Tool Advice for First-Time Homeowner

[Deker]

Power Tool Advice for First-Time Homeowner

Hi all, first post here. I don’t have much DIY experience, but I just moved into my first house and need tools for some fun projects I have lined up. This forum has been a great resource, and I’m hoping to get some more personalized recommendations on which tools will take me the furthest.

Projects:

Reface wood fence, paint and roof patio trellis, demo and rebuild garage workbench, add tabletop over washer dryer, install brick pavers in side yard, grind and epoxy inject cracks in driveway / patio, build some planter boxes, seismically retrofit crawlspace, demo concrete slab in backyard.

Tools I think I Need (For Now):

Drill / Driver, Impact Driver, Rotary Hammer, Reciprocating Saw, Circular Saw, Random Orbital Sander, Angle Grinder

I don't have access to power in the garage , so all tools would be cordless.

Tools Option (1) - $1184 Total:

1. $548 Makita LXT Sub-Compact Combo: Drill, Impact Driver, Reciprocating Saw, 11/16" Rotary Hammer, (2)2.0Ah Batteries
2. $199 Makita LXT 6-1/2" Circular Saw
3. $139 Makita LXT 4-1/2" Angle Grinder
4. $119 Makita LXT Random Orbital Sander
5. $179 Makita 5.0Ah Battery Combo

Tools Option (2) - $976 to $1305 Total:

1. $699 Milwaukee M18 Fuel Combo: Hammer Drill, Impact Driver, Reciprocating Saw, 6-1/2" Circular Saw, (2)5.0Ah Batteries
2. $329 (Optional) Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1" Rotary Hammer
3. $119 Milwaukee M18 Random Orbital Sander
4. $158 Milwaukee 2.0Ah Battery Combo

Questions:

1. Should the Makita sub-compact tools be powerful enough for what I need? I like the small form factor, especially for the reciprocating saw and rotary hammer, but I know they won’t be as powerful as the Milwaukee M18.
2. The Milwaukee combo comes with a hammer drill, so do I need the rotary hammer? I would be drilling lots of holes in the foundation walls for the crawlspace seismic retrofit.
3. Would the Milwaukee 1" Rotary Hammer be useful for demoing a concrete slab, or am I better off renting a demolition hammer? I'd have to rent one regardless if I went with the Makita since it doesn't have a chipping setting.
4. Which option would you choose? Are there any tools that I’m missing? Any other advice?

Thank you!

Derek

 

[Deker]

[I accidentally posted this to the General Garage Discussion forum. Hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this here instead.]

Hi all, first post here. I don’t have much DIY experience, but I just moved into my first house and need tools for some fun projects I have lined up. This forum has been a great resource, and I’m hoping to get some more personalized recommendations on which tools will take me the furthest.

Projects:

Reface wood fence, paint and roof patio trellis, demo and rebuild garage workbench, add tabletop over washer dryer, install brick pavers in side yard, grind and epoxy inject cracks in driveway / patio, build some planter boxes, seismically retrofit crawlspace, demo concrete slab in backyard.

Tools I think I Need (For Now):

Drill / Driver, Impact Driver, Rotary Hammer, Reciprocating Saw, Circular Saw, Random Orbital Sander, Angle Grinder

I don't have access to power in the garage , so all tools would be cordless.

Tools Option (1) - $1184 Total:

1. $548 Makita 18V LXT Sub-Compact Combo: Drill (XFD11ZB), Impact Driver (XDT15ZB), Reciprocating Saw (XRJ07ZB), 11/16" Rotary Hammer (XRH06ZB), (2)2.0Ah Batteries
2. $199 Makita 18V LXT 6-1/2" Circular Saw XSH03Z
3. $139 Makita 18V LXT 4-1/2" Angle Grinder XAG04Z
4. $119 Makita 18V LXT Random Orbital Sander XOB01Z
5. $179 Makita 18V 5.0Ah Battery Combo

Tools Option (2) - $976 to $1305 Total:

1. $699 Milwaukee M18 Fuel Combo: Hammer Drill, Impact Driver, Reciprocating Saw, 6-1/2" Circular Saw, (2)5.0Ah Batteries
2. $329 (Optional) Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1" Rotary Hammer
3. $119 Milwaukee M18 Random Orbital Sander
4. $158 Milwaukee 2.0Ah Battery Combo

Questions:

1. Should the Makita sub-compact tools be powerful enough for what I need? I like the small form factor, especially for the reciprocating saw and rotary hammer, but I know they won’t be as powerful as the Milwaukee M18.
2. The Milwaukee combo comes with a hammer drill, so do I need the rotary hammer? I would be drilling lots of holes in the foundation walls for the crawlspace seismic retrofit.
3. Would the Milwaukee 1" Rotary Hammer be useful for demoing a concrete slab, or am I better off renting a demolition hammer? I'd have to rent one regardless if I went with the Makita since it doesn't have a chipping setting.
4. Which option would you choose? Are there any tools that I’m missing? Any other advice?

Thank you!

Derek

 

[will335i]

Have you looked at comparable dewalt tools? That is my brand of choice but those are good too. Their new stuff is 20V but I have a lot of the old 18v stuff and it was plenty of power.

Take a look at Maxtool.com as right now they have $25 off $150 with promo STAYHOME with free shipping over $99. If you split up the orders, like I did, you can use the promo multiple times.

The Hammer drill function is useful for drilling into concrete I don't how useful it will be for demoing it. Depending on the thickness of the slab a good sledge hammer might be all you need.

Also, get good drill bits and saw blades. Going cheap here is almost as bad as getting crappy tools.

 

[crewchief888]

IMHO,

stay with corded tools for everything except your drill and driver.

you'll never have a dead battery when you need it most, and you'll probably be money ahead.

as I always said,
theres no 1 tool company that makes the best of everything....

 

[gatlibs]

Some things might be worth renting as well? I wouldn't say rent a lawn mower, but I would say rent a jack hammer. I buy DeWalt for country of origin, but I would guess that most of the cordless tools are fairly comparable. Certainly, the brands that you have chosen have cult-like followings.

I was in a similar situation. I slowly added tools (replaced old Craftsman ones really) on an as needed basis following the projects being tackled as I progress thru them.

 

[jonshonda]

IMHO,

stay with corded tools for everything except your drill and driver.

you'll never have a dead battery when you need it most, and you'll probably be money ahead.

OP has no power in the garage. My very first investment would be to add power to your garage, regardless of expense it is going to be very difficult to work w/o power. Otherwise I agree with crewchief888, corded tools have a much better chance of never costing you money ever again, whereas cordless is GOING to cost you money when (not if) the battery dies.

I wonder if hard wiring was not an option, that you could run a generator to supplement power?

 

[SeisMec]

Jonshonda pretty much took the words out of my mouth. Is the garage attached or detached from the house? If detached, how far is it from the nearest exterior power outlet on the house?

 

[RTM]

Demoing the slab would be much better with a jackhammer vs a rotary hammer. A big sledge and a digging bar might suffice, depending on how well or poorly the slab was built.

For your fence, I'd rather use a 1/4" impact driver over a regular drill.

Almost all of those will benefit from a pair of sawhorses, or a Workmate, Don't cheap out and try to use your foot to hold a fence board or raised box board raised in place while you cut it with a circular saw.

 

[Deker]

Thanks all for the advice so far. I do plan to add power to the garage. Perhaps I should do that sooner than later and go corded for the circular saw, sander, and angle grinder if needed.

Does anybody have any experience with the Makita Sub-Compact tools mentioned in the OP and if so do you think they would be sufficient for me? I've read that they're comparable to higher end 12V tools and that should suffice for everything but more heavy duty tasks, but I'm not really sure what qualifies as "heavy duty."

I have looked at comparable Dewalt tools and I probably should price out something similar to comare. Most likely I'll end up choosing something from the BIG 3...I don't mind paying a little more if it gets me a better quality / longer lasting tools.

@RTM: Great call on the sawhorses. I'm looking at a pair of Dewalt folding metal sawhorses that should store well in my little garage.

 

[IndyGarage]

I would go Makita over Milwaukee - they seem to be slightly better in my opinion, and they have a wider range of 18V tools, including the 18v x2 which are fantastic.

Although Milwaukee and Dewault and Bosch are all good too.

There's very little difference in size between the subcompact and the regular tools these days. I have the subcompact impact tool and the regular impact and the brushless impact - all three work fine. I wouldn't buy 2.0ah batteries. I don't have any of the other subcompact tools, but the full size Makita 18v recip saw is a beast.

Personally I might skip the drill altogether and rent an SDS hammer if you ever need to drill holes in concrete. The impactors will drill holes with hex drill bits. The cordless circular saw is fantastic. The only tool on your list I would skip is the cordless angle grinder - I have one, and it's the only tool left where I always pick up a corded before the cordless. I've probably used that cordless grinder 4-5 times - it works OK, but the battery life is super short.

Are there tools missing? Depends - the Makita cordless multitool is great, I bought a second one for my shop since I liked it so much.

The LED lights are life savers - Milwaukee has a better selection than Makita on lights. Makita has one that's about $49 that works really well. I have a dustbuster type vac that's really good.

If my budget were tight I would try to find a set used on Craigslist and buy a couple new batteries - in fact that's exactly what I did - I got my first 5 tools for about $200 instead of $600 new. They were used but they all work fine. That allowed me to buy a bunch more tools with the savings.

 

[kngelv]

OP has no power in the garage. My very first investment would be to add power to your garage, regardless of expense it is going to be very difficult to work w/o power. Otherwise I agree with crewchief888, corded tools have a much better chance of never costing you money ever again, whereas cordless is GOING to cost you money when (not if) the battery dies.

I wonder if hard wiring was not an option, that you could run a generator to supplement power?

Power to the garage should be at the top of your list. Make sure you install 20 amp circuits so your not tripping breakers all the time.

James

 

[RTM]

If my budget were tight I would try to find a set used on Craigslist and buy a couple new batteries - in fact that's exactly what I did - I got my first 5 tools for about $200 instead of $600 new. They were used but they all work fine. That allowed me to buy a bunch more tools with the savings.

I have been a Makita cordless guy since the early 90s, but bought a nifty DeWalt 5 piece set for $45 at a garage sale, homeowner usage. It will end up at my daughters new house so I don’t have to drag stuff over there. Kinda funny, bought it about a mile from her new house.

Got my Makita LVT? Impact driver Cheap, got a charger, extra battery and flashlight off eBay. Still way below retail.

Not too many new power tools in my garage nowadays, except my first Bosch jigsaw.

 

[MushCreek]

I've been running M18 tools for years; I built my house with them. I have corded tools and never use them. Whatever you get, shop around. I've found all of my tools for way, way below retail. I bought a set for $225 that included a SawZall, drill, driver, circular saw, flashlight, charger, and two batteries. Of course, that was about 10 years ago! My most-used tool is the 1/4" driver, followed by the hammer drill. I built everything with screws these days. Batteries are the killer, price-wise. There always cheaper bundled with a tool. When I bought my 1/2" impact, it came with two 5.0 batteries.

 

[Robinson1]

You're going to hate your life trying to grind concrete with cordless.

My first project would be to get power into the garage. Even if it's just a couple outlets and a couple lights.

You need more than 3 batteries to do any sizable amount of work

 

[will335i]

OP has no power in the garage. My very first investment would be to add power to your garage, regardless of expense it is going to be very difficult to work w/o power. Otherwise I agree with crewchief888, corded tools have a much better chance of never costing you money ever again, whereas cordless is GOING to cost you money when (not if) the battery dies.

I wonder if hard wiring was not an option, that you could run a generator to supplement power?

Power in the garage is definitely a good idea whether you go corded or cordless, you still need somewhere to charge the batteries.

FWIW my 18v NiCd Dewalt batteries that I bought is 2008 are still going strong so unless you're a contractor using them day in and day out you're not going to kill batteries any time soon.

If you do go cordless make sure to have 3-4 batteries that way you can have at least one in use, one charged and one charging so down time wont be much of an issue. If you get into larger tools, i.e. table saws, miter saws, I would stick with corded.

 

[jonshonda]

Very first order of business, add lots of power to the garage. Switched lights overhead. Plan on 4ft light fixtures, and lots of them. Plan where your workbench will go and make sure there are outlets there. If your garage is sheet rocked already then maybe it would be best to mount boxes and conduit on the front of the sheetrock, that way you and move stuff around with ease later if needed.

That way you can work well into the night w/o having to worry about lights, and charge, and blow, and ****, and create a mess.

 

[ddawg16]

For home stuff? Ryobi All the way. Best bang for the $$.

Lets examine that list of tools.....

Drill / Driver - Most Ryobi drills have a 1/2" chuck. Makes a huge difference. I owned my first one for 15 years....built the garage and addition...I used the dog **** out of it. I've got 2 of them....along with a right angle drill.

Impact Driver - Unless you want it for working on the car, wait until it goes on sale.

Rotary Hammer - Why? If you need one, go rent it.

Reciprocating Saw - Jig saw or Sawzall? You really need both. I rarely use my jig saw out of the garage so corded is fine. Sawzall? Cordless. Trust me on that.

Circular Saw - You really need 2...5 1/4" cordless and a corded one...Personally, you can't go wrong with the Skill worm drive.

Random Orbital Sander - Corded only....a cordless one will drain the bat in no time and just makes it heavier and bulkier. I have both Makita and Ryobi....Not a lot of difference. The Makita is easier to hold, but it's easier to load paper on the Ryobi.

Angle Grinder - Just get one from Harbor Freight when they are on sale. Unless you're into metal work, you won't use it much. I have 3, and the HF is just about as good as my Milwalkee...

I have a **** load of Ryobi stuff....even their cordless mower....it uses the same 18V batteries my tools do.

I would go for the Ryobi combo kit..and get more tools as you need them. HD had a deal on the 4 Ah batteries...2 bat + charger for $99....and you get to pick a free tool....I got the leaf blower. It's great for blowing out the garage...and light yard work. Beats dragging around a cord. I still have a corded blower for heavy duty work.

In total I have 6 batteries...2 4 Ah, and 4 2 Ah...along with 2 chargers.

The Ryobi cordless trimmer works great.

You overlooked a few tools you really need....

Shop vac...a good shop vac is really your most important tool. Get the larger one with the 2 1/2" hose.

Hammers....several....including a sledge hammer. Chances are, that is all you need to break up that slab....that and a crow bar. Makes for a nice workout.

Sliding Compound Miter Saw. You will be able to afford it with the money you saved on buying Ryobi cordless tools.

Router....you will be surprised at how often you use it.

Multi-tool - Buy the HF when it goes on sale.

The HF 42" lower tool box with side box to hold said tools.

Clamps.....lots of clamps.

What part of CA are you in? We might be neighbors

 

[IndyGarage]

Ddawg's list is good.

I disagree with him on an impactor - I think they are best for driving screws. More recently they've made them into impact wrenches for auto and repair work - and those are nice if you get a powerful one they are great.

I also don't agree with him on Ryobi - I bought a bunch of their tools when they first came out. They were OK, but in my opinion not in the same league as Makita, Milwaukee or Dewalt. The original batteries kinda sucked too. I gave all my Ryobi away a few years ago, and don't really miss them.

Ryobi tools do work OK and they are cheap and they have a full line, and they are all over the pawn shop or garage sales. And the batteires are readily available. So you could potentially get enough Ryobi tools to get started for next to nothing - heck I gave away a complete set of 8-10 tools to a guy.

 

[Deker]

Thanks again all. I decided to pull the trigger on the Makita subcompact hammer drill / impact driver / reciprocating saw along with a 6-1/2" cordless circular saw to get me started. The other tools I'll pick up corded as I need them. I also picked up the Dewalt folding metal sawhorses, a 10 gal Rigid shopvac, and a corded HF multitool. Now to get power into the garage!

@ddawg16: Thanks for the breakdown. I'll take a shot at the slab with sledge hammer and crow bar and see how that goes. Once I'm reader for a router, would you recommend corded or cordless? I'm in LA. You?

 

[will335i]

I think it comes down to "duty" cycle, like how long you are going to use it in one go, but I would go with corded for a router. Plus the added bulk of a battery on a router could make it awkward to handle.

 

[ddawg16]

Thanks again all. I decided to pull the trigger on the Makita subcompact hammer drill / impact driver / reciprocating saw along with a 6-1/2" cordless circular saw to get me started. The other tools I'll pick up corded as I need them. I also picked up the Dewalt folding metal sawhorses, a 10 gal Rigid shopvac, and a corded HF multitool. Now to get power into the garage!

@ddawg16: Thanks for the breakdown. I'll take a shot at the slab with sledge hammer and crow bar and see how that goes. Once I'm reader for a router, would you recommend corded or cordless? I'm in LA. You?

I'm in LA as well....South Bay area....more or less...

For a router....corded....

 

[Bigbandguy]

Depending on the budget this is definitely a time when Craig's list is your friend. Even if you upgrade later you can pick up all sorts of tools for cents on the dollar. RE power a cheap trick I saw used once (can't imagine where) was a 100 foot roll of 12/2 with ground Romex with a plug on one end and a quad box on the other. It cost much less than a high end extension cord and would handle the amps needed for an electric concrete saw to cut through a driveway.