17 Awesome All-American Inventions for DIYers

DAP: FROM SEALING JARS TO SEALING WINDOWS

Most DIYers have filled a gap in their window trim or caulked around a tub with some sort of DAP product. But their great, great grandparents may have used products from the same company to seal jelly jars.In 1865, Robert Dicks began producing sealing wax in his carriage house in Dayton, OH.

Later, he teamed up with George Pontius, in time incorporating under the name Dicks-Pontius Company. Eventually, Robert’s son, John Dicks, saw an opportunity in home building and introduced putty and caulk to the company’s product lineup.After WWII, the Dicks-Pontius Company was poised to take advantage of the housing boom. They supplied products to builders and carpenters at first and finally to us DIYers.

In 1957, the Dicks-Pontius Company merged with Chicago-based Armstrong Company and the name was changed to Dicks-Armstrong-Pontius, ‘DAP’ for short.