FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Four concrete walls and a concrete roof. For a family victimized by Hurricane Katrina, a house of concrete and steel is a dream come true.

In eight week’s time, Debbie Colby, her husband, Faron, and their two grandsons Joseph, 12, and Jacob, 6, will be moving into their new hurricane-resistant home, built for them through Habitat for Humanity of Baldwin County.

“It’s just so exciting,” Debbie said. “Sometimes I get tongue-tied about it. People say, ‘You're just smiling all the time.’”

And for good reason. The family was living in a trailer in Slidell, La. when Hurricane Katrina ravaged coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.

In the wee morning hours of the day Katrina reached land, the Colbys packed up and evacuated to Shreveport. Nearly a week passed before the family made it back to Slidell to find total destruction of their home and the trailers around it.

“It was all pulled apart,” Debbie said. “It was awful.”

The family, counting their blessings and chalking up their losses, relocated to Fairhope, where they moved in with relatives.

But now they are about to get a home of their own on Ingleside Drive, as Habitat for Humanity constructs its first hurricane-resistant home.

“It’s engineered very carefully to sustain up to 160-mile-per-hour winds,” Habitat for Humanity Construction Manager Alex Cary said. “The concrete is poured from the ceilings and down the walls. It’ll be better than a storm shelter.”

That is music to the Colbys’ ears. Debbie said even the gathering of dark clouds causes the family to shudder.

“When that storm front is coming, even the boys are ready to go,” she said.

Habitat is following the “Fortified for safer living” standards set forth by the Institute for Business & Home Safety.

“(It’s) the crash-test dummies for houses,” Cary said. “We’re taking this project to the extreme.”

All last week, Habitat was offering construction demonstrations and classes both on- and offsite for the building community — architects, engineers, contractors, Realtors, inspectors and more.

“We’re trying to educate the building community,” Cary said, “and hopefully set the bar higher for construction standards.”

Because with a sturdy home, insurance rates are lower, which allows more across-the-board eligibility for Habitat home applicants.

“Because insurance rates have gone so high, mortgage rates double,” Cary said. So it only makes sense to build a home that with top-of-the-line safety comes affordability.

Cary said the seminars and demonstrations went well.

“We’ve had some really good attendance. We’ve had a lot of interest in the system itself because it’s so different,” she said.

She said hopefully Habitat for Humanity will continue to build homes that are hurricane resistant, definitely incorporating the concrete walls.

As construction moves forward, Habitat workers aren’t the only ones getting their hands dirty on Ingleside Drive.

“I’ve been working there every day,” Debbie said, along with Faron. “We’ve been cleaning up the yard. As soon as they finish the roof, we can do a lot more on the inside.

“I’m even building my own house, and I love that.”

The boys are excited about the three bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath home, especially Jacob, who has already picked out his own room.

Near the local schools, set back from the road and with a huge backyard, Debbie and Faron said the location is perfect. It’s just what they wanted in the home they plan on staying in “forever,” Debbie said.

Six weeks into construction, Debbie said she’s itching for the next two months to pass quickly so they can move in. But she’s nonetheless surprised at how smoothly and efficiently the construction is going.

“One day you go and it’s nothing but a slab, then the next day you’ve got your walls up,” she said. “Oh man, it’s going so fast it might be (finished) quicker than I think.”