I am a DIY'er and collected the following tools to renovate my daughters newly purchased home. She and her husband bought a wreck of a place and overpaid. To make the place livable we did the work ourselves but did not have the tools since I live in an apartment. I ended up buying most of the tools on craigslist and waited until I found ones that had either little use or were crazy cheap. Once the work is complete, I will resell some of them for what I paid initially. Youtube was a great source for how-to videos on every job we did. We replaced all of the floors/doors/trim and baseboards and one bathroom. Next up when they save more money is kitchen and second bathroom and some outside work.
I found that the quality of the tool should be directly proportional to the amount of work that you are going to do with it. For the miter saw and table saw I wanted good ones because they were going to get used the most. Even though the miter saw was nearly new I had to square it up to get a perfect miter.
Here is my power tool list for the renovation:
Paslode Cordless Finish Nailer - makes for quick work on all trim with no damage.$125
Craftsman Air Compressor - already had this for work on my car.
Prosensor M210 stud finder - best one for the money
Makita Angle Grinder - many many uses - $25
Hitachi Cordless Drill - necessary tool - everyone should have a cordless drill
Dewalt Laser Level - makes lots of jobs easier. leveling cabinets, tile work, etc. $35
Kobalt Multi Tool - all Kobalt tools listed were purchased for $75. could not pass this one up.
Kobalt drill Driver
Kobalt Jig Saw
Kobalt Battery charger
Dewalt Compound Miter Saw - used for every job in the house. nearly new with stand for $200
Bosch 10" Table Saw w stand - great saw - another great buy used for under $200
Craftsman wet/dry Vacuum - keeps the work site clean- $10
Dewalt Reciprocating saw - great for many many odd jobs - $30
Craftsman Circular Saw - not great but it gets the job done - $10
Dremel Multipro - not used very much but real handy for some odd jobs
Sears Belt Sander - useful tool -$15
Bostich flooring nailer - now that the floor is in it will be sold. very good tool. $110
Getting close to the finish line.
