September 2006

ShelterWorks had a booth at one of the largest green building exhibitions in North America in San Francisco the end of September.

We had non-stop visitors and enjoyed meeting many architects, builders, developers, and home owners who are already building in a sustainable way or want to move in that direction. Our product was viewed at the exhibition as one of the most sustainable building products there.

Faswall Building Systems Testimonials

A letter from a Faswall constructed homeowner and Hurricane Katrina survivor:

Jonathan Reily

February 21, 2006
K-X Faswall Intern.Corp.
PO Box 88
Windsor, SC 29856

Mr. Walter,

I am writing this letter as a testimony of how great my experience has been with your FASWALL product. I live in southern Louisiana about 40 miles north of New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina was approaching the LA coast last August I chose to stay in my house because I had about seven of my friends who had evacuated from New Orleans come stay with me. I finished building this house about six years ago and this is the first direct hit from a hurricane that we have endured. All the exterior walls in this house are constructed of your FASWALL blocks. We used the recommended construction method for the installation which included pouring the channels inside the blocks with concrete and rebar. As Katrina bore down on the LA coast we were all along for the ride. It was hard to tell the severity of the storm as it was happening despite the 130 mph winds because the house was so quite. It felt like a real fortress and it was not until it was all over that we realized the level of destruction outside. We had a total of approximately 65 large trees down on the 20 acres, but fortunately none on any of the houses. As I reviewed the house there was no damage what so ever. The metal roof where it connected to the top of the faswall blocks had no movement at all.

We are not in an area that is subject to flooding so we did not get any water like the low lying areas of Mandeville and New Orleans, etc. I have never had any water intrusion into the house but this is Louisiana and despite the humidity I have never had any mold problems. The house is never damp feeling like concrete houses can get in the winter. The breath ability of the walls seems to condition the air and keep it drier inside.

Not only are the Faswall walls very strong, but also, thermo dynamically this house is a delight. I only have my subjective experience to go on but I have never been so comfortable in a house year round. I have a solar system that runs much of the electrical needs of the house, so I do not have the usual energy bills to make a more objective comparison with other houses in this area. What I can tell you is that I have turned down my heating system to 60 degrees this winter when it went down to 35 degrees overnight and the temperature inside never got below 65 degrees. I thought that a good indicator of the superior thermo-dynamics of the wall structure.

I am not sure what else to say. I love the stability of this house and its thermal quality. Please fell free to give this testimony to anyone you wish.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Reily
Folsom, LA