Plumbing Tools DIY Handyman Need

Basic Plumbing Tools Every DIY Handyman Needs

Nobody wants to have to call a plumber for every little issue; problems with plumbing are fairly common, and it would really hurt your pocketbook to have to call a plumber every time an issue with your plumbing pops up. So, it can be good to do some simple plumbing repair yourself, it saves you the money and hassle involved with getting a plumber to do it. But it’s hard to do plumbing repair when your only tools are a dull knife, some duct tape, and a wire coat hanger. So, before you even think about starting on some plumbing repairs, you should get these essential plumbing tools that will make home plumbing repair easy. Almost all of these tools are easily found in any hardware store, and most are relatively cheap. When you consider how much a plumber can cost, investing in good tools can pay off in the long run. Also, just a word of warning; while you can do a lot of plumbing repair jobs yourself, you cannot do everything. If you encounter a job that seems dangerous or requires knowledge, tools, and/or skills that you do not have, call a plumber.

Safety goggles

Safety goggles may not seem that important when working on plumbing, but you should never take unnecessary risks. A pair of good safety goggles are cheap and easy to find. Before working with serious tools, you should always wear safety goggles.

Measuring tape

This is another fairly obvious tool. Before installing anything or removing anything, you should take accurate measurements. Plus, it is always good to have a roll of measuring tape around, you never know when you are going to need it.

Plunger

This is often called “the plumber’s best friend” and to some extent it is true. It is hard to overstate just how useful a plunger can be; anyone who has had a bad clog can probably testify to the usefulness of a plunger. This should be your first choice whenever you have to deal with a bad clog. There are two types of plungers. The more famous cup ones that work on sinks, shower drains, etc., these create suction that dislodge clogs. The other type of plunger is called flange plunger; these have a specially designed hole in the middle, and are meant specifically for toilets.

Screwdriver

Another all-around useful tool that you should keep around your house just in case. Screwdrivers are necessary for a lot of plumbing jobs, like replacing parts of your toilet, your faucet, etc.

Pipe wrench

This is probably one of the most iconic plumbing tools associated, and yet many people do not have one. No matter what plumbing repair job you are tackling, you will need a pipe wrench. For fixing pipes, joints, toilets, sinks, etc., you need at least two pipe wrenches, one to hold and one to turn. The strong grip and leverage of a pipe wrench allows you to easily tighten or loosen joints, pipes, fixtures, bolts, and nuts.

Plumber’s snake

These plumbing tools also go by the names “sink snakes,” “sink augers,” or “hand augers.” Have you ever tried to clear a drainage out of your toilet or sink? If so, then you probably read or were told that you can use a wire coat hanger with a hook on the end to extract blockages out of pipes. While that is true, a wire coat hanger only goes so far, for serious blockages you need a plumber’s snake. These are long, flexible steel cables with a metal point at the end, and they measure about 8 meters in length. You can use these cables to grab, hook, or dislodge blockages. They work great in shower drains, sinks, toilets, etc. You can get models that are specifically designed for toilets, and models that are specifically designed for sinks. I don’t think you need to bother with that; in my experience a generic plumbing snake works on all clogs, regardless of where they are.

Propane torch

While I do not recommend changing lots of copper piping by yourself (you should call a plumber); it is possible to repair small sections of copper piping on your own. In order to repair a copper pipe, you need to be able to sweat a pipe; to do that, you need to use a torch. You can use any kind of torch, I just recommend going for a propane torch, because I find it the easiest to use. Sweating copper pipe may seem difficult at first, but once you learn how to do it, you’ll find it becomes easier and easier. Also, if you are going to be working with a torch and fire, make sure you pick up work gloves and a fire retardant cloth. Whenever working around fire, you should have something set up to protect combustible materials that are nearby.

Tubing cutters

If you want to repair pipes you need something that can easily and quickly cut copper pipes; that is why you get a tubing cutter. With this tool you can easily cut copper piping. I recommend getting two if possible, one standard sized, and one small sized, for when you need to cut pipes in tighter spaces.

Pliers

Specifically tongue-and-groove pliers. Make sure you get two sizes, 10 inches and 12 inches. These pliers are the number one option for when you need to loosen or tighten fixtures.

Basin wrench

Trying to loosen the bolts and nuts that hold a sink in place can be difficult because of the way the sink is positioned. Basin wrenches solve that issue by having a long reach and a swiveling jaw. With a basin wrench in hand, you can easily loosen or tighten the nuts that hold a sink in place.