What's in your toolbox for home emergencies?

[djsander]

A long T handle wrench to shut off the water main. The valve in the valve box at the curb isn’t your normal valve operator either. We also have a valve in the garage due to a house water filter, but not sure how much pipe and where it runs before it gets there. First place that has a valve in the garage that shuts off the water for the house.

 

[CardsFan]

Duct tape & bailing wire is all you really need.

Well, if you are fixing an exhaust pipe, you also need an empty can. Preferably a full beer can that can then be re-purposed when empty. Been there, done that (50 years ago).

 

[pb4uski]

What are some things every "handy" homeowner should have around for emergencies

 

[old medic]

Cash

I already have just about any part and tool I'll ever need.

YUP.....

 

[Exchme]

A phone to call somebody to come and fix whatever is wrong.

 

[jim584672]

The only tool you ever need for anything is a vise grip.

 

[Ronstar]

I get a little carried away with toolboxes. Just did a rough count at about 15. Most I make to hold my woodworking and leather working tools. Rolling steel chest for wrenches, etc.

A smattering of some of the toolboxes made from 1969-1970 in high school shop class (the green metal one) to 2024 (wall cabinet)

I'm equipped with tools for a woodworking emergency. Not so much in tools for a metal working emergency.

 

[CO-guy]

My better half and I both had family in construction. She served as the general contractor and finishing carpenter on our own home so we have a fairly extensive set of tools, both power and manual. The only tool we needed to borrow for the build was a biscuit joiner and the only tool we sold after the build was an electric cement mixes.

From plumbing repairs we've added things like a valve extractor and PEX tools.

 

[jrendt]

My story too. Heliarc welder? Check. Press Brake? Check. Woodworking Band Saw? Check. Drawers full of nuts and bolts, sorted by size? Check. German precision milling machine? Check. Hand tools? Hundreds. ... and so on. These days the bigger and more expensive tools tend to not get used very often but when one is needed it is essential to the project. I could sell all this stuff but I don't need the money and it would severely cripple my ability to fix and make things.

No job is worth doing if you can't justify buying another tool.

 

[WWDog]

This thread has to be my favorite in quite some time. When my brothers and I were young and at home, parents would buy us tools for birthdays and Christmas. My father was an aircraft mechanic and could fix just about anything. He was a pilot in WWII but came back to the Air force later during Korean war and through Vietnam twice. He was still working on the gunny birds in Vietnam when they were being used as gun ships. He used to always have a multi-function knife he carried when he was a crew chief on gunny birds and flew all over the med and north Africa. He could fix just about anything. The most important thing he taught me was to always have screws, nuts and bolts handy. He never threw any of them away. To this day, I keep every fastener I find either sorted in separate bins or in a big tub for the odd things. I don't know how much I have saved over the years just sorting through my tub to find something to get the job done.

 

[SecondAttempt]

'If you husband says he will fix it, HE WILL FIX IT... you do not have to nag him every six months"...

This should be required to be posted in every kitchen!

 

[SecondAttempt]

I have a pretty good tool selection and am pretty handy. But I will call a pro as well. Where I live in Hawaii it is hard to get a pro or handyman to show up. They often only come to my area one day a week every 2 weeks or month. So self reliance has become a necessity. But I'm not complaining, I have always been a dIYer having been raised that way.

But I think the better question here is not what tools to have but what spare parts and supplies to have on hand. Things like a spare pump (well or catchment) can be critical whereas, here, the house is always open so sleeping outside under a tarp is no big deal and access to water isn't either. Nor is temperature in Hawaii.

I'm also half hour from an Ace hardware and an hour from Home Depot/Lowes so having supplies on hand is a bigger deal that tools.

My list for real emergencies is stuff to stay clean, fed, and sleep well.

- We have 20000 gal water tank and can gravity draw and iodine sterilize for months. Also keep a stash of bottled water
- Camp stove and plenty butane cartridges to cook and heat water for bathing.
- Lots of cookable food, not preppers, just the normal supply
- Tarps, tent, rolls of plastic sheeting, etc. for shelter
- Gasoline for cars and equipment. I keep about 25 gals on hand but it can get stale so this is based on how much I cycle through in mower and chainsaw, etc.
- Spare catchment pump
- Spare catchment pump pressure switch

For the less major emergencies I keep
- Things to fix plumbing. First choice is shut off water to the problem area and call a pro but I keep things for a self fix.
- Rooter to clear drains (have not used in over 10 years)
- tarps to cover roof leak
- ropes, cording, paracord, and zip ties to secure things as needed
- duct tape
- pipe clamps
- silicone sheeting
- batteries


I have a lot more crap I have around but this is what I can think of would be most useful.

 

[Badger]

Lots of hand tools and power tools from building a house, making additions/repairs to my present house and tinkering with upkeep on cars for the last 55 years. They tend to fill up the garage and out-building. I forget what some were used for. The other day I found a tool that is only used for removing a gas tank from a vintage Vespa. Some other tools I'm still trying to remember what I use them for. I think my step-son will be surprised when I'm gone.

 

[Music Lover]

I have a pretty good tool selection and am pretty handy....
But I think the better question here is not what tools to have but what spare parts and supplies to have on hand.

I have a pretty extensive collection of tools and can fix almost anything. But you're right about spare parts and supplies. Some of what I have on hand:

- a couple Sharkbite shut offs. If a copper pipe or pex line breaks you can stop the leak immediately by putting the shut off by slipping on the Sharkbite before the leak.

- an extra sump pump so when it eventually fails you're ready

- extra fuel filter and V-belt for the riding mower

- a large collection of screws and bolts

 

[SecondAttempt]

Yeah, I don't consider it an emergency but I've got a good selection of spare parts for riding and push mower including belts, blades, spindles, tune up kits, etc. Similar for string trimmers and chainsaws.

A lot of things are just not available here. Sure, I can order from Amazon or Walmart but that can take a couple of weeks these days.

 

[pjigar]

My hobbies include construction and car repair so I have full lineup of every tool imaginable (power, pneumatic, hand, etc.) . And since we live on an acreage, we have a mini-HomeDepot of parts and plenty of fuel of all kinds (diesel, gas, propane).

 

[sengsational]

I've got too many tools. Yes, yes, it IS possible.

My FIL passed and I not only got his tools, but also the tools he inherited from his FIL. My plan was to organize and consolidate, but didn't do such a great job. I laid them out and pawned some off on my kids, and also got rid of some through Craigslist, but still have duplicates.

 

[Cayman]

Twinkies for the tough jobs.

 

[1242Vintage]

My best “tool” is a very resourceful wife with a credit card. Air Con crapped out at the house during the last heat wave. I was not home but she was … and she doesn’t do hot very well.

Took her 1/2 hour to sweet talk very busy young HVAC guy over to the house (turns out he was her student in grade school). Got home and AC was fixed (capacitor replaced) for a couple hundred $ and house was cooling down.

That’s one reason why I married her so many years ago. She can get anything done!

 

[Koogie]

Like most DIYers I have plenty of tools. One of the best things I did for myself though was buy a bunch of tool bags from Princess Auto (Canuck Harbour Freight) and sort the essentials into each bag. Now, I have an electrical bag, a plumbing bag, a metal working bag, etc..

Because as many tools as you have, if you can't find them when you need them you might as well not have them.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

One thing that I bet not a lot of people have in their tool box is 3" bamboo skewers. They're supposed to be for food, but when a hinge got pulled out of the doorframe and damaged the frame, I wedged a bunch of those in the hole and was able to get the screw back in securely. I also find them useful for cleaning and such, and they're disposable. You can use full-length ones, but when I saw the shorter ones I knew I'd want them for just this kind of thing.

 

[Music Lover]

One thing that I bet not a lot of people have in their tool box is 3" bamboo skewers. They're supposed to be for food, but when a hinge got pulled out of the doorframe and damaged the frame, I wedged a bunch of those in the hole and was able to get the screw back in securely.

A golf tee works well, too.

 

[CRLLS]

I have been a DIYer as long as I can remember. I have woodworking, metalworking, plumbing, electrical repair tools and spare tools for backup. If I can't fix it, I have 2 big box hardware stores within 5 minutes of home. I'm pretty much set if I have to do emergency repairs.

This month my A/C stopped working. I needed a contactor for my A/C compressor. That one took me about 3 hours to diagnose and find a suitable replacement instead of waiting for Amazon's next day delivery. If the electrical company's service goes out, I also have a 5kW generator that will run my well, my septic lift pump, my A/C, refrigerator and boiler, maybe not quite all at the same time. I also have a police radio and a windup weather radio to hear activity in times of tornado warnings.

 

[Sanstar]

Duct tape.