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A sensible plumbing tool kit for a UK home
The handful of tools that cover the everyday water jobs on this site: spanners, grips, a basin wrench, a pipe cutter, PTFE tape, a radiator key, and the bucket and towels that matter most.
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You do not need a van full of tools to deal with the common water jobs in a home. A small kit, kept in one box where you can find it in a hurry, covers most of what the guides on this site describe. Buy the basics first and add the specialist tools only when a job needs them.
Nothing on this list is for gas. Gas pipes, gas fittings, boilers and gas appliances are for a Gas Safe registered engineer only. See when to call a Gas Safe engineer.
The essentials
A flat screwdriver that fits an isolation valve slot. The single most useful plumbing tool in a house. A broad, flat blade turns the quarter-turn isolation valves under toilets and basins. A stubby one helps in cramped cupboards.
A torch or head torch. Most stopcocks and valves live in dark cupboards.
Bucket, old towels and a washing-up bowl. Every job that opens a pipe or a trap lets some water out. A shallow bowl fits under a trap better than a bucket.
An adjustable spanner, ideally two. For compression nuts, tap connectors and headgear nuts. Two let you hold the fitting with one while you turn the nut with the other, so you do not twist the pipe. A medium size with a jaw that opens to about 30mm covers most 15mm and 22mm compression nuts; check the jaw capacity on the product page.
Water pump pliers (grips). Adjustable pliers with long handles, for gripping things a spanner will not fit. Wrap a cloth round chrome or plastic before you grip it.
PTFE tape. White water tape for sealing threads that need it. Read PTFE tape first: many joints should not be taped.
A radiator key. For bleeding radiators. Cheap, and easy to lose, so buy two. See bleeding and balancing radiators.
A plunger. For sinks and basins. See how to unblock a sink.
Useful next
Basin wrench. A long tool with a pivoting jaw for the back nuts under basins and on tap tails, where there is no room for a spanner. Worth having before you change a tap. See mixer and bath taps.
Pipe cutter. If you will ever replace a valve or repair a pipe. A small rotary cutter for copper gives a clean, square cut. Plastic pipe needs a plastic pipe cutter (shears or a ratchet cutter). Do not use a hacksaw on pipe that will go into a push-fit fitting: rough edges damage the seal. See push-fit vs compression vs solder.
Spare washers and olives. A few 15mm compression olives, and fibre or rubber washers in 1/2in and 3/4in, save a trip to the shop halfway through a job.
A tap reseating tool or spare cartridges, only if you have older washer taps or a tap you know will need one. See dripping taps.
What you can leave out
- A blowtorch. Soldering is a skill, and a blowtorch in a house is a fire risk. Most householders are better off with push-fit or compression fittings and a plumber for the rest.
- Anything sold for gas work. This includes tapes, leak detectors and fittings marketed for gas. Gas work is not DIY.
- Drain rods and powered drain machines, unless you have a recurring drain problem outside. A drainage company will have better kit.
Keep it with your notes
Put a card in the box with where your stopcock is, where the isolation valves are, and your water company's phone number. In a leak, that saves minutes. See finding your stopcock.
Tools at Wickes and Amazon UK
We haven't tested these. Check sizes and capacities on the product page against the jobs you have in mind.
We haven't tested this. Figures are as the maker states them (checked 13 November 2026).
Stanley 0-90-948 adjustable wrench, 200mm. A 200mm adjustable wrench which Wickes lists with a 30mm jaw capacity, a narrow head for tight spaces, and a metric and imperial jaw scale.
Wickes basin wrench. A long basin wrench with a self-adjusting, reversible jaw for basin nuts, flush valves and ballcocks in confined spaces. The title, the specification table and the feature list on the Wickes page give different jaw capacities, so check it suits your nuts before buying.
JG Speedfit JG-TS pipe cutter, 0 to 22mm. A clamp-action cutter which Wickes lists for copper and plastic pipe up to 22mm, and says leaves a square cut without burred edges for push-fit fittings.
Primaflow PTFE tape, 12mm x 12m. White PTFE tape which Wickes describes as for water and WRAS approved.
Wickes 3 way radiator key. A carbon steel key with three different-sized ends, which Wickes says are for a variety of radiator valves and bleed screws.
Solid brass radiator bleed key. The Amazon UK listing describes a solid brass bleed key with an easy-grip design. The listing text mentions both a pack of 2 and a pack of 1, so check the quantity before buying.
What is the one plumbing tool every home should have?
A flat screwdriver that fits your isolation valve slots, kept with a torch somewhere you can find in the dark. Know where your stopcock is too.
Do I need a pipe cutter?
Only if you plan to cut pipe, for example to fit a new valve. For washers, cartridges, cisterns and traps, you do not.
Should I buy a blowtorch for plumbing?
Most householders do not need one. Push-fit and compression fittings cover most DIY water jobs without heat.