11:37 PM EDT on Saturday, September 11, 2004

By Tony Hyatt /WHAS 11 News

Louisville -- In the last three weeks, between Charley, Frances and now Ivan, everyone in Florida has been reminded of the deadly and powerful force of a hurricane. Billions of dollars in damages. Houses and buildings destroyed.

One Louisville company may have a way to offset some of the losses in the future by building a better mousetrap. In this case a better house that can sustain 155 miler per hour winds.

"We have found a new substance and a new way of construction," says Michael Waddell of Sentex Worldwide Inc.

The substance is dyligomer, which works with a new kind of concrete. Dyligomer is more resistant and stronger that conventional wood. It is water proof, insect proof and more durable than conventional wood.

The company uses this new susbtance poured into a new kind of concrete and then with the help of steel re-enforcement can built a stronger home.

"We use interlocking tiles of two feet by one foot," says Waddell. "Once the process is completed a typical wall will be only four inches wide. But there is no need for brick or wood on the outside. There is no drywall or mortar involved."

Sentex is in the process of building it's first factory in Puerto Rico. The company already has a $7 million contract to build homes in that country.

"We have found the affordable housing market is probably the best way to go with Dyligomer," Waddell tells WHAS News. "We are in the process of negotiating with other countries. What we have discovered is good for more than just protection against hurricanes."

Sentex says a typical factory up and running can probably produce enough materials in one year to build about 2,000 homes.

The actual construction of this type of home can take about one week. It is a simple process that begins with laying a floor, interlocking the tiles from the ground up and then putting the roof in place.

It may be sometime before such housing becomes commonplace in the United States.

Sentex says many states in this country do not have the kind of housing and building codes that allow for this kind of construction. But the company is hopeful. If early homes in Puerto Rico prove worth the effort, then many others in America might like what they see in this process.