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Plumbing tool kits by budget: small sets and what a fuller box still needs
The plumbing sets Wickes lists, compared by what is in the box rather than by price, and why a fuller home kit is still separate tools.
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A sensible plumbing tool kit is the list of separate tools for everyday water jobs: a screwdriver for isolation valves, spanners, a basin wrench, a cutter, tape and a radiator key. How the joints those tools make actually work is in push-fit, compression and solder. This page looks at the sets Wickes sells, and at what those sets leave out. We have not tested them. We do not quote prices. They change, and a lower price is not a reason to buy a set that does not fit the job.
On 13 November 2026 we did not find one Wickes box that contained a pipe cutter, a basin wrench and spanners together. The three products below are small sets. A fuller box is still built from the separate tools on the other guide.
Nothing here is for gas. Gas pipes, gas fittings, boilers and gas appliances are for a Gas Safe registered engineer. See when to call a Gas Safe engineer. Do not buy a set because a different tool's listing mentions gas lines.
What each set actually contains
| Set | In the box, as Wickes describes it | The job it matches | What it does not replace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rothenberger monobloc tap spanner set | Three spanners, 8 x 9 mm, 10 x 11 mm and 12 x 13 mm, plus a tommy bar | The securing bolts up under a monobloc tap | Compression nuts, a cutter, a basin wrench |
| Rothenberger compression nut spanner | One spanner, marked for 15 mm and 22 mm compression nuts | Holding or turning a compression nut in a tight space | Tap back-nuts. It is one tool, not a kit of fittings |
| Knipex Cobra two-piece set | Two water-pump pliers, 180 mm and 250 mm | Gripping pipe and fittings a spanner will not sit on | A spanner on a finished nut. Chrome marks if you grip it bare |
Buy the smallest set that does the job in front of you. A tap change needs the tap spanners, and often a basin wrench from the other guide. A compression joint, of the kind in push-fit and compression packs, needs a spanner that fits the nut. Grips are the set you add when a spanner cannot reach, with a cloth on chrome. Isolation valves still turn with a flat screwdriver, which none of these sets claims to be.
What "by budget" means without a price
We are not sorting these into price bands. Wickes prices move, and we have not published them. The useful order is the job:
- One job. The monobloc spanner set, if the job is the bolts on a kitchen or basin mixer. Wickes says the set fits all available monobloc securing bolts. That is the listing's claim. Look at the bolts you have before you rely on it.
- Pipe joints. The 15 mm and 22 mm compression spanner, if you are making or undoing compression nuts and a pair of adjustable spanners will not fit. The other guide's adjustable wrench is the more general tool.
- Grips. The two-piece pliers, when you need to hold pipe. They are not a reason to crush a compression nut.
A fuller box, once you are doing more than one of those jobs, is the cutter, the basin wrench, the tape and the radiator key bought separately. Packing them into an imaginary "complete kit" price would be a guess. We are not making one.
Leave out blowtorches and anything sold for gas work. The tool kit guide says the same. Soldering and gas are not a budget step on the way to a better set.
Sets at Wickes
We haven't tested this. Figures are as the maker states them (checked 13 November 2026).
Rothenberger monobloc tap spanner set. Three one-piece spanners and a tommy bar. Wickes lists the sizes as 8 x 9 mm, 10 x 11 mm and 12 x 13 mm, and says they fit monobloc securing bolts. It is a tap-bolt set, not a general plumbing kit.
Rothenberger compression nut spanner, 15 mm and 22 mm. One spanner for those two nut sizes. Wickes says the head is narrow for confined spaces. Use it on water compression nuts. It is not a gas tool and it does not include fittings.
Knipex Cobra two-piece water pump pliers. A set of two pliers, 180 mm and 250 mm. Wickes describes them as self-locking water pump pliers. Put a cloth around chrome before you grip it. They do not replace a spanner on a nut you care about marking.
Which set should I buy first?
The one that matches the job. Tap bolts: the monobloc set. Compression nuts in a tight gap: the 15 mm and 22 mm spanner. Gripping: the pliers. We do not quote a price order. The tool kit guide is where the everyday separate tools are listed.
Is there a complete plumbing kit at Wickes?
Not one box, when we checked on 13 November 2026, that combined a cutter, a basin wrench and spanners. Buy those as the separate tools on the other guide if you need them.
Can I use these on the gas pipe?
No. Gas work is for a Gas Safe registered engineer. These listings are for tap bolts, water compression nuts and gripping. If you are not sure which pipe is which, stop.