January 12, 2006
Wovel, the Ergonomic Snow Shovel
Got snow? The Wovel, touted as "the snow shovel on a wheel" is designed to help you clear your driveway without all the back-wrenching manual labor a typical snow shovel requires. The wheeled shovel works like a seasaw, letting you use your body weight instead of raw muscle power to toss slush and snow. The two-foot wide polypropylene blade can hold up to 60 pounds, but your back won't feel it. The price for the Wovel is $120, and it's available via the company's web site. They also have pictures and little movies that show the ergonomic snow shovel in action.
Some people like to have contractors handle their home improvement projects, and others prefer to do it themselves. If you're the latter, and you're tired of sandpapering wood the old-fashioned way, check out the Bosch 1297DK 5-inch Random Orbit Sander. It got a good review (editors' choice) in the Nov. 2005 issue of This Old House magazine, and there are positive reviews up at Amazon too. "The Bosch palm-grip has the least vibration, the easiest-to-reach on-off switches and variable speed controls, and a pleated paper filter that's the next best thing to an external vacuum." The Bosch wood sander is available online for less than $100: 
Power shovels are designed to throw the snow out of your driveway without the time and back-breaking labor regular snow shovels require. Toro's Power Curve Snow Thrower is a deluxe model that, according to the company, throws snow thirty feet and cleans all the way to the pavement. They say it can remove up to 700 lbs. of snow per minute and has a cut path up to 18" wide and 10" deep. The power tool plugs into any garage or outdoor outlet, so there's no need to worry about gasoline.
If there's one thing the recent hurricanes battering the Gulf have reinforced it's the need to be prepared for storms. The Black & Decker Storm Station is designed to help by offering a weather radio, a 25 watt power inverter, a 12 volt recharging port, a removable flashlight and a "Find Me" light that comes on automatically when the household power goes out. The Storm Station is available at Amazon for $99: 
Here's a gadget designed to light up your home improvement projects. Whether you're poking around under a dark sink or fiddling with pipes in the wall, you need to be able to see what you're doing. Often, you need both hands to work, so holding a flashlight isn't an option. The folks over at Mechanix Wear decided to solve this problem by combining a work glove with a waterproof 10,000 lumen LED light beam. The Glove Light is available in S, M, L, XL, and XXL and costs less than $30. 
'Tis the season of leaf-strewn lawns. Leaf blowers are favorites among homeowners because they let you tuck all your leaves into a neat pile for the yard waste bin. Electric or gasoline-powered leaf blowers can be a pain though. With the price of gas this year, who wants to dump that money into a leaf blower? And with electric, you've got to worry about tangling up the cord. So, why not try a battery-powered, cordless blower? There are a number of models available for less than $100 such as the BL18 Cordless Leaf Blower which retails for $70 and comes with 2 x 18 volt batteries and a 1-hour charger.
Termites are native to 49 out of 50 US states with concentrations highest in California, Hawaii, and the deep south. Ok, it's not as fun to talk about pest control as cool new home products, but if you've ever suffered from termites in the house, you may appreciate Impasse's Termite Blocker. The device is made of polymer with a termiticide locked between the two outer layers. The Termite Blocker offers protection at the gaps in the foundation of your house, along pipes, and in bath traps; these are the home's most vulnerable entry points. According to the company, the device is 100% effective at keeping termites out of your home when installed per included instructions. Termite Blocker comes with a 5 year warranty.
Gas-powered portable generators can come in handy during power outages. If you live in an area frequently hit by severe weather, or you're redoing the wiring in an older home anyway, you might to add a portable backup generator. This can keep your perishables cold during an emergency as well as keeping your lights on. 
One of the privileges of being a homeowner is taking care of the maintenance around the house (hey, those leaves aren't going to pull themselves out of the gutter). Ladders come in different lengths and styles, but most of them end up taking a good chunk of wall space when not in use. If you've got a 5,000 square foot house and a four car garage, it might not matter, but if you're a little more pressed for space, a telescopic ladder is a way to save room. The Xtend & Climb Telescopic Ladder extends to 12.5 feet in height but compacts to 3 feet for storage purposes. It weights 25 pounds and is rated for 225 pounds. Expect to pay around $250 for this ladder (carrying case extra).