topic Re: 3D printer houses in Home

3D printer houses

151949 — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 22:11:41 GMT

A plan approved by our county to build some here. Supposed to be lower cost. They build a foundation from concrete then the printer guides a machine that lays down a polymer and concrete mix, layer after layer , one on top of the other.Things like walls, doors and windows are already in the computer so they are accounted for as the mixture is laid out. Weatherproof, self insulated, and since it is pretty much solid concrete/polymer mix it would withstand high winds. After it gets all built up to as high as needed they are planning to put a steel roof on.Put in windows & doors and the outside shell is done in a few days. Then just finish the inside - the walls are already there so just finish flooring, plumbing & electric - all the mechanicals, kitchen & BR and it's done. Because it goes up so fast it can be built more cheaply due to low labor costs.

It will be interesting to see one when it's done.You can google and see a video if your interested.

Re: 3D printer houses

Tigriss — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 23:28:33 GMT

I wonder how they stand up to hurricanes and tornadoes? Being built in Florida, they should have to meet the minimum standard for winds. Thanks for sharing.

Re: 3D printer houses

gardenman — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:57:58 GMT

I wouldn't count on the lower cost part. The National Association of Home Builders say that framing a house is just 13.5% of the cost of a new home. Much of the cost of a house is in the non-structural parts of the house. The wiring, plumbing, windows, doors, and finish work. Factory built homes, homes erected on site with SIP's (structural insulated panels), and homes built with ICF's (insulated concrete forms) are pretty quick to erect and quite strong, possibly stronger, than one printed out. It's a cute gimmick, but I'm not sure it'll ever be more than a gimmick. Let's say the new home will cost $100,000. If you removed all of the cost for framing, you'd reduce the cost to $87,500, but then you have to add back in the rental of the printer, the cost of the concrete mix, the labor costs for the operator, etc. and that would eat a very good chunk of the $13,500 you saved. It's not a game changer.

Re: 3D printer houses

Tigriss — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 12:55:12 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
I wouldn't count on the lower cost part. The National Association of Home Builders say that framing a house is just 13.5% of the cost of a new home. Much of the cost of a house is in the non-structural parts of the house. The wiring, plumbing, windows, doors, and finish work. Factory built homes, homes erected on site with SIP's (structural insulated panels), and homes built with ICF's (insulated concrete forms) are pretty quick to erect and quite strong, possibly stronger, than one printed out. It's a cute gimmick, but I'm not sure it'll ever be more than a gimmick. Let's say the new home will cost $100,000. If you removed all of the cost for framing, you'd reduce the cost to $87,500, but then you have to add back in the rental of the printer, the cost of the concrete mix, the labor costs for the operator, etc. and that would eat a very good chunk of the $13,500 you saved. It's not a game changer.

You do need to google it. They are building small/tiny homes, not regular size ones. They are doing it in central/South America and Africa, where finishing costs are much less than here. The homes are very simple with an open floorplan to have fewer walls and pretty much one window per room. I'm not sure how they run the electrical down the walls unless they are doing it totally on the exterior of the wall for outlets and the like. One company is doing it totally for less than $4000 complete. I saw another firm from Russia that has a different machine that is simpler in design which they say will allow them to build a home of any size versus being limited by the setup and frame of the more rectangular printers that have to be set up in a somewhat complicated manner compared to their machine. You should watch some of the youtube videos on it. I can see where it would help loads in this country when people are setting back up from hurricanes and the like, but they would downsize significantly from their previous American sized homes.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 13:31:40 GMT

They are going to build some here in Sarasota county soon , and expect them to sell well under the average price of a stick built home here. I don't know how they do the water and electric but I would assume it is similar to how they do it on a log house.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 13:34:21 GMT

@Tigriss They are saying they're more stable than a frame home in storms. The most vulnerable part of a home in storms is the roof - and these homes have steel roofs - very safeest of all. Plus once they dry - the body of the home is solid concrete/polymer mix.

Re: 3D printer houses

Tigriss — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 17:45:12 GMT

@151949 I can see how they would be more stable. I would like to see the ones in Sarasota and see the floorplans and how big they are. America seems to build bigger and bigger homes for no apparent reason other than to "have more". I also can see how they go up quicker and are stronger, especially for storms. I bet they will be cooler and better insulated since the walls will be solid and concrete polymer mix.

Re: 3D printer houses

gardenman — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 10:36:16 GMT

I've seen lots of the YouTube videos and read up on them, but I still don't see a big cost savings. If you don't know about SIP's you might want to look at them in comparison. SIP's can be mass produced and then assembled quickly at the job site. SIP built houses are reportedly twice as strong as stick framed homes and twice as energy efficient. I don't really see 3D printer houses ever being much more than a gimmick. Keeping the printer fed and functioning properly requires someone there the whole time. Homes built with ICF's (insulated concrete forms) would use similar amounts of concrete, but can all be poured in a single day, several hours generally. It's neat to watch, but it still strikes me as being a gimmick more than a real revelation. I go back to when geodesic domes were the homes of the future and we'd all be living in geodesic domes today if you believed the hype from the sixties/seventies. Most of us don't live in geodesic domes. There's always something new that will revolutionize home building, but few ever do change anything. I could be wrong, but my money is on this being a gimmick more than the future.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 15:38:53 GMT

In general I'm finding everything they are doing with the 3D printing technology to be exceedingly interesting.They are making everything from heart valves to houses.The really cool thing is the extreme precision because a computer can be much more accurate than any person - especially on things that are very tiny.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 12:02:59 GMT

@gardenman This is your OPINION only and , according to those presenting this on the news here, who expect to soon start building them here, Your opinion is different from their's. Time will tell. So far , the homes they have built using this technology have been built quite a lot cheaper than stick built homes.

Re: 3D printer houses

gardenman — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 17:04:07 GMT

@151949

It is my opinion, but I think they'll find that supplying the printer with a nonstop supply of the concrete/polymer mix will be more challenging than they think.

At least domestically, the vast majority of the cost is in the plumbing, electrical, and finish work. Using a 3D printer doesn't save money on those costs. I've seen lots of highly promoted and talked up housing revolutions, that flop over the long term. Geodesic domes were going to be huge. You don't see them much these days. They sounded neat. A manufacturer simply makes panels that get shipped to consumers and bolted together. You could build a house in just a few days. They were touted as being cheaper, stronger, more efficient and better all around. The public didn't buy in.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 17:19:41 GMT

They claim they can build a 1 bed 1 bath for $4000. You aren't going to beat that with any stick built house.

Re: 3D printer houses

gardenman — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 18:34:42 GMT

@151949 wrote:
They claim they can build a 1 bed 1 bath for $4000. You aren't going to beat that with any stick built house.

We'll see.

Re: 3D printer houses

BirkiLady — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 01:21:49 GMT

@151949What are "they" doing to address mold and mildew in a concrete home in FL? Seems that would be a horrible problem, especially if it doesn't have a crawl space. If wiring and plumbing are embedded into the space prior to the mixture being poured, what happens when repairs, replacements or new technology are required? Huge expenditures and/or entire walls tore out and replaced? A stick-built home would be much easier to work on, repair, remodel, etc., for future liveability. Cheaper isn't always better. Cannot look at the initial cost of a home. A well-built home should last for 80-100 years or longer.

Also, many insurance companies are no longer replacing steel roofing (just patching problem areas). That means sun fading is patched with newer, brighter pieces of steel . . . and would appear very strange in a neighborhood trying to keep an appealing vantage point for resale.

Re: 3D printer houses

151949 — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 04:05:07 GMT

Since almost all homes in Fl. are built of concrete block I suppose they would be the same - Do you mean a crawl space underneath? Most modern florida homes don't have that.They build on a slab these days. I have no idea where they put the plumbing and wiring. In log homes they run it inside and place a decorative front over it.Lots & lots & lots of people have steel roofs these days. Go anywhere a hurricane has recently gone through and you'll see them everywhere.As for how long these homes will last - who knows.

Some people are just resistant to anything new. Sad.

Re: 3D printer houses

gardenman — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 11:35:59 GMT

"Some people are just resistant to anything new. Sad."

In my case it's not resistance to anything new, it's experience at seeing new ideas get touted while people ignore the potential issues. Lots of money gets wasted and that highly touted new idea gets shelved due to the issues that many saw from the beginning. In the case of 3D printed houses, you have to keep the printer constantly supplied with viable concrete/polymer mix. Concrete has a relatively short working time. You can't just keep it sitting around unused for hours. You like to pour concrete in a continuous pour for maximum strength. If you let the previous layer set up, then add fresh on top, you create a less strong seam. If the machine gets stopped or stalled for any reason the concrete could start to set in the printer. Just keeping the printer supplied with properly prepared concrete is more challenging than many would like to believe. Delivery trucks break down, mixers malfunction, supplies don't get there when expected.

The structure of a new home is one of the lower cost parts of home building. This could reduce the cost of making the structure, but brings with it significant obstacles. It is my opinion, that the obstacles are greater than the benefits. Can you use a 3D printer to make a house? Absolutely! Just don't expect to really save money if you do. The money you save on the shell (if you save any) may very well be offset by increased costs in wiring, plumbing, and finish work.

It truly isn't resistance to anything new, it's experience living in the real world and with home construction.