The difference between the professional home builder and the DIYer often comes down to tools. While I would never want to play down the role of skill, having the right tools is often part of building those skills needed to build and repair things yourself. If you don't have a drill, it doesn't matter how skilled you are with a drill because ... you don't have a drill.

The first step to developing any repair skills is to make sure you have the right tools for the job at hand. That doesn't mean you need every tool. This is the trap many budding DIYers fall into—buying every tool around and then hardly using them. I spared myself this trap by living on the road in an RV. I can't own large tools like a table saw or miter saw, but much of what you do with a miter saw you can do with a circular saw and speed square. Much of what you can do with a table saw you can do with a circular saw, a long straight edge, and some clamps.

After years of DIY, fixing up old houses, building out a school bus, restoring several vintage campers and RVs, and countless other small projects, these are the three power tools that I use on almost every project.

A Good Drill

A drill, and some quality drill bits, will likely be your most used power tool. It's essential for almost any common house repair job. A drill can do more than just drill holes. You can mix paint, plaster mud (though that's hard on it), grind rust off metal, or even polish your car. Drills don't require a ton of power and were one of the first tools to be reliably usable with batteries. That's still true today—I change the battery in my drill less than any other tool, despite using it all the time.

Most people will be fine with a 12-volt, 8-amp drill for small jobs around the house. If you want something heavier duty, grab a 10-amp or higher model, usually an 18-volt drill, which will work for drilling into harder substances like thick metal or concrete. (Technically, you might want a masonry or hammer drill for concrete. Don't tell anyone, but I use my regular drill all the time.)

Impact Driver

This is the tool that had the most profound “I can't believe I didn't own one sooner” impact on me. Get it? Anyway, yes. You can drive in screws with a drill and some impact bits, but you'll burn out the drill faster and strip more screw heads. An impact driver works like a torque wrench, applying rotational force in short, sharp bursts (impacts) to make the screw turn without destroying the head of the fastener or the motor of the tool.

It's especially necessary with today's star-shaped fasteners, which you'll likely strip trying to drive into hard wood with a drill. The impact gun also simplifies the process of putting in a series of fasteners because you don't have to constantly switch between a drill bit and an impact bit in your drill.

Inside is a pretty simple mechanism, with a hammer and anvil assembly, which kicks in when the tool encounters heavy resistance. This is what makes the loud clacking sound you get using an impact driver. A spring pulls the hammer back and then releases it. The hammer strikes the anvil as the hammer rotates, and that drives the collar and bit with increased torque.

There are a few things to pay attention to when buying an impact driver. The first is the torque rating (usually given in inch-pounds). The higher the rating, the better it will be for very dense material and/or large fasteners. The range is generally 1,500 inch-pounds of torque up to 2,500 for a pro-level tool. Mine is smack in the middle at 2,000 inch-pounds. I've never felt the need for more, but if you plan to drive concrete bits or you want it to double as, say, a way to remove wheel lugs, go for something more powerful (though there are specialized tools for wheel lugs for a reason).

The other two specs worth considering are the impacts per minute—higher makes the tool more efficient, though the difference is not huge—and the rotations per minute. The rotation number isn’t a huge differentiator, though faster rotation will make driving low-resistance fasteners quicker. Trust me, this is the one you didn't know you needed. It's the first thing you should get after a drill.

Circular Saw or Jigsaw

I'm cheating a little bit here by giving you a choice. I find the circular saw to be far and away the most used power saw I own, but I also know that for smaller jobs it can be overkill, and the large spinning blade can be intimidating for newcomers. If this is you, stick with the jigsaw. You can cut a two-by-four with a jigsaw, it just takes a bit longer.

If you do go for a circular saw, you have to decide: corded or cordless. If all things were equal, that'd be easy. No one loves a cord. The problem is that corded saws are more powerful. I own both, but if I could only keep one it'd be the corded saw. That said, I probably use my cordless more for the simplicity of being able to take it anywhere. If you do go cordless, change your blade often. It takes much more power to cut with a dull blade, and a cordless circular saw doesn't have the power to spare. Making sure you have a sharp blade will not only make cutting easier, but will make your battery last longer. It's always better to buy a cheap saw and a high-quality blade than the opposite.

If you do go cordless, the next decision you'll face is brushless vs. brushed motors. A saw with a brushless motor is better in almost every way. The performance is better, it's more efficient, and it’s more durable. A brushless saw uses electronic commutation, which is a fancy way of saying it uses the interaction of magnetic fields to generate torque. That means there's less friction, less heat, and by extension, better battery life.

The downside to brushless motors is the much higher price. There's also the possibility that, if you're only using it to make a couple of cuts once or twice a week, you don't need to worry about the increased friction and heat of a brushed motor. Brushed circular saws are undeniably cheaper and also simpler to repair. If you don't have a big job in mind, they're plenty good enough for light DIY use.

Also grab a speed square ($20) to ensure you're making straight cuts on dimensional lumber.

Bonus Pick: Shop Vac

If you have these two things, the next thing I'd suggest is a shop vac. No one likes cleaning up, and nothing cleans up faster or better than a shop vac. The ability to vacuum up liquids will change your workspace. I have a cheap shop vac from Harbor Freight, which does the job, but I wish I had the much more powerful shop vac above.

Which Brand Should I Buy?

I would love to tell you that there is universal compatibility between brands and that every brand's batteries work with every other tool. That's the world as it should be. The world we live in? Well, you have to pick a brand, because batteries are not interchangeable. (There are adapters out there, mostly cheap Chinese off-brand adapters. I have one tool that I use with an adapted battery, but it's not something I recommend.)

The major brands like Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, and Ryobi all make the same stuff, and most of it is pretty good. The choice in brands really comes down to compatible batteries. Unlike the typical savvy customer, I have tools from both Milwaukee and DeWalt, and I've had no problems with either. (Beware buying tools off Amazon, especially Milwaukee, as there are no authorized Milwaukee tool retailers on Amazon, and the company does not warranty or support tools purchased from resellers.)

Now that you have the right power tools to tackle most home repairs and small projects, you can sit back, relax, and contemplate the more mysterious aspects of home repair, like why a two-by-four no longer 2 inches by 4 inches, how to make crown molding corner cuts, and why, sometimes, you're probably better off getting a professional to handle complex jobs.

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