New Ridgid Concrete and Tile Tools
New Ridgid Concrete and Tile Tools
The isles at your local Home Depot are going to be changing a little bit in the next couple months. If any of you have ever been through the tile isles at Depot you may have heard of a brand called QEP. Well, that brand is now being replace by RIDGID branded tile tools. Ridgid is now manufacturing a complete line of tile tools along with another complete line of concrete tools. Ridgid concrete and tile tools are the first foray into hand tools for the Ridgid brand that’s outside of the plumbing realm.
Who makes the Ridgid Concrete and Tile Tools?
These tools are not made by the same company that makes the red Ridgid tools (Emerson). Both of these new lines of hand tools are made by TTI (Techtronic Industries). The same company that manufactures Ridgid power tools and uses the orange color scheme. A little tidbit for you, Emerson owns Ridgid (both red and orange tools) and licenses it to TTI to make power tools and now these new hand tools. Emerson still makes all of the corded vacuums though despite their orange color scheme.
What tile tools are available?
There are a total of 47 skus currently available. Trowels of the smooth, square, v-notch, u-notch, and margin varieties. Tile spacers, lippage reducing system, floats, nippers, diamond hole bits, razor scraper, grout saw, diamond file, knee pads, and a bucket scoop. They are all listed on Ridgid’s website.
What concrete tools are available?
There are a total of 17 skus currently available. Multiple lengths of finishing and pool trowels, margin trowels, brick trowels, a 1/2″ edger, a 1″ groover, and magnesium and aluminum floats. All of these tools are also on Ridgid’s website.
I think it’s a good first crack at the concrete tool market. I imagine we’ll see a few more skus if things go well. Marshalltown is the current pro concrete tool manufacturer sold at the Home Depot. It’s a tall order to unseat them because their tools are very good. Maybe the Ridgids are going to slot in a prosumer role similar to their power tools. I guess we’ll see. The pricing currently is about a buck less for the Ridgid equivalent vs Marshalltown.
What makes these tools any good?
The overall quality of the tools is best learned through use on the job site but some things that caught my attention initially were the forging on the masonry trowels. The steel is plainly visible all the way through the handle and then has a strike surface at the butt of the handle. I “nudge” things with the handle of my trowels all the time, these ones should hold up just fine.
When are the tools available?
Ridgid concrete and tile tools are on Home Depot’s website now (10/22/2017) but haven’t been indexed by their search yet. You have to use the Ridgid sites linked above, click on an individual product, and then click on the Buy Now button to be redirected to Home Depot’s product listing. You can buy them from there and they’ll ship them either to you or to the store.
About the author
Jeff Williams
Contributing Editor Jeff Williams is a carpenter for a commercial General Contractor specializing in concrete, steel, and wood buildings. Jeff comes from a long line of contractors. His parents started a commercial General Contracting firm many years ago and it has afforded him life-long, hands-on learning opportunities from rough and fine carpentry all the way to structural steel and concrete. Jeff has a Construction Management degree and loves the thrill of coordinating and successfully managing large jobs from start to finish. Inspired by the difficulties sometimes encountered to complete punch lists his motto is, "Work hard until the job is done."
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Has anyone seen these tools in your local HD this spring?