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Letter to the editor

Around the house: This hammer comes with a helper

By Times Staff, Wires
Published March 8, 2008

You try to pull out a nail with the claws of a hammer. To get a little extra leverage you could slip a block of scrap wood under the hammerhead. That assumes you can find a piece of scrap when you need it. Search no more. The Powerpull Leverage Hammer from Penntek has a spring-loaded leverage pin that pops out of the head for extra leverage to pull a stubborn nail. Then it retracts so you can use the hammer as usual. The Powerpull is about $35 at amazon.com and garrettwade.com.

A who's who of remodeling

Professional Remodeler magazine offers its list of the most influential people in the history of remodeling. Included in their hall of fame: Martha Stewart, who needs no introduction; Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus, founders of Home Depot, ditto; William Levitt, developer of Levittown, which gave rise to a generation of postwar home do-it-yourselfers; Edwin Meredith, founder of the Meredith publishing empire that includes Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which showed all those would-be DIYers how to do it themselves; and Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, whose influence on mortgage rates enabled millions to withdraw equity they spent on home improvement.

Also on the list is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During his presidency the GI Bill provided guaranteed home loans for soldiers returning from World War II, which drove the postwar building boom (and Levittown, and DIY, and eventually gave rise to Martha Stewart). The New Deal created the Federal National Mortgage Association, now known as Fannie Mae, which provides home mortgage funds to millions. The National Recovery Act led eventually to the formation of groups that promoted the professionalization of the remodeling industry.

[Last modified March 7, 2008, 13:58:30]