Now that your personal plumbing toolbox is starting to take shape, it's time to grab the last few tools you'll need to make your do it yourself toolbox complete. A qualified Dallas plumber will tell you that there are four more plumbing specific tools that are needed to round out your plumbing toolbox. These include a hand auger, a closet auger, a tubing cutter, and a plunger.

An auger is a plumbing tool used to clean clogged or blocked drains. Augers can be used for toilets, sinks, and even outdoor drainage lines. They come in two basic varieties, hand augers and closet augers. A hand auger is a manually operated device sometimes referred to as a plumbing snake. It is often made from steel and is essentially a long cable that is run through the drain and used to break up any matter blocking the drain. A hand auger can run anywhere from $10 upwards of $30. Electric augers are also available for a higher cost but aren't typically found in a residential plumbing toolbox. Closet augers, like hand augers, are also manually operated and consist of a long steel or similar metal cable. This type of auger is designed specifically for breaking up toilet clogs and can cost anywhere from $10 to $50 depending on the model selected.

While it is handy to have an auger on hand for all clogged drain needs, a San Diego plumber will tell you that sometimes clearing up a blocked drain can be much simpler. In cases of minor drain blockage, a standard plunger may be all that is needed to restore proper water flow to a variety of household plumbing drains. Ranging from $5 to $20 in cost, a plunger is designed to work on nearly any type of drain and is an indispensable tool that can often be found in each and every bathroom in a house. Its versatility is derived form the fact that the plunger can be used to either force materials down a drain to break a clog free, as is the case with most sinks or tubs, or work as a vacuum to pull a clog upwards, as should be done with a toilet clog.

While a Boston plumber will tell you that a hacksaw works well for cutting a variety of pipes, fittings, and hardware, a pipe cutter should also be a regular part of your home plumbing toolbox. Designed primarily for smaller pipes, a pipe cutter is a hand held device used to make quick cuts and trims. While a hacksaw is the tool of choice for larger pipes, the pipe cutter is a simple and quick way to tackle smaller jobs with ease. Pipe cutters can range anywhere from $10 to $25.

While these are the essential tools that any homeowner should keep in their home plumbing toolbox, they are not a substitute for the advice of a professional plumber. Always keep in mind that if you are not completely comfortable tackling a plumbing project in the home, a wide assortment of licensed professional plumbers with the skills and knowledge to handle any job are just a phone call away.