Whether you’re moving into your first apartment or buying your first house, there’s a new reality to confront. You just signed up to become a part-time handyman.

Changing light bulbs, hanging pictures, switching out a broken or outdated faucet — or more complicated work like appliance repairs — all have one thing in common: you’re going to need tools to get them done.

But what tools do you need? And where should you get them? The answers are more straightforward than you think, said Jim Anderson, the interim director of facilities operations at Slippery Rock University.

Anderson, who came to SRU as a laborer 35½ years ago, has been working with cars, houses and buildings for nearly all of his life.

The good news, he said, is that if you’re a new homeowner or just starting your own tool collection, the task can seem more daunting than it actually is.

“Basically, for a household, you’re going to need just hand tools,” Anderson said.

That amounts to the very basic elements of any mechanically inclined person’s tool collection, he said: a hammer, a set of screwdrivers, a pipe wrench or channel locks, a crescent wrench and — if you’re dying to get one — perhaps a battery-operated, cordless drill.

The basic building blocks of a tool collection can vary from person to person, Anderson said, because a lot of the decision-making process depends on what you envision yourself doing and what you’re actually able to do.

“It depends on your skill set,” he said. “If you don’t know a whole lot of things, that’s what you would need. As your skill set goes up, you can go into the power tools, too, but you’re getting into a lot of money there. Some of these things aren’t cheap.”

For many first-time homeowners, work around the house doesn’t stop at the front or back door. You’re going to be venturing outside to perform tasks like cleaning gutters, hanging crown molding or painting walls. So a solid ladder is a good investment. For your lawn and garden, you’ll want to secure a garden hose and nozzle as well.

Another piece of good news, Anderson said, is there are plenty of places where newly minted handymen and women can find these tools. And while your instincts might tell you not to skimp on the quality, Anderson points out that, again, your purchases should be guided by the type and quantity of work you’ll be doing.

“If you’re just going to use them at your home, even (department stores) have decent tools,” Anderson said. “If you’re using them every day, then you need to buy high quality tools, but (stores) all have decent tools for the homeowner to purchase. Plus, they have qualified people to tell you what you need.”

To compliment your collection, items like a tape measure, level, an assortment of flathead and Philips head screwdrivers, pliers and a stud finder can be good investments as well. Anderson said a place to store your hardware will come in handy as well.

Anderson has two full roll-box tool chests for his own collection. You probably won’t need anything quite so elaborate, but he said it’s always a good idea to give your tool collection room to grow as you find the need to buy specialized equipment for jobs you haven’t even thought of yet.

“They make tools for anything anymore,” Anderson said. “It makes the job easier, faster, better.”

Perhaps the most important thing for any new handyman, Anderson said, is to not be afraid of asking questions — whether that’s from a friend or the Internet. Like most things, he said, people need to learn how to balance doing things themselves with knowing when to call in a professional.

“You can learn. YouTube will teach you anything you want to do in the house,” Anderson said. “But as for dealing with electricity or things like that, if you don’t have any knowledge of it, it should be left to a professional.”