Paint Roller - History of Paint Roller

Changing the paint color of a room or house is a job that can take multiple people numerous hours to complete. It is not an easy job, and requires backbreaking repetitive motions to ensure the paint covers the full surface. For an entire house, this job can take multiple days for a team of people with even the most advanced equipment, to complete.

The invention of the paint roller occurred in 1940. Norman Breakey, a Canadian citizen, developed and built the first paint roller to assist in the hard work of painting. This design consisted of a cylindrical core with a fabric cover that could soak up and distribute paint when rolled over a blank surface.

Unfortunately, however, Norman was unable to manufacture sizeable numbers of paint rollers and therefore never made a large profit off of his invention. Other paint roller designers took the design, made small changes, and marketed their own paint roller inventions. These designs performed much better financially than Norman's attempts. The most well known of the paint roller design offshoots was created by Richard Croxton Adams, who patented his paint roller version in 1940.

Today paint rollers are a necessity for any professional or amateur looking to paint a wall or a house. Developments in the original design have allowed for the creation of numerous options that can be considered when choosing a paint roller. These include the choice of fabric or foam rollers that can be sold with or without a handle. Further, paint rollers now come in numerous sizes in order to facilitate the painting of multiple surfaces.

Found and used throughout the world, paint rollers are a tool that has become a necessity for painters everywhere. Although simple in design, the paint roller will likely continue to be used for many years to come.