Do you remember your father, your uncle or maybe even your grandfather tinkering in their garage, fixing broken things and making cool toys for you when you were a child?

If you do, then you may want to agree with me when I say they look very manly.

From changing the broken lamp in the bathroom to building dog house, they offer solution for every technical household problem. They’re the cool superhero in the house!

Don’t you want to be like them? Now that you’ve all grown up, probably already have your own house. It’s time for you to step up and be the hero for your family.

However, if you don’t really help your father out back then, like me, maybe you don’t know where to start.

You think you will just ‘know’ when it’s time to do it, but when your wife asks you to repair the plumbing in the kitchen sink, you realize that you don’t even have the right tool for the task.

Worry no more! In this article, you will learn how to start to be the official technician for your household, at least from the most basic part first – tools every man should have in his garage.

Of course, you’ll need to learn the skill as well – but for that, you’ll need to practice and as time goes by, you’ll find that your technique and skills become polished.

But to practice, you’ll need the tools first. So, here are the tools every man should have in his garage.

Let’s start from the very basic.

Utility Knife

Utility knife may sounds boring, but don’t be deceived! This small item is probably the one you’ll use the most often. You will need this tool to cut things, and believe me, when you have a house you’ll cut a lot of things!

From cutting unused wire dangling from the wall to ripping open a cardboard package, or even picking up some produce from garden, utility knife is not something you want to miss in your garage.

Tape

The second most often performed activity after cutting? It’s none other than connecting. One day you’ll want to connect two hoses so it can reach the very back part of your garden.

Other day you’ll realize that you’ve cut the pipe too short and you need to put it back together. What tool can help you the most? Of course it’s tape. Its sticky surface will strongly connect the two objects.

With tape you can connect hoses, pipes, wires or whatever it is you want to be connected. Choose the thick, nonporous material so water won’t leak from the gap from the connection.

Flashlight

Blackout happens. Probably seldom, but yes, it happens. Nobody knows when the city’s power plant will malfunction after all, or when the next storm arrives, that will cut the electricity.

So, it’s better sorry than never. Always put a flashlight in your house and remember where you put it.

Flashlight is also necessary in a garage. Sometimes, you’re working on something that needs additional light, such as under the car.

Even if you do this in broad daylight, without flashlight, you won’t be able to see a thing! So, invest in one and don’t forget the battery as well.

Hammer

Every household should have a hammer, period. Sometimes, one wants to put a nail on the wall to hang a picture or other time one wants to take a nail away because it ruins the wall.

A hammer will be handy for both jobs. It will also help in case you have an old barn in the backyard you want to demolish.

Flathead Screwdriver

A lot of household equipment are screwed – from kitchen cabinet to children toys. When something is broken and requires component change, you will need to unscrew the components, replace it, and then screw it back again. The only tool you can use for this job is screwdriver.

Phillip Screwdriver

Phillip screwdriver is also a screwdriver, but the head is not flat. Instead it has plus sign as the head. The Phillip screwdriver has better grip than the Flathead one.

Because of this reason, most of screws nowadays are made for Phillip screwdriver rather than Flathead screwdriver.

So having one in your garage will help a lot. However, don’t ditch the Flathead screwdriver, because some screws are still compatible only to Flathead screwdriver.

Cordless Drill

This is another tool that will help you with the business of screwing and unscrewing aside from a screwdriver.

Unlike screwdriver, however, this tool doesn’t have anything to do with the screw itself. You will need the drill to make a hole in the surface where the screw will go in instead.

Cordless drill is recommended, because you’ll often find yourself needing to screw something in a corner of the house, which is quite a distance away from the electricity socket.

Just like other tools that requires battery, make sure to always keep them stocked.

Adjustable Wrench

This is another multi-functioning tool. It provides a strong grip when you need to fasten or loosen nuts and bolts, which are otherwise too strong to do with your hand. The adjustable head means there is no need to worry about the size of the bolt or nut.

Needle Nose Pliers

When you deal with electricity, you will deal with wires. And when you deal with wires, you will need needle nose pliers.

Pliers will help you hold and bend metal wires, and needle nose pliers, with its small and pointy head as the name implies, will be able to navigate through small spaces.

Linesman Pliers

Linesman pliers’s main function, like needle nose pliers, is to hold and bend wires that are otherwise too hard to handle with hand. However, the head of linesman pliers is bigger than needle nose pliers, so you can even use it to bend metal disc.

Measuring Tape

When you make something or fix something, such as making a coffee table or repairing kitchen cabinet, you will need to measure the dimension of the thing you are making.

Ruler is not ideal here, you will need something longer. Measuring tape is a better choice, because you can hook one end of the tape and then pull the other end so you can get accurate measure.

Handsaw

At one point in your life, you’ll encounter a need to cut a wood. Maybe you want to make a coffee table or maybe you just want to cut a loose board.

When this need arises, you can’t do it with scissors or knife. You will need a handsaw to do this.

So make sure to save one in your garage. Handsaw is more practical than chainsaw, as you don’t need additional energy source (beside your own) to use it.

Chainsaw

Handsaw will not work for thicker log, such as a big tree branch that has been leaning too dangerously close to your house.

It is also a much easier choice when you need to cut a tree, compared to an axe – another popular tree-cutting tool. Chainsaw will also be useful when you make some wooden furniture and need a lot of woodcutting work.

Prybar

Prybar is also called crowbar. As the name implies, its main function is to pry something, be it nail from wall, two glued boards and so forth.

Usually, it made from metal to add to the strength. The long handle will provide leverage you can pry whatever you want without exerting too much strength.

Toolbox

The last item is an item that will save you a lot of headaches in the future. Having a specific place to store all of the tools above will make your garage look clean and tidy, and you don’t have to turn everything upside down when you are looking for your Flathead screwdriver. All you need to do is open the box, and there it is!

Have we missed anything? Let us know through comments.