Inspiration can come from anywhere.  For Nick Berretta, of Memphis, TN, a building consultant and retired contractor, it came after he inadvertently knocked a tool through a deteriorated exterior wall.

Berretta had intended only to make some pilot holes for a moisture meter probe, but his mishap led him to discover a new way of measuring sheathing damage behind exterior cladding.  His invention called the Structural Resistance Tester was a first for Berretta, who now has other patents pending.  For Berretta, developing and bringing his innovation to market was a rewarding, but challenging process. 

"I pretty much had an idea of what would be involved.  I knew vaguely what I was going to get into." Berretta noted.  "Did I realize the paperwork or the horrors of the patent office?  I knew the process.  What I didn't realize was the personal wear and tear."

Berretta spent many a late night developing his idea into a working prototype.

"If you're an obsessed worker, you have a lot of late nights and 20-hour days - until you get it to the stage where you're satisfied," he said.

Then came the challenging part.  When Berretta presented his idea to potential manufacturers, their lack of enthusiasm made him realize that he would have to develop and bring his invention to market on his own.

"It's bad enough to invent it, but then you've got to go and be the pitch-man," noted Berretta. 

While Berretta has enjoyed a modest degree of success in marketing his invention, his greatest satisfaction comes from knowing he has created - and received credit for - a new idea.

"Once you've received a patent, you can say you're part of an elite group," he said.  "It is a satisfying feeling knowing that you actually received a patent and didn't graduate from MIT."

However, Berretta's not done inventing just yet. His latest innovation is "Flash Pan," a very novel approach to installing drainable flashing in existing construction.  Its installation is achieved by drilling into the base windowsill and injecting a self-curing liquid plastic that fills the sill cavity.  A drain inserted under the sill from the exterior lets excess plastic escape from the window pan, leaving behind a plastic shell that, once cured, catches and drains penetrating water from beneath the window.

Excerpted from the "OFF THE WALL" column by Greg Campbell entitled "Mothers of Invention"
published  in the Walls and Ceilings Magazine - June 2001