Separate tool sets for home and garage?

[reader2580]

Do you have separate sets of tools for your home and garage?

My garage is detached and is about 75 feet from my house. I keep having issues finding basic tools like screwdrivers because I never know if they are out in the garage or in the house. I move tools from the garage to house and vice versa so I can never seem to find tools when I want them. I keep a lot of tools in the house because of moisture issues in the garage. (Water tends to condense on the garage floor in cooler months.)

I will be setting up a shop of sorts in my walkout basement hopefully this spring. My eventual plans are to build a large garage to store my motorhome and also have shop space there.

 

[Kaizen]

i came up with a thing a few years back. on my main floor of my house i have a 4 drawer rolling cabinet with house stuff. screwdrivers, batteries, etc. any other tool is in the garage organized with the exception of plumbing stuff which i have in my basement as that's where all plumbing projects will start.

 

[kbs2244]

Yes
Even though I have an attached garage with a lot of tools.
I also have a small tool box in the laundry room with a combo bit screw driver, a small hammer, a set of "watch screw drivers, razor knife, etc.
Just what I need to keep from going out on that cold concrete floor when you need to clean the TV remote or such.

 

[Daedalus]

Yup. Stainless rolling cab with a wood top. Looks decent, and keeps some tools handy for inside the home. Screwdrivers, small ratchet set, wrench sets, cutters, level, hex bits Dewalt cordless set, etc.

My question now is how many duplicates do I need to keep in the truck for working at other sites.

 

[pmiranda]

Definitely. Even though we have an attached garage, it's nice to have some basic tools in a kitchen cabinet. Pliers, needlenose, screwdrivers, etc. My set of tiny screwdrivers lives there since we do alot more repair and maintenance on toys and electronics on the kitchen counter than in the garage!

 

[crewchief888]

i keep a few basic hand tools in the house, ad store my corded and cordless tools in the house.

garage has a "better than average" amount of hand tools, fab eq, and a few corded tools.

my service truck has 98% of my working tools in it.

 

[reader2580]

I guess a better question would be how to keep garage tools from rusting?

It would be better to keep most of the tools in the garage and just have a household set in the house. I keep a lot of tools in the house due to the moisture issues in the garage. I have a walkout basement that I have to go through to get to the garage so I will keep the house tools in the basement.

I just have to decide what tools to keep in my house set. I can't afford to duplicate everything.

 

[svtride]

Yup. I've got 150' between house garage and shop. As I upgrade tools in shop the outgoing tools go to house garage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I keep just a few hand tools in the house, hammer, 6-in-1 screw driver, flat blade screw driver, utility knife, 12' tape and a pair of dykes.

 

[jives]

First thing I did when I got married was buy a toolbox for the house (apt), outfitted with some spare tools like screwdrivers and pliers, bought a few cheapy tools, and indoor hardware like brads, small screws, picture hanging stuff. 27 years and still have it. I'd estimate between me, the wife, and the kids, it is pulled out of the mechanical room on a weekly basis.

 

[Ben7203]

Yep, got a Proto tool box in the garage, a average size tool box in the hall closet and Husky bench top box in the basement. Didn't take long to figure out where ever I was, the tool I needed wasn't nearby. I convinced the wife (ex) that she needed a tool box of her own for the little stuff indoors. Was pleasantly surprised that she didn't take it with her. It is easily worth a couple hundred bucks. driver set, various pliers, meter, tape and a few other things.

 

[coljar]

Yes, I keep a large amount of tools in both places. I have a basement shop for some projects that I don't want to do in the garage, such as the vintage barber pole I'm restoring at the moment and I have my regular tools in the garage, and then I keep some other tools in the dirty garage for when I don't want to make a mess in my clean garage.

 

[pancho400cid]

Yes... and as a result I don't have what I need in either place!

 

[bobcatdan]

Standard issuse kitchen junk drawer in the house with the very basics. Otherwise it's 15 trips back and forth to the shop for any given project above and beyond what the junk drawer can handle. There just isn't enough call in the house to make a better set up in there. I do zero work in the basement and never will.

 

[jwh]

I've got tools in the basement shop and tools in the garage. Garage is for cars and big stuff, basement is for small stuff and the winter refuge.

Edit: Agree with Pancho, usually what I want is in the other shop.

John

 

[BD1]

There is never the RIGHT tool in one spot when you need it. So Have a set in garage , barn, and basement. Biggest is in basement then barn. All the specialty stuff in basement. Each location has complete basic sets. Bought most at a flea market where a guy was selling Craftsman stuff so cheap I kept buying more. By the time flea market season was over I was fully equiped PLUS backups.

 

[Steevo]

My shop is about 75' from my back door of my attached garage.
I have a small vintage rollaway & top box in the attached garage, with basic sets of screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, hammers, and all of the "house-type" tools like circuit tester, stud finder, plumbing tools, level, etc. in it. Saves me going to the shop for simple household repairs.

 

[cxracer]

My garage is technically attached but you have to go outside to get to it.

At the very least I have a multi head screwdriver in a kitchen drawer and my wife has a little lunch box and a small hammer I bought her for hanging paintings in a hall closet. Anything beyond that I start hauling things in from the garage.

 

[TonkaJoe]

Absolutely, I have the majority of my hand and power tools in my shop, But I have a second work shop on one side of my basement with a nice long workbench and second sets of common tools like wrenches, screw drivers, pliers, cutters, hammers etc... saves running back and forth when I need something. If I need a select set of tools for a specific job I simply make up one of my tool boxes with all the tools needed for that exact job. Then I have to put them right away after I'm done or else it may never get done lol.

 

[JC23]

Same here.
Detached garage but keep one of those five gallon bucket sleeves for tools. Another thing that works for me is keeping all the 'house' tools I don't often use in separate bins. When there's a job, grab the bin and get to work.
EX- drywall stuff in one, electrical in another, plumbing and tile stuff in others. The surprise to this system is once that part of the project is done, clutter is reduced when the tool bin goes back in the basement. For ongoing projects doing rooms in an old house, this has worked quite well.

One tip - When I do find meeself with duplicate tools, those dedicated bins are great places to park em.

 

[finn]

Cheap Craftsman roller box & upper in the basement, stocked with the basics through 3/8" drive sockets. plus my wjfe has her own stash.

Most plumbing tools live in the shed.

Major tools are in the garage ~150' from the house, and another duplicate set in the shop.

I keep the garage above freezing, and heat the shop.

 

[Slednut]

I have a 20x20 detached garage, the only tools in it is a table and miter saw. My large attached garage/shop is 15 seconds away. It’s 60 degrees in the shop and 37 and raining like a mother outside.

 

[Kevkx125]

I have a drawer in the kitchen that has a hammer and screw drivers and pliers in it.

 

[Kornnut]

My MIL decided to liberate all of my screwdrivers and a couple of hand tools while she was helping us when our son was first born. I still haven't found them 2 years later. Buying a cheap set on sale after christmas for the house.

 

[exranger06]

Nope. I have an attached garage. If I need a tool in the house, I walk downstairs to the garage and get it. Then when the job is done, I walk back down to the garage and put them away.

 

[logical]

I have the typical Garage Journal giant box of every tool I'll ever need in the attached garage but through upgrades or various deals put together a pretty complete set in the basement workshop...1/4 and 3/8 socket sets, various pliers, a mixed bag but fairly complete set of screwdrivers and various other stuff I ended up with duplicates of like chisels and Allen wrenches. It's handy to have and I had a few Craftsman Rally boxes laying around to keep it in.

In the house itself I just have a very basic plastic box with a but driver set, a few screwdrivers, stray pliers and tape measure. I wouldn't have gone out and bought tools for the house but they were duplicates and not worth selling.

There are also tools that really aren't "garage" tools that I have in those basement Rally boxes.... plumbing specific wrenches, etc. I also have a big plastic hand box that's all electrical and low voltage wiring tools and supplies that lives in the basement.

 

[MDSPHOTO]

Yes. One box for my motorcycle garage, one box for the 3-car garage and a small bag of tools for the terrace level.

 

[Xander]

I keep a tool bag of stuff that I would normally use for "house" stuff, and minor carpentry work. That along with an impact driver and a drill. The other stuff stays in the 'shop"

x...

 

[manwithtools]

I have a shop attached to the house and now I'm renovating at 30' x 40' building with a lift, heat and compressed air. I'm realizing I'm going to do most of the auto work there - its 200' feet from the house - up hill both ways .

I'm starting to buy additional hand tools so I have the basics on hand in the remote building. Specialized stuff wont get duplicated as it's too expensive to do that for the rare times they are needed.

I've got another set of dedicated tools I keep in the gun room in the basement.

 

[nadogail]

I have a few tools in the house, just enough to change a small battery or open a package.