Inventions That Revolutionized the Construction Industry

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Every structure starts on the ground floor. Likewise, construction equipment started small with a few essential tools, inventions, and innovations. To better understand how far the machines and methods that make modern construction, manufacturing, and material handling possible have come, here’s a selection of inventions that revolutionized the construction industry.

Simple Machines

In prehistoric times, and even for part of historic times, humans relied on their hands, legs, backs, and brains to accomplish anything and to build most things. Then, with the development of simple machines, work became more accessible. The seven simple machines include the lever, the inclined plane, the wedge, the wheel and axle, the pulley, and the screw. While it’s hard to think of such essential devices as machines, that’s what they are. In addition, they often worked together to create even more efficient devices. Simple machines still appear to some degree in modern manufacturing and material-handling equipment.

Brick by Brick

Another invention that revolutionized the construction industry is the basic brick. Early construction materials included only wood, stone, and other natural materials. Unless someone put extra work into carving or hewing them, they were rarely of uniform shape and strength. Clay and straw bricks were first created all the way back in 7000 BC. The Chinese, Romans, and other civilizations developed the firing process, ensuring more durable and resilient bricks of uniform size. This made building swifter and buildings more secure and insulated against fire, the elements, and more.

Telescoping Conveyors

The invention of telescoping conveyors has been a game-changer in the construction industry. These conveyors extend and retract to reach various heights and distances, making them incredibly versatile on construction sites. Whether it's moving bricks, concrete, or other materials from a delivery truck to a high-rise building or across a busy site, telescoping conveyors, like those available from platforms such as www.stoutconveyors.com, can adapt to the task at hand. Their ability to adjust length and height reduces the need for manual labor and minimizes the risk of injury, while their smooth operation ensures that materials are delivered quickly and accurately.

Hammer and Nail

The first hammer was a rock, but it wasn’t a construction tool until it was paired with a nail, which the ancient Egyptians invented. Hammers and nails are a simple, elegant, and classic pairing that revolutionized construction by increasing a worker’s strength and creating a more robust means of fastening wood and other materials. It wasn’t until the 17th century that the standard claw hammer was invented. Claw hammers allowed workers to drive nails in more quickly and provided the means to remove bent nails and retrieve old ones for reuse, saving on resources.

Steel Frames

Chicago is the location of the first-ever steel-frame building—William LeBaron Jenney’s Home Insurance Building, built in 1885. While only ten stories tall, which would leave it dwarfed by modern office buildings, it was nevertheless the first true skyscraper. Since the frame supported the walls and floors by distributing the weight, the steel frame allowed for greater height that wasn’t possible to achieve with stone or masonry buildings. The design sparked an explosion of buildings in Chicago and elsewhere, and buildings reached more significant heights.