New Orleans, August 29th 2005. Katrina slammed into New Orleans and precipitated the worst engineering disaster in US history. Several days later over 80% of the city was flooded with some parts under 15 feet of water. Millions of people were displaced and the vast majority of home and buildings were either destroyed or condemned.

So now here I was, a siding guy for most of my life, and I wanted to do something to help the people out. I decided to head down and see if there was something that I could do to help. At the least I could join a team to put up siding.

Conditions down there were unbelievable. Miles and miles of condemned homes that needed torn down and rebuilt. I did what I could to help but there was just so much work to be done, it was very overwhelming. But there was one thing that really bothered me. There was a city mandate that all homes had to be sided in "fiber cement board".

I am not sure how many of you have ever dealt with cement board but it is unruly and breaks very easily. It would take three guys to install each board and cut-outs were almost impossible. Here is where I had a flash of inspiration. What if I could come up with a tool that would allow one guy to install the boards AND help with cut-outs.

It took me a couple of years, and several more trips to New Orleans, before I had created the perfect tool. Now don't get me wrong there are other "fiber cement board" hangers out there. Some stay on the house and others you can use over and over again, but NONE of them help with cut-outs!

The rebuild group that I was working with in New Orleans have already purchased several of my Hang-n-Nail's and they have found them so useful that some have even turned around and resold them.

I have now decided that this tool really belongs in the hands of the world, and with my friends and family behind me I have been able to mass produce them. So if you are interested in installing fiber cement board no matter your level of experience, you really should check out my New Orleans helper, my Hang-N-Nail!