8 pieces of safety gear DIYers need to have at the cottage

Hearing protection

Power tools such as chainsaws and impact drivers are loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage. Foam plugs that fit into your ears are better than nothing, but why not upgrade to a Bluetooth-equipped headset that protects your ears and allows you to listen to music while you work.

Safety glasses

DIYers of a certain vintage might recall these construction safety videos from the 1980s, including one that featured a shard of metal flying into a man’s eye. Watch it once and you’ll never forget to wear your safety glasses.

Work gloves

A good pair of work gloves protect your hands from splinters, knuckle-blows from errant hammer swings, cold weather, and more. But do not wear gloves when using stationary tools with spinning parts, like a drill press or table saw where the material can get caught in the machinery.

Hard hat

A DIYer’s greatest tool is their brain. This is why, like a pro, you should protect it with a hard hat if you’re doing demolition work, trimming tree branches, or other tasks where objects could fall from above.

Knee pads

Give your hardest-working joints a break by wearing protective knee pads when you’ll be working crouched over (installing deck boards, gardening, etc.). Alternatively, buy a foam pad you can rest on.

Respirator

Now that we’ve all gotten used to wearing masks in our daily lives, it should be a no-brainer to wear a respirator when doing DIY projects that generate dust or involve the use of chemicals or other products that off-gas fumes.

Work boots

If you’ve ever stepped on a nail doing a DIY project, you’ll never make that mistake again. Look for CSA-approved work boots that have both a steel toe cap to protect your lower digits, and a sole plate to prevent injuries from stepping on those exposed nails.

Chainsaw pants

Whether you’re felling dead trees or harvesting your own firewood, if you use a chainsaw at the cottage, you should invest in chainsaw pants.