Things That Changed DIY Forever
Innovations that improved home improvement
These 26 innovations made our DIY projects faster and easier.
New products are constantly making DIY projects faster, easier and cheaper. Introducing these products is and always has been part of our mission. In fact, many of the most important advances were first publicized in Family Handyman. Here are a few of our favorite DIY breakthroughs.
1 THE TAPE MEASURE
The basic idea goes back centuries, and by the mid-1800s, there were tape measures much like the ones we use today. But early tapes were finicky and super expensive (about $300 in today’s dollars). So most DIYers and pros stuck with the old “folding rule.” Finally, as manufacturing became better and cheaper in the 1950s, everyone, including
Family Handyman, made the switch to tapes.
2 FAMILY HANDYMAN MAGAZINE
In 1951, a publishing brand devoted to DIY was a radical idea. Today, that idea—and the brand that launched it all—is now at an all-time high in popularity. The founders of Family Handyman would be thrilled. They hoped to serve thousands of DIYers. Their radical idea now serves millions—through this magazine, how-to books and familyhandyman.com.
3 PEGBOARD
It just might be the greatest organizing invention of ad in 1957 all time. The said it all: “Turn any wall into a working wall with famous Masonite Peg Board.” At that time, inventors were already working ways to keep on the hooks from fall-ing out. Nobody has found the perfect solution yet.
4 THE MOTORIZED MOWER
The first issues of Family Handyman included only push-powered reel mowers, which made mowing a hard workout. But before long, ads and articles on gas-powered models appeared. Many of them were just motorized reel mowers, not the rotary mowers we use today. There was even a riding rotary mower!
5 Water-based paint
market in the paints hit the
Acrylic latex quickly Handyman Family 1950s, and bandwago n. But for the jumped on that the notion held on to decades, people As late as were better. oil-based paints trying to conwe were still the 1980s, paints that acrylic vince the skeptics lot and a whole were superior— up. easier to clean
6 THE PAINT ROLLER
The first rollers produced in 1938 by David and Morris Welt were nearly worthless for applying paint. They just didn’t soak up enough paint to coat a large area. But the Welts did find that their “stipple roller” was great for giving paint a consistent texture after it was brushed on. Over the next decade, manufacturers developed fabrics that held paint better. But consumers were apparently skeptical. In 1953, Family Handyman was still encouraging readers to “try a paint roller.”
7 DRYWALL
It’s hard to fully appreciate drywall unless you know how bad things were before: Walls were covered with wood or metal lath (which took lots of time) and coats of plaster (which took lots of skill). A giant trowel, or “darby,” was used to flatten plaster. Family Handyman generally recommended that DIYers steer clear of plaster work, but enthusiastically endorsed drywall as “the only way to go” in 1960.
8 Safetygear
much , nobody thought Apparently protection ear and lung Family about eye, of first decades during the 1970s did it Only in the Handyman . found up. We even begin to show made us 1980s that photos in the a guy really needs cringe: This and hearing dust mask
. protection
9 SNAP-TOGETHER FLOORING
In the early days of Family
Handyman, every option for flooring required lots of time, skill and tools. Things got a little better over the decades, but nothing simplified DIY flooring half as much as today’s interlocking laminate or luxury vinyl floors.
10 THE SKINNY 2x4
In 1964, the American Lumber Congress set 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in. as the standard (not 2 x 4 in.). That may sound like a rip-off—less lumber for your money. But it made building much easier. Before the mandated standard, 2x4s from the same mill could vary in width or thickness by 1/2 in. or more.
11 AFFORDABLE POWER TOOLS
Nothing has made DIY faster, easier (or more fun!) than the falling cost of power tools. We took prices from 1950s ads and punched them into an inflation calculator. A typical drill cost about $200 and a circular saw about $300. Sanders were especially pricey: over $300.
12 The nail gun
Air-powered up nail guns showed Family as same time at about the compressors) But they (and Handyman . for Diyers and expensive were just too until 1993. in the magazine didn’t appear e brad nailer in expensivan Even then, dollars. $200 in today’s cost about gun can get a good Today, you r combo for compresso and less than that.
13 CORDLESS TOOLS
We were shocked to see that the first cordless drill hit stores way back in 1961. Great idea, but the technology of the time couldn’t supply much power or run-time, so the cordless revolution didn’t really get energized until the late 1980s.
14 THE BUNGEE CORD
Soldiers returning from WWII introduced the stretchy strap into civilian life. The era of bungee misuse soon began, with roof-rack cargo strewn across highways, bad bumper repairs and hook-shaped scarring of scalps.
15 PEX PLUMBING
We think PEX is simply the greatest plumbing innovation of the past 100 years. Compared with steel, copper or CPVC pipe, it’s amazingly easy.
16 THE UTILITY KNIFE
A blade you can just toss when dull—we take that for granted. But for DIYers in the ‘50s, it felt like a miracle. A super-sharp blade always, no sharpening hassles.
17 PLASTIC PIPE
In the old days, using steel pipe for waste lines and vents required know-how and expensive equipment. Cast iron was even worse: Connections were sealed with molten lead! Thanks to PVC and ABS pipe, we don’t have to melt lead in our basements.
18 DRILL DRIVING
The experience of driving screws with a drill was “a pleasant surprise” to our editors in 1960. There was a problem, though: Many drills weren’t reversible and couldn’t remove screws.
19 NM CABLE
Armored cable—wires encased in flexible metal—is still required for some jobs. But luckily for us weekend electricians, “nonmetallic” cable—wires sheathed in a plastic jacket—became the norm in the 1960s. Wiring a switch or outlet hasn’t changed much, but working with NM cable is a whole lot faster and easier.
20 POCKET HOLE JOINERY
Craig Sommerfeld didn’t invent pocket hole joinery when he built his own “Kreg Jig” in 1986. He did something even better: He turned an industrial method for joining wood into an easy, affordable option. Today, it’s still an option used by most woodworkers (pros or DIYers).
21 THE CHAIN SAW
The first wood-cutting chain saws were big beasts that required two lumberjacks to operate. One-person models hit the market at about the same time Family Handyman launched. But the basic concept—a sharp chain racing around a bar—goes way back to an 1830s surgical tool designed to cut bone. Good concept for a horror movie?
22 Spraypaint
In 1949, Bonnie Seymour suggested could Ed, that paint to her husband, can, like the in an aerosol packaged be around the s she used deodorizer salesman, gave it a a paint house. Ed, was born. entire industry try and an can wood finish In 1958, spray- Family debuted in Handyman .
23 Bagged concrete
Need to set a fence post? Here’s the Portland Go buy some old process: Carefully meaand gravel. add cement, sand then ions of each, sure the proport bagged concrete mix. Then water and the very As the ad in came along. Handyman Family first issue of said, “Just add water.”
24 PUSH-ON PLUMBING FITTINGS
A ton of testing shows that push-on connectors (such as Shar kBite fittings) are reliable. Still, it’s hard for some of us to accept ...can something so easy really be good?
It might be the greatest DIY tool ever! Order hardware online, check the electrical code, snap a photo of a plumbing fitting to find a match at the store, even install an app that turns your phone into a level ...
26 DUCT TAPE
While working in an ordnance factory during WWII, Vesta Stoudt suggested that waterproof tape would provide a reliable, removable seal for ammunition boxes. Management didn’t pursue the idea, but Vesta persisted; with two sons in the Navy, for her this was both personal and patriotic. She sent a letter and diagrams to President Roosevelt, and the War Department quickly put her idea into production. Soldiers soon discovered that the strong, super-sticky tape had a million uses. Later, HVAC installers found that it worked well to seal ductwork. Today, we have better tapes for ducts, but the name lives on.