Construction Wireman Tool List

What a CW/CE brings — and why most agreements never say

Most inside agreements don't list tools for construction wiremen or construction electricians at all. Of the agreements we've read, the required-tools section almost always names journeymen — sometimes apprentices alongside them — and simply doesn't mention CW/CE. A few put the duty on “all workmen,” which takes CW/CEs in with everyone else.

So the honest answer to “what do I have to bring?” is usually ask your hall before your first day. But two halls do publish a CW/CE list, and between them they give a good picture of what the job actually expects. Both are shorter than the journeyman list at the same hall — one runs 13 tools against roughly 35, the other 15 against 25.

Working as a journeyman? Journeyman Wireman Tool List. Sound & Communication? S&C Tool List.

Each tool links to a solid option on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

On both lists

These 8 show up on both published CW/CE lists. If you buy nothing else first, buy these.

1. Side cutting (lineman) pliers — 8"–9"Klein D2000-9NE ›
2. Channel lock pliers — Both lists want two pairsChannellock 420 ›Channellock 430 ›
3. Wire strippers — One list specifies 10–18 AWG solidKlein 11055 ›
4. Screwdrivers — straight and Phillips — One list wants a large and a trim straight plus a Phillips; the other just "2, Phillips and straight"Klein 602-6 ›Klein 602-8 ›Klein 604-3 ›
5. Claw hammer — One list specifies an 18 oz straight clawEstwing E3-16S ›
6. Torpedo levelKlein 935RB torpedo ›
7. Knife — One list specifies a locking pocket knifeKlein 44218 ›
8. Tape measure — 15′ minimum on one list, 25′ on the other — a 25′ covers bothMilwaukee 48-22-0225 ›

On one list but not the other

The two halls differ here, and the differences are worth knowing before you spend money. Out of the 2 lists we've found:

The clearest split is how you carry it: one list wants a tool box with a lock and no pouch, the other wants a pouch and belt and no box. If you don't know which hall you're headed to, a pouch is the one you'll use on the job.

Two things the wording does that are easy to miss

• One list is a ceiling, not just a floor. It says employees supply the listed tools only — so a contractor asking a CW/CE to show up with more than the list isn't automatically on solid ground. Ask your hall.
• One hall holds apprentices and CW/CEs to the same kit. The other writes a CW/CE list separately. So “what a CW/CE brings” and “what a first-year apprentice brings” are the same thing in some jurisdictions and not in others.

Where the agreement says nothing

If your agreement's tool section names only journeymen, it neither requires a list from you nor caps one. What you carry gets set by the contractor or by dispatch rather than by the contract — so ask before your first day rather than guessing, and don't assume the journeyman list is the ceiling, because in those agreements the ceiling isn't yours either.

What your contractor has to provide

Whatever the tool list says, inside agreements put the rest on the employer:

• All other necessary tools and equipment. If it isn't on the required list, it's the contractor's to furnish, not yours to bring.
• PPE at no charge, in many agreements — everything OSHA defines as PPE, including rain gear and FR clothing when the job requires it, and new hard hats and liners.
• A locked box or safe place for your tools — a gang box, trailer, locker or tool box the employer provides.
• Reimbursement if your required tools are stolen, in many agreements — usually only from that locked box, through no fault of your own, and only for tools on the required list.

Built from the two published CW/CE tool lists we have been able to find, plus the required-tools and employer-furnished sections of the inside agreements we've reviewed. Your local's agreement is what governs — read it or ask your hall. Know of a CW/CE list we don't? Send it to us and we'll add it.