5 Essential Hand Tools For Any Construction Project - 2025
If you are starting a home renovation or other construction project, these are the 5 most important hand tools you will need. This list is actually from what I carry in my pockets everyday, no matter what the job is.
There are of course many more tools you will need along the way but this is a strong foundation and the tools you will always be reaching for! These are my EDC hand tools.
We are not affiliated with any brands so all our recommendations are unbiased and our genuine opinion.
1: Utility Knife
This is the most useful tool you will have and should keep with you at all times. Sounds silly? It is a running joke on our building sites that everyone has the same knife on them at all times and no one will lend their knife out as it’s too precious. From the basics of opening packages and materials, to completing actual jobs such as cutting out tape, scraping back filler, preparing mastic nozzles and more. I’m lost without a utility knife!
We recommend the Milwaukee Fastback Flip Utility Knife. It’s unsprung so can be opened and closed with a wrist flick from one hand making it more practical and safe. It stores 5 spare blades in the handle and uses a standard fitment so blades are always available. It’s strong, reliable and affordable; perfect.
2: Tape Measure
This is a fairly obvious one but very important. You will know that everything needs to be measured for any construction work, and generally measured quite a few times. Make it as easy as possible with a strong tape measure, with good unsupported extension, a large accurate hook, and a magnet.
The part to look out for when judging a tape measure is the play on the hook at the end. This is meant to move back and forth by the thickness of the hook itself. This ensures the same measurement if you are butted up against something, or hooked over it. This is where poor quality tape measures can cause you a lot of problems.
We recommend the Stanley Control Lock Tape Measure 5m/16' as it fits all the criteria above. The control-lock feature also allows you to control the tape as it reels back towards you, reducing the chance of pinching your finger and injury.
We use a 5m tape measure everyday and keep one in our pockets as it’s a good balance of size, weight and length. It’s also worth purchasing an 8m or 10m tape measure for those special occasions where you need the extra length.
3: Hammer (Claw)
One of the fundamental tools; a hammer. Used in both demolition, and construction. Nowadays and especially in the UK, screws are used much more than nails, but that does not mean that this tool is redundant.
For demolition, the uses of a hammer are fairly obvious. There are however different shaped claws which do make a difference. A rip claw, or straight claw, is best for demolition as it can be used as a sharper surface for hitting and can still but used to pull screws or nails out and as a pry bar. It may however damage a surface when pulling out a nail more so than a curved claw, but that is your choice.
For construction, they are often used to align blocks of wood or tap them into place. They also tap screws or wall plugs into place to get them started. You won’t regret buying a good hammer.
We aren’t too fussy about hammers and will recommend many brands but the weight makes more of a difference. We recommend a 16oz hammer as a good balance of everything and ease of use. If mor precision is required, go for a lighter hammer. If there is heavier demolition, use a heavier hammer.
If we had to choose, we use a Stanley hammer for demolition as they are hardy and cheap. For cleaner work and construction, we use an Estwing as they are the best quality and balanced hammers you can get, in our opinion.
4: Screwdrivers
Most of the time, you will be using screwdriver bits on an impact driver or powered screwdriver, but that doesn’t mean that good old fashioned screwdrivers don’t have a place.
Electrical work is always done with a manual screwdriver as insulation and control is important so you don’t break anything. If a material is particularly fragile, you may also use a hand driver instead of powered. One of the most relevant uses though is for removing old or damaged screws. When the head is worn or rusty, you must be very carful and delicate to avoid stripping the screw and not being able to remove it. A quality sharp bit is vital here.
You will certainly need PH2, PZ2 and flathead drivers as they are most common but you will likely come across Torx T15/T20 bits and also a few allen/hex keys.
We recommend Magnussen drivers for everything as they are incredibly affordable and the quality is fantastic. You don’t need electrically insulated drivers for everything but I find myself using them as my primary set.
5: Marking Pencil
A pencil is a pencil, right? Wrong! Everything in renovation and construction is about measuring and marking. Traditional pencils work fine but always need sharpening and break easily. Carpentry pencils are good also but suffer from the same problems. Invest in a good mechanical construction pencil like the Tracer Deep Pencil Marker that we recommend.
It has a holster and clip for your trousers with an in-built sharpener so you are never far from a precise mark. It’s main advantage however is impossible to replicate with any traditional pencil, and that is the ability to mark deep holes. When holding up a bracket to mark points to drill, often the holes are too deep or small for a normal pencil to reach the wall behind and leave a mark. That’s where this becomes not recommended, but essential.
It’s also much less prone to breakages and sets like the one pictured, include different colours such as a yellow lead, for marking dark materials or leaving a less visible mark.
BONUS ITEM: WORK TROUSERS
It’s great having all these tools, but where do you put them? Work trousers are the answer. I personally went without work trousers for a week or two on site but after investing in a good pair, I feel naked with anything else on. Everything lives here, in the same pockets, and I add to them depending on the specific job. Having more tools to hand speeds up the process considerably as less time is spent asking where you left your pencil and if your tape measure is on the floor under that rubble!
Personally I use Snickers 6972 trousers and love them. They are a tad pricey but I will never buy a different pair! Other members of our team use Scruffs, DeWalt and Portwest.
It’s all personal preference but here’s what to look out for:
Detachable holster pockets - I love mine but make sure they are good quality as if not, they may accidentally detach if snagged.
Fit - loose, regular or stretch are the usual options. I use stretch but this isn’t suited for everyone. Loose if safest and allows the most movement if you spend lost of time with bent knees.
Knee pad slots - these are pockets in the knee to insert and hold knee pads. I use mine everyday; a well-worth feature.
Conclusion
So there you have it. 5 essential hand tools for any construction or renovation project. These are my EDC tools that never leave my side. You may disagree with some of them but just wait until you get started, then you will see just how essential they all are!
There are of course other tools you’ll need but each job is different and not all tools apply. Let necessity define what tools you need if you are on a tight budget but remember; the right tool always makes the job faster, more enjoyable, and of a higher quality, so don’t wait too long to buy the right tool! If you find you no longer need a tool, they can always be sold afterwards to recoup some of that cost.
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