you should adjust the jaws so they just slide over the object and fit entirely around the nut, bolt, or fastener and fit neatly.
Other fixed spanners can also be found in the kit.
Utility knife
This is used to cut out the damaged or unwanted parts of what you are repairing.
However, you can also build your home repair kit by buying the tools you need for a given job.
For instance, if you are hanging a picture you need a hammer, a level and possibly some pliers, you do not need a wrench.
Buy the ones you need for the job at hand but with every task the toolbox will fill up eventually.