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You have the keys, the flat is empty, and something already needs tightening. The temptation is to buy a 200-piece set in a plastic case and feel prepared. Most of those pieces will never come out of the tray.

Here is what a Singapore flat actually calls for, in the order you will need it. Prices are correct at the time of writing and everything listed is in stock.

Stage one: the first week, under $80

Assembling flat-pack furniture, hanging light things, opening a hundred boxes. No drill needed yet.

• Kendo 26-piece home starter set, $30. If you buy one thing, buy this. Screwdrivers, pliers, tape, hex keys, a hammer, in a case. It covers the first month by itself.
• KDS Kansei Neolock measuring tape, from $8. Japanese-made, and you will use it before anything else — checking whether the sofa fits through the door.
• Kendo 11-piece magnetic ratchet screwdriver set, $12.90. A ratchet handle turns flat-pack assembly from an evening into an hour. Magnetic tips mean you stop dropping screws behind the wardrobe.
• Kendo claw hammer, $8.90. Fibreglass handle, absorbs shock better than wood.

That is roughly $60 and genuinely covers move-in.

Stage two: add a drill, $70–$110

The moment you want a shelf, a curtain rail, a mirror or a TV on the wall, you need to make a hole in concrete — and that means a hammer drill, not a screwdriver.

The critical point for HDB flats: a plain drill driver will not go into concrete. It will spin, smoke, and blunt the bit. You want a hammer drill driver, where the hammer action is a switch you can turn off, so it still works as a normal drill for everything else.

• Makita M0801B corded hammer drill, $71.46. If you will drill a few times a year, corded is the honest choice — no battery to find flat in two years' time.
• Makita HP333D cordless hammer driver drill, $107.79. Compact 12V, light enough to hold above your head, and still gets through HDB concrete. The one we hand most new homeowners.

Add a 5-piece masonry bit set at $6.10 and a bag of wall plugs, and you can hang anything in the flat.

Stage three: when you are doing your own work, $250+

For anyone who has decided they would rather fix it than wait for a contractor.

• Kendo 86-piece tool chest set, $249. Sockets and hand tools in a proper chest. Covers furniture, bikes, appliances and light plumbing.
• DeWalt TSTAK II deep storage box, $98. Stackable and clip-together, which matters in a flat where tools live in a store room, not a garage.
• Kendo 6-piece precision screwdriver set, $13.90. For spectacles, laptops, remote controls and everything the big drivers are too clumsy for.
• Kendo long-nose mini pliers, $5.20. Endlessly useful and almost never in the starter sets.

What not to buy

• The 200-piece bargain set. The piece count comes from sockets and bits you will never fit. Twenty good tools beat two hundred poor ones.
• A drill driver, if you live in an HDB flat. It cannot do the one job you bought it for. Spend the small difference on hammer action.
• An 18V platform, for now. Excellent tools, but heavier and dearer than a flat needs. Buy into a big battery platform when you have a second tool to justify it, not before.
• A stud finder you never calibrate. A cheap cable detector is worth far more — knowing where not to drill beats knowing where the timber is.

Before you drill anything

Two things worth knowing before the first hole. HDB restricts noisy work — heavy drilling and hacking — to 9:00am to 5:00pm on weekdays, not weekends or public holidays. And electrical conduits run vertically and horizontally from your sockets and switches, so never drill directly above or below one.

Our guide to drilling into an HDB wall covers wall types, the knock test and anchors in full.

Not sure what your flat needs? Bring your plans to our Geylang or Sembawang store — we will talk it through and let you hold the tools before you decide. Browse all hand tools or drills in stock.