You can walk into a big box store and see tens of thousands of tools or you can jump on your favorite online tool retailer and see even more choices. Here are my top 10 tools every homeowner that wants to take on projects should own. These are the tools that make your job easier and can make that project have a better chance of working out well. Plus it can also give you a better chance of not getting hurt.

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[00:00:22] Eric Goranson: There's axes, there's a lot of different things that are, that are a mix of that, but you don't want to be doing, using your framing hammer for demo. I prefer to use those as two different, cuz I, my framing hammer's important and you can really mess up the waffle head on it. And I like to have a smooth hammer head versus a waffle head for demo.

[00:01:04] Eric Goranson: Welcome the Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the host outta your home through information and education. I'm Eric G. We got a great subject to talk about today. This is something that I've had a couple requests for and it's been a while since we've done something like this. What are the top 10 DIY tools that someone should have?

[00:01:44] Eric Goranson: Now we are also gonna be able to go over to Facebook, which is around the House Show, Instagram, and uh, Twitter as well. So you can find me on all of those. And, uh, we'd love to have you, uh, be involved, especially in the, around the House Nation. That is [00:02:00] our Facebook closed group where you could. Those projects that you're working on.

[00:02:25] Eric Goranson: It was kind of the original. You know, I have, uh, there are a lot of different brands out there of these, but you really need this to clean up around the house. It's important to have, it's great for cleaning the car out. Uh, it is something that, uh, is very important if you get a flood. It is great for getting water up.

[00:03:10] Eric Goranson: You know, it's a Home Depot brand. It has. It is something I can absolutely abuse. It's inexpensive and in a couple years, if I have to throw it away, I don't feel so bad about it. It's not like it's a Fest tool vacuum or something like that, which is on my to-do list for other projects. But as far as cleaning up stuff, that's what that's really made for.

[00:03:55] Eric Goranson: Especially when I have got my, like my drywall vacuum. Man, that [00:04:00] thing works great. I put the HEPA filter in there and I've got the bag in there. It makes cleanup so much easier. Of course you can't do that with wet things, but that's easy. And um, you know, that shot vac is great even when you're changing out a toilet.

[00:04:28] Eric Goranson: Anyway, so that's what I do. That's my first thing is getting a good ShopVac. You do it right and it will last you. Forever. A little bit of care goes a long ways and uh, you can usually find special buy from time to time on those two where you can save yourself a little bit of money. All right, the next one is the multi-tool.

[00:05:12] Eric Goranson: Maybe you're putting in hardwood floors or an L V P luxury vinyl plank flooring. It is great for doing stuff and they make sander things for 'em too. So if you need to have a little tight area sander, they work great for that as well. So there's a lot you can do with that. That is a great one. And then buy a bunch of blades.

[00:05:55] Eric Goranson: So there's a lot of things you can do. That is probably my number one favorite tool that I [00:06:00] use. And there are a difference of them. And let's talk about that for a minute here. With Power Tools as a brand, you know, there are a lot of great power tools out there. I have a lot of, you know, Milwaukee in my garage, but do I have craftsmen?

[00:06:36] Eric Goranson: Is it great to have? Sure. What a uh, Ryobi do is good a job for you. Ah, if you're only using it from time to time. Yeah. By the way, they're made by the same parent company, but they are different tools. So it's something to consider, get that platform and that way you can have one or two battery platforms depending on what the model is, what the brand is, [00:07:00] and then you can have those same things.

[00:07:20] Eric Goranson: And I'm not one of these that, oh, this one's better than other. They're all decent stuff. You know when you get into the really light duty, like the original Black and Decker stuff, or some of the Walmart brands or Harbor Freight stuff, yeah, it is getting a little bit inexpensive where it might be a good single couple used tool, but it's not something that's gonna last to your lifetime.

[00:08:04] Eric Goranson: And I like to get one that has the hammer drill function on it so I can drill into concrete or something like that around the house. The more options you have with that, the better you are. And so the impact is great for putting in screws also, they make drill bits for impact. Yes. We'll talk about that in the next segment, the difference between those, but you have.

[00:08:43] Eric Goranson: So you can do a lot with that drill. But to be honest, I'd use my drill now probably 15% of the time, and the rest is my impact. And that's really what makes a difference there. Once you like that little, small compact impact, [00:09:00] especially the ones that I have where they're that, um, chest compact, it, it makes it, you can get into a lot tighter places and it gives you a lot more room to work with.

[00:09:29] Eric Goranson: If you have any comments on this, feel free to get over to around the house online.com and send me a message there around the house. Be right back after these important messages. Don't go anyway.

[00:10:20] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where he helps you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Wow. How is it February already? This has been going crazy since the beginning of the year, and I think that's just because we've been really spending a lot of time on producing.

[00:10:59] Eric Goranson: So you can watch it [00:11:00] on your phone. And, uh, that will air at, uh, 10:00 AM Pacific time on February 18th. So every Saturday, 10:00 AM you'll catch it right there and you can stream it live right there. And then we'll have stuff up on YouTube as well. But that's the place if you want to catch that on your phone or, or any one of those.

[00:11:35] Eric Goranson: They run at different speeds. They actually operate a little bit differently. So if you have that impact driver that you're using and you're gonna get drill bits for it, make sure. And get the impact bits for it. That'll work with that. And, uh, that'll make things work a lot easier for you and you'll be, uh, really surprised how well that works.

[00:12:17] Eric Goranson: So it's something you gotta be very careful with. So I actually like the hollow coring style tile bits versus the kind of diamond pointed head ones. They seem to work better for me and cut a lot better. And, uh, cuz you don't have to remove all that material, you're just doing the circle. So it's almost like a little hole saw versus just that pointy tip.

[00:12:59] Eric Goranson: I'll tap the [00:13:00] brakes on that for a second. I feel that corded power tools are now a thing of the past. I have gotten rid of, I think every corded power tool. Well, I have an exception so far. I still have a corded grinder angle grinder that I have sitting there on my welder cart. Other than that, everything else and a power tool format is battery powered.

[00:13:58] Eric Goranson: If you take. [00:14:00] A circular saw, which is next on my list, you can cut faster with the battery than you can with the cord with certain saws, especially the Milwaukee one. I can go through there and set that thing up. And we have done competition. Same blade, same saw once corded once. And that battery powered saw, because it has a computer inside of it, it can add extra amps to the motor.

[00:14:52] Eric Goranson: So it's something to consider. Now here's the thing, when you're getting into saws, I love, I've got the Milwaukee [00:15:00] Circular saw. It works great. That is a great saw. It works great. There's lots of different ones out there. Um, I've got some new ones. I'm gonna be getting the, uh, fest track saw here pretty soon cause I love that thing, uh, from festival.

[00:15:42] Eric Goranson: So if you're doing demo and you don't have to worry about hitting those nails, it's pretty amazing to be able to put a demo blade in. And do what you want with that, cuz uh, it's not going to destroy that blade. Like if you take your framing blade and you put that, uh, framing blade on there and you go hit a couple nails, man, you're taking that thing either [00:16:00] down to get sharpened, which I recommend if you get a decent blade, have it sharpened.

[00:16:21] Eric Goranson: They work out well, and then you can have the right tool and blade for the right job. So that makes it a lot easier. But yeah, cordless is the way to fly. That's the way. And when you're using a circular saw, here's one thing that I've learned over the years, have an amazing set of saw horses. Something that is gonna work, something is gonna hold everything in the right place, especially when you're cutting sheet goods, man.

[00:17:10] Eric Goranson: There's mobile work tables. There's some awesome things for doing wood working and circular saws that make life a lot easier. So something to think about. Uh, a great set of saw horses. I mean, I've, I had some pla two plastic ones that lasted me a year or two cause I was using 'em heavy and they just didn't hold up.

[00:17:49] Eric Goranson: And so if I can make it where I'm short on space and uh, save some space, takes up a whole lot less thing. It's no different than like my lawnmower. Why? One of the main reasons I love that electric lawnmower is [00:18:00] it'll fold up and go on end. And so it takes up 20% of the square footage. When I have the gar, when put that in the shed, then I do anywhere else.

[00:18:34] Eric Goranson: We'll do that just as soon is around the house returns.

[00:18:59] Eric Goranson: [00:19:00] Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Keel, the Ron Kehl Band and Steeler. We are rocking around the house with Eric. Ray is your best. Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Well, I wanted to talk, we've been talking about the top 10 DIY tools that you should have in your toolbox, but here's one thing I wanted to talk about is tool brands who owns who, who's related in the family, and so there's a lot of different main companies out.

[00:20:14] Eric Goranson: Not so much with T T I. They pretty much keep a decent arms length between Milwaukee and rbi. Those are two different brands. They're two different, you know how they deal with it. The Milwaukee hammers are way different than the stiletto hammers, and so that's the big difference there. Now there's another one here, which is a big brand Apex tool group.

[00:21:09] Eric Goranson: Now, the other big behemoth in here, there's a few of them, Stanley Black and Decker. You have DeWalt Stanley Irwin, proto Lennox, Lista Porter Cable. Uh, Bostich Blacken Decker Mac Tools, Vladimir Craftsman and Powers. Now, one thing I have noted and I'm, I'm a no problem with Stanley Blacken Decker many times, and of course in there that with that craftsman, I have taken apart the DeWalt, the craftsman, and the Porter cable drills.

[00:22:14] Eric Goranson: I'm not too worried about that. As far as every little piece of quality, I would assume maybe that there's a little better parts in the DeWalt and there would be the porter cable just looking. Price point and maybe Craftsman would be in the middle there someplace, but I'm guessing. But, uh, I tell you what, a lot of the things, if you look at 'em, the parts seem to be very similar between those and some of the other ones.

[00:23:05] Eric Goranson: And then you get over to Bosch. There's another one, Freud, Dremel, roto, Zipp Diablo, Vermont American, and uh, C S T Burger. So that's part of that Bosch group. And then here's one too. That's interesting. Shervin. You got ego skills, saw Hammerhead, Davon, flex Skill, Kura and Tron, and then you have Sunrise, which is Greenworks and Greenworks Pro.

[00:24:00] Eric Goranson: So speaking about a great tool, having a good hammer or sets of hammers in hammers, you go, ah, hammers a hammer. No, I like to have a framing hammer. I like to have a finish hammer. I like to have a demo hammer. I like to have a sledgehammer. You see where I'm going with this? And there's shingle hammers.

[00:24:50] Eric Goranson: And I like to have a smooth hammerhead versus a waffle head for demo. And if you get the right demo hammer, it'll [00:25:00] have like a notch in the handle with a metal handle. . I've got one that's made by DeWalt that has a notch in the handle where I can actually twist a stud with it. It'll actually, a stud will fit in there, and if I need a twist, a stud loose, I can do that.

[00:25:40] Eric Goranson: Small ones are great, but my, one of my favorites is if you've got something with a magnet, because if you're working with something metal, it is amazing to be able to set it on there. Like empire, they have one of my favorite levels. I have one that has a lit, so if I'm in, uh, a dark place and I'm trying to level something, I could turn on the L e D light and it's bright blue and I can see it.

[00:26:20] Eric Goranson: And that's really cool because let's say I'm building a ramp or I'm building something that needs to grade away from the house, or even I'm doing some plumbing work where it needs to have the. If I'm putting a b s drain pipe together and I'm getting ready to glue it, I know that I can glue it when it goes beep.

[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: And please, please treat your levels like they're [00:27:00] dynamite. Do not drop them around. Do not beat them up. Beat up levels. Don't work as well unless you get really, really good ones. But a lot of those, you can bend a lot of those. You can, um, cause 'em where you've got a real problem. I mean, you can get some really good ones that are pretty tough, but I'll be honest, if you treat that level correctly, it's gonna last you a lifetime and, uh, clean 'em up.

[00:27:43] Eric Goranson: So it's really trick. It's something to consider with that. All right. Hey guys. Uh, before we go out to break here, uh, if you're listening on the radio, thanks for tuning in and, uh, we'd love to hear you on the radio. Feel free to get ahold of that. Uh, station and tell 'em thank you for carrying around the house, and make sure you follow those [00:28:00] advertisers because they're the ones that keep this show on the air.

[00:28:21] Eric Goranson: DIY tools that everybody should have. We'll do that just as soon as around the house. Returns don't go.[00:29:00]

[00:29:18] Eric Goranson: It's, uh, you out there that has been doing such a great job of keeping on top of us and listening every single week, and we do appreciate it. Now, coming up here, this next. Month. We have so many great in-depth interviews with some of the latest products coming out that you're not gonna want to miss. So do not miss these next couple months cuz we've got a lot of great stuff coming up and we'll be talking to some very important people out there in the world of DIY construction design and home improvements.

[00:30:10] Eric Goranson: But if you just are trying to get started, that's screwdriver with 15, 20, 30 B. Gets you a long ways. I use mine probably the most because if I'm working on a project, I can have it in my pocket or tool belt and I'm not carrying another dozen tools around with me. So if I need that little, you know, Phillips or the Big Phillips, or the big flat blade or any one of the torques, I've got it in my pocket and it works well.

[00:31:00] Eric Goranson: It's like a screwdriver and a pry bar all at the same time, or almost like a little chisel in a way. So those can be really handy. Those make life a lot easier. Now, here's probably one of the biggest ones for doing little projects around. Having a good full set of pliers. I just upgraded mine. I've got the new crescent set, so I've got, uh, the needle, nose, the, uh, slip, joint or gas pliers.

[00:31:54] Eric Goranson: And yes, you can really start to wear those out. Uh, I used these again for the first time. I got a [00:32:00] new set here in the last month. And man, I tell you what, having a good set of pliers that are refreshed, I should have replaced those things a few years ago because mine were fairly well worn. And in that too, if you're gonna go into P Player world, um, I'm a big fan of having some locking like, you know, vice grip style as well.

[00:32:47] Eric Goranson: So that is a key right there, is that really good set of pliers and, uh, new ones you might be due for some new ones. Now, the last one here, and I'm gonna have some, uh, [00:33:00] asterisks here of, of some honorable mentions on my top 10. Great safety gear. Really good safety glasses. Buy some nice ones. Don't go buy the cheap ones.

[00:33:35] Eric Goranson: Ones that you know, they're, I tell you what they're, they're cool and they're throwaway, but here's the ones that I absolutely love. I just got these and they're from Strider Eyewear. Holy smokes. These are like things that like Navy [00:34:00] Seals wear out in the. And I was really surprised at how well these worked.

[00:34:36] Eric Goranson: They are flexible, they're hard to break, and they give you great protection. Uh, and I'll be honest, some of the cheap ones, when they're curved, I get. Ice strained because of the curved lenses, right? My eyes get tired and so these here, they've actually designed them to reduce that ice strain and fatigue, and [00:35:00] they've also got UV protection built into 'em, and that no distortion in the optics of it is key.

[00:35:28] Eric Goranson: But having something that's comfortable that fits well and protects you. You are golden. So, uh, that's over@iformmeyewear.com. They're one of my favorite ones. And you can buy, you know, a few of those in last years. So these guys do home improvement stuff all the way up to the tactical and military. So they've got a, a, a long thing, long list of things that they do.

[00:36:27] Eric Goranson: If you have that old wooden rickety ladder, time to let that thing go. Fiberglass is the way to go, especially when you're working on electrical things. Fiberglass can be tough and having the right ladders and knowing how to use it. And so we're not gonna get into the whole safety speech on it, but there's nothing more dangerous.

[00:37:12] Eric Goranson: I know people that have fallen off eight foot ladders and I, and I've almost lost friends that way. So it's something to really think about. And so that's the key right there. Hey, message me over on Facebook round the House Show, and if you want, uh, over there, or you can hit us somewhere at, uh, around the house online at my website.

[00:37:46] Eric Goranson: So tell me what your favorite tool is and uh, what it is and I'll read those on the air for you and, uh, maybe we can have a little bit of debate and then, uh, you know, we're not gonna get into debris. I don't wanna go. DeWalt is better than [00:38:00] this, or Milwaukee's better than this. I don't wanna get into the, the Forge Chevy Dodge Toyota debate.

[00:38:23] Eric Goranson: Everything from, uh, our friends at DuPont. We're gonna talk tile with Dow Tile. We're gonna be talking with Simpson Door. Uh, we've got a lot of great people that we've talked to that are gonna come up on the air in some great interviews and, uh, it's very exciting to see what we've got coming ahead here in February and March four.