If you decide to build your own garden room, you will need a wide selection of tools. Whilst most jobs could be done with hand tools alone, it would make the job much more difficult.
There are several power tools that can be used to speed up the process. In this article we will look at some of the power tools you can consider to speed up your build.
Cordless drill/driver
Out of all the power tools you could use, this is probably the most versatile. As a result, it is the one I would probably recommend the most.
You will benefit more if you have access to a cordless drill and an impact driver. This will cover all your drilling and screwing needs. In theory you can use screws for nearly every part of the build, including:
- Installing floor joists
- Building walls
- fixing roof timbers
- Installing windows and doors
- Fitting plasterboards
- Fixing skirting boards
- Etc
Most brands offer these two cordless tools as a package deal. So, you can usually get the pair for a better price than buying them individually.
For my own build I used a DeWalt cordless drill impact driver set.
You can learn more about these drills by Clicking Here
Chop saw
Cutting every piece of timber by hand is a big job. For this reason, a chop saw (in my opinion) is another essential power tool when building a garden room.
There will be hundreds of cuts required on your project. The time and physical effort that a chop saw saves is well worth it.
The alternative is cutting everything with a hand saw. Not only will this take far more time and effort, but you need to make sure your cuts are straight. This is obviously not an issue with a chop saw as every cut will be completely straight.
You can see the chop saw I used by Clicking Here
First fix nail gun
Whilst this is not an essential tool, it is probably my favourite optional tool. The major advantage with a nail gun is speed. Many of the jobs where you could use screws can be replaced with nails.
This can speed up things like framing and adding sheets of OSB. Personally, if I was building another garden room, I wouldn’t want to build it without a first fix nail gun.
This will cost you a few hundred pound extra on your project, but it will make up for it with the time it saves you.
You can see the first fix nail gun I used by Clicking Here
Second fix nail gun
This is another handy tool and will save you a good amount of time for jobs like installing cladding and skirting boards.
You can manage without this tool. However, if you buy the first and second fix nail guns together you can save some money.
You can see the second fix nail gun I used by Clicking Here
Circular saw & Jigsaw
Like most of the other tools on this list a circular saw and a jig saw are not essential. In fact, I didn’t use a jigsaw on my project at all. However, there were several times I wished I had one.
I did use a circular saw quite frequently to rip down sheets of OSB and cladding. These are jobs that could be done by hand, but ripping an entire sheet of OSB with a hand saw is not much fun. Also, if you don’t have a reasonable amount of skill at cutting by hand you may struggle to cut accurately.
If I was buying new for this project I would buy budget options. A couple of good examples can be seen below.
For a decent budget Jigsaw click here
For a decent budget circular saw click here
Conclusion
As you have probably noticed there is a common theme throughout this article. Most of the power tools are not essential. However, every single one will make your job much easier.
If I was starting from scratch, I would definitely purchase a good quality cordless drill and a chop saw as a minimum. These are tools that will get regular use if you are a keen DIY’er.
For a circular saw and a jigsaw, I would buy a budget option. You can pick up one of each for under £50.
All of the work that can be done with a first fix nail gun, can be done with screws and a cordless drill. For this reason, it isn’t essential. The same is true for the second fix gun.
