A passion for gadgets can creep up even on unhandy home owners

By Alex May

In the dusty, fluoro light of a cavernous hardware store, it's easy to spot the true renovator lingering in the tool section, languidly stroking the power tools and pondering the purchase of yet another set of $20 drill bits and a screwdriver set.

Rarely are people born with this passion for tools. It creeps up on you in the same way that paunchy stomach did. Before you know it, you have a tool kit worth more than the timber you built an entire deck with.

But which tools do you really need?

The chief executive of Spinner's Building Services, Graham Peters, says most people start out with basics, but over the years expand their collection. "I hate to think what my tools would be worth - it would be a significant amount of money," he says.

Art director Allyson Roberts, who bought a house in Dulwich Hill six years ago, is the proud owner of many tools, including a pipe bender, a grinder and a heat gun.

"My dad actually has custody of the pipe bender, but I own it," she says of the $200 tool used for making gates. Yes, she made her own gates by bending pipes into a frame and filling the gaps with chicken wire.

"I had a quote to get the gates built, and it was going to cost $5000. It was cheaper for me to buy the pipe bender and spend another $800 on materials," she says, pointing out that she acted as a labourer while her handyman father was the guide.

"I probably won't use the pipe bender again and it wasn't on my tool wish list, but it was for a specific job." And that's precisely how tool kits grow over time. It starts out small and grows into a weird obsession.

Bunnings Warehouse's activities organiser, Marg Lopez, says screwdrivers and a cordless drill would make up a basic tool kit for even the unhandy home owner. "You can grow your collection from there," she says. "But that's enough to get someone hanging a few pictures."

Lopez then tells me about the Bosch lithium ion rechargeable driver, which is a cross between a cordless drill and an electric screwdriver. I feel my heart flutter.

I have to examine this tool, even though something inside tells me it just isn't right that a tool should be powered by the same element used to treat mental illnesses. Then again, maybe that's apt.

The basics

• Cordless drill - Perfect for putting hooks in walls, fixing doorknobs and other household tasks. They start as cheap as $30, but the dearer brands have better battery life.
• Screwdriver set - Ensure it has Phillips head screwdrivers in it too (they have a little cross on the end). Powered cordless screwdrivers, such as the Black & Decker cordless screwdriver, are a good alternative.
• Gaffer tape - This is a material, not a tool. But it can fix anything.
• Allen keys - Buy a set to help with your bicycle repairs and for tightening Ikea furniture after you lose their supplied keys.
• Spirit level - How will you hang a picture straight if you don't have anything to measure the angle with? You can also buy automatic tape measures for about $30 that let you measure with one hand.
• Caulking gun - For applying glues and silicones. Don't forget to pick up the little plastic nozzle when you pay for it at the hardware store. So much cheaper than buying small tubes of glue.
• Hammer - The more you pay for a curved claw hammer, the better the quality. Buy a good one the first time and you'll never have to buy another.
• Multitool - These are sexy - a bit like a Swiss Army knife. Expensive, but useful. There are different brands available, and they usually have pliers, wrenches, blades and scissors in the one tool.
• Assorted fasteners - Picture hooks, wall plugs and a variety of nails and screws that go in a neatly divided box. Lovely. I tried those adhesive hooks once - but when my picture frame fell on the floor, I decided hooks and screws are best.

For the addict

• A tool pegboard You know the type - with the painted silhouettes so there's a place for everything, including the router, hammer drill, grinder, circular saw and lots of machines that make loud noises.
• At least two ladders You need an extension ladder and a stepladder, right?
  

My regrets

• The Dremel multitool This little device had so much promise - a power tool with dainty multitasking heads that could clean the grout from tiles, polish and buff jewellery and almost cook dinner each night. Alas, I only used it once.
  
• The cheap paint brush Don't be tempted by cheap paint brushes. I've done it three times. Painting is boring enough. Picking the brush bristles off your newly painted surface and then having to sand it back because you've made a mess is even worse.
  
• The cheap cordless drill It cost less than $40 but it lacked the grunt to drill anything but a gyprock wall