https://toolsworthowning.com/Honest, practical write-ups on tools worth owning, from a licensed architect.en-us https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/laser-distance-meter/https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/laser-distance-meter/Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTA laser distance meter is a small handheld tool that shoots a laser at a wall and shows the distance on a screen. If you measure rooms, walls or long spans more than a few times a year, it is faster and easier than a tape, and you can do it alone. Skip it only if you measure small things up close. https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/pick-mattock/https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/pick-mattock/Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTA pick mattock is a heavy digging tool with a pick on one side and a flat chopping blade (an adze) on the other. It breaks up hard clay, packed gravel and tough roots so a shovel can move the soil. Buy one if you dig post holes, garden beds or trenches in difficult ground. https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/pliers-every-homeowner-should-own/https://toolsworthowning.com/tools/pliers-every-homeowner-should-own/Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTMost homeowners need five pliers: lineman's pliers for cutting and gripping, long-nose pliers for tight spots, tongue-and-groove pliers for pipes and big nuts, diagonal cutters for wire, and slip-joint pliers for general grabbing. Together they handle nearly every household repair.