Buyers Guide For Tools

In this piece we will be reviewing what we consider to be many of the best power and hand tools available to buy. Being Original Attic Stairs we will be focusing on tools which would most commonly be used by a carpenter. We will only be mentioning tools that we own, have owned and/or have used extensively. All of the tools in this piece are pro grade, we will not be considering any DIY tools (they are just no good!!). And we would also like to add that we do not have any affiliation with any manufacture and all of the views expressed in this article are just our opinion.

Power Tools

Drills

Cordless

(We recommend a 14v battery cordless drill for general use)

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Milwaukee

Our Choice:    DeWalt - Just buy a DeWalt cordless! Members of the Original Attic Stairs team have been using DeWalt cordless drills for about 20 years. We still use a 15 year old one as a back up which is kept in one of our vans, after 15 years, it still works! We use them all day long screwing down attic flooring and they excel at general use, a great all rounder!

SDS/Hammer

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Milwaukee

Our Choice:    Milwaukee - A great choice, excellently built, bags of power and comfortable to use. Whether you are boring timber steel or concrete a Milwaukee will get the job done with ease.

Skill Saws

Battery

(We recommend a 14v battery cordless drill for general use)

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi

Our Choice:    DeWalt - We use an 18v Dewalt skill saw on site when installing attic flooring, a fantastic machine which never lets us down.

Wired

(For on site use a power tool must be 110v and used with a transformer, for home use 240v with a standard plug is fine)

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice:    Makita - For a powered skill saw you can't get better than a Makita. We use them both on site and in our workshop.

Jig Saws

(We would recommend using only wired Jig Saws, in our opinion a battery unbalances the machine)

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi 

Our Choice:    Hitachi - A great machine, balanced, powerful and precise. 

Sanders

Palm

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice:    Hitachi - We find this to be the best value palm sander, the same quality as the rest but we have been able to pick them up cheaper.

Orbital

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice:    Makita - We use a Makita orbital to sand down the architrave (trim) which we fit as a surround on our folding attic stairs. It gets a lot of use but never lets us down, not to mention it leaves our timber architraves with a great finish.

Belt

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice:    Makita - They just make sanders properly. Makita is again our recommendation, powerful reliable and smooth.

Chop Saws

(For on site use a power tool must be 110v and used with a transformer, for home use 240v with a standard plug is fine)

Top Picks:      DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice:    Makita - We use a Makita chop saw for just about everything you can use a chop saw for. We have been using our latest one, daily, for about 8 years. Balanced, powerful and reliable. 

Hand Tools

Hammers

(There are many different types of hammers, designed for specific uses, for general use, to get most jobs done, we recommend claw hammers)

Top Picks:      Estwing / Stanley 

Our Choice:    Estwing - The king of hammers. Balanced, well designed and unbreakable.

Handsaws 

(There are many different types of handsaws, designed for specific uses, for general use, we recommend medium grade 22 inch saws)

Top Picks:      Bacho / Stanley / Irwin

Our Choice:    Bacho - We use the Bacho "Barracuda" everyday when fitting our attic stairs and attic flooring. Easily the most well balanced and easy to use handsaw. 

Spirit Levels

Top Picks:      Stanley / Irwin

Our Choice:    Both - Take your pick, we use both and everything comes out level!

Measuring Tapes

(We recommend an 8m tape if you need to measure long distances or measure at height, such as across a ceiling)

Top Picks:      Stanley / Stanley / Stanley / Stanley

Our Choice:    For the best design and build, buy a Stanley. We all use Stanley tapes, for when we are providing our free measuring and quote and when we are installing and attic stairs and attic flooring for you.

Thank you for taking the time to have a look at this piece. 

Happy working!

Original Attic Stairs Ireland