This page is dedicated to our favorite fixer upper tools – tools that can help whole families living through a fixer upper project.
*This post contains affiliate links in order to show you the products we love. When you buy through a link, your cost won’t increase, however we receive a small % of the sale. If you enjoy the site, and also love the products we recommend, please buy through our links. To read some semi-interesting stuff, be sure to see our disclosures. Thank you for your support!*
Our Favorite Fixer Upper Power Tools
Milwaukee Fuel Hammer Drill & Impact Driver – (this one comes with 2 tools, 2 batteries, a charger and a hard case) Ryan has worked his Milwaukee tools the hardest of anything. They’ve been extremely reliable through everything – inside, outside, rain, dirt, drywall/lath & plaster dust, etc.
M18 Sawzall – (just the tool, no battery or case) Ryan thought he died and went to heaven using this powerful, cordless cutting machine. Well, let’s just say he liked it. A lot.
M18 Sawzall kit – includes the sawzall, hammer drill, impact driver, flashlight, charger, and contractor bag
Milwakee M18 Orbiting Multi Tool – (with woodcutting blades and sanding pad with sheets, NO battery but will take any Milwaukee battery) Ryan AND Dad thought they died and went to heaven finding this powerful, cordless cutting machine that can get in tight, intricate spaces. If you’re doing any kind of trim or drywall work, don’t be without this special tool.
Shop Vac – oh so important if you’re doing anything with dust/drywall
If you’re just starting out and need multiple tools at once:
Milwaukee Combo Tool Kit – this includes the M18 drill, impact, work light and sawzall with 2 high capacity lithium batteries, a 1-hour charger and contractor bag
Man Accessories:
Sawzall blades – 12 pack
Shockwave Bit Set – 40/set
Drill and Drive Set – 95/set
Husky Finish Hammer – who doesn’t need a hammer?!
Framing Hammer – who doesn’t need a framing hammer?!
Craftsman Screwdrivers – 25 piece set
Milwaukee work gloves – I wore these for an entire day picking up and throwing out huge, sharp pieces of lath/plaster, drywall and studs with nails in them – SUPER protective and comfy
Tape Measures –
25 ft. Stud
2 pack Magnetic
Tool Bags –
Small – 16″ bag (Approx 12 x 17 x 2)
Medium – 22″ bag (Approx 22 x 12 x 3) Fits 4-5 Fuel tools
Large – 23 x 12 x 12 with shoulder strap bag
Huge & Heavy Duty – rolling hard-sided tool box
Other Hand Tools You Might Need
Look for these are your local hardware store:
- sledge hammer
- eye protection
- face mask (if around lots of dust or fumes)
- paint supplies (brushes, angled brushes, rollers, trays, plastic, etc.)
- flat bar / pry bar
- T-square
- 2 foot & 4 foot levels
Power Brands We’ve Trusted With Our Lives
This might sound tongue in cheek, but honestly we’ve torn down and rebuilt houses with these weapons of mass destruction. If they didn’t do what they needed to, we might not be here. 😛
Don’t use a tool unless you trust it with your life, and certainly don’t use a brand that is known for it’s iffy, untrustworthy tools!
Milwaukee – this is by far our favorite brand of anything (notice all the links above)
Craftsman – their warranty on most of their tools is unsurpassed
Diablo blades – Milwaukee blades are great, but there’s something about these that gets you a lot of work out of them
‘Living in a Fixer’ Tools You Don’t Want to Live Without
#DemoDay is not just one day when you’re living in a fixer upper.
Demolition of a house while living in it, with two littles, makes the simplest of everyday, normal things TV worthy challenges.
Ever try feeding a family when you have no kitchen and the lath and plaster in the air is so thick you have to hide you and the children behind a sheet barricaded in a bedroom with an air filter on high?
I have.
It’s NOT easy, but I now know some things that make it easier. These are my favorite fixer upper tools for when you’re living in a fixer.
Here you go, you’re welcome. 😉
Fixer upper tools for when your kitchen gets fixed
Thrive Market –
Due to health problems, we have to be careful about what is in our food. It not just a want, I need to know that what I’m putting in my family’s pantry is wholesome, real food that will help, not hurt us.
Even if it’s in a crappy garage cabinet with sagging shelves.
When we were without a kitchen for 4 LONG months, easier snacks and meals were my go-to to get us fed.
Thrive Market is full of options, and I’ve found it often has a lot more variety than what is available at my grocery store. (And that’s Wegmans, so that’s saying something!)
Our favorite food & snacks include:
- Late July organic chips & classic crackers
- Simple Mills almond crackers
- Thrive’s organic strawberry jam (our favorite juice-sweetened jam ever)
- Chomps meat sticks
- One Degree Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps
- Thrive Market Organic Oats
- Thrive Organic Chocolate Chunks (sweetened with coconut sugar)
- Organic macadamia nuts
They also have HUGE sales where staples like organic nuts, Jovial Einkorn Flour, Hu chocolate, Chomps and canned, low-mercury wild caught tuna/salmon/mackerel are the lowest prices I’ve seen anywhere, ever. And they have a subscribe and save program that saves you even more money.
If you’re a new customer, go through my link for 25% off your first order. I did that to sign up, and I haven’t regretted it for a minute!
Ninja Multi-Cooker –
It’s HARD to cook without a cook-top. Unless you have one of these!
You can pressure cook, broil, dehydrate, air fry and slow cook (+ more) with this pot. I can’t even explain to you how much more versatile this machine is over a standard slow-cooker.
If you’re renovating a house and either don’t have much time to cook or don’t have a kitchen to cook in, this is a Life. Saver.
Other Similar Options:
Instant Pot Aura Multi-Use Slow Cooker –
This is 6 qt, so if you have a large family, or want more leftovers, go with the bigger 8 quart option.
I personally like the 8 qt. best because of the stainless steel pot and the more options for cooking/baking.
The smaller 6 qt. has a non-stick ceramic coated aluminum pot similar to the Ninja multi-cooker I own (but isn’t sold anymore). It was prone to scratching and that was with ONLY using soft tools on it.
Instant Pot pressure cooker –
I have this and love it. It came too late for Fixer #2’s reno, but has already been a workhorse for Fixer #3’s.
The pot is stainless steel, easy to clean, not easy to scratch. There are tons of cooking options, and you can cook a roast in this in an hour and a half compared to 8-10 hours in the slow cooker.
Our favorite fixer upper tools for when your fixer gets fixed
Medify Air Purifier –
Positives:
This beast cleaned the air of our entire downstairs after we put new carpet in. It’s marketed to cover up to 840 square feet. It also did a great job sucking the dust out of the air when we worked on several demo projects.
Negatives:
The replacement filters get pricey, but depending on how dirty your air is, it can last up to 6 months. Well worth it to breathe clean air.
Ozone Generator –
Positives:
This thing destroys the crap right out of the air. Completely not kidding. When we sanded, stained and poly-ed the floors upstairs in Fixer #2, the off-gassing about killed me. Headaches, nausea, dizziness/lightheadedness, body aches, I could barely function. This was after being proactive by leaving all windows upstairs completely open with fans in them (in the winter!) and closing it off to the downstairs. It still permeated everywhere.
Finally, I gave in and ordered this ozone generator. The moment it got here, I packed the kids up, pulled the plants out of the area, put it in the middle of the upstairs bedroom, set it for 90 minutes and left. Hubby got home after an hour and went up to turn it off. The overwhelming fumes were GONE. The smell and heaviness in the air was 98-100% improved.
Negatives:
When hubby went up to turn it off and open windows, there was literally no oxygen to breathe. This is why you NEVER run an ozone generator when there is something living in the house – you, family, animals, pet bugs, etc. And this is also why it is a great sterilizer and is touted to kill bacteria, viruses, mold, etc.
Kids Play Yard –
This was a LIFE and SANITY saver for me. When we moved into Fixer #2, we had a four month old.
There was lath and plaster, nails, drywall, splintered wood, power tools and every number of potentially dangerous thing around the house at all times. Right when my little guy was learning how to crawl and walk.
Hubby worked full-time at a bank on top of the massive projects, so I was home alone a lot with our little man. This play yard made a safe place for him and his toys among the chaos of renovations.
Basically if you have little ones under 2-3 years old and plan on house projects, don’t be without this.
These were and are our favorite fixer upper tools. What did you use in your renos that helped keep you sane?