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Hardly! Is it a practical step toward “affordable housing”? Maybe. But, the prices quoted in the article (based on square/ft price) is not “affordable”!
The biggest obstacle is getting the vast majority of AHJ’s across the country to accept the practice- that’s probably a couple of decades down the road!
Hardly! Is it a practical step toward “affordable housing”? Maybe. But, the prices quoted in the article (based on square/ft price) is not “affordable”!
The biggest obstacle is getting the vast majority of AHJ’s across the country to accept the practice- that’s probably a couple of decades down the road!
Yeah, I thought the same thing - interesting technology, but they're calling them "more affordable", and at $300/sq ft, I wouldn't call that "more affordable". I would also wonder how such houses would stand the test of time. Old school stick built homes can last 200-300 years if reasonably well cared for, and if e.g. the siding fails, you can strip it off and replace it fairly easily - is the same thing true with failure modes of these printed concrete homes?.
...is the same thing true with failure modes of these printed concrete homes?.
When you get down to the "nuts&bolts"- yeah, pretty much the same. Vertical concrete walls have an "expected life span" of 100yrs (with some form of regular maintenance). The same can be said for a stick built home with cementuous lap board siding.
Another interesting aspect is "construction time". Those 3D houses probably don't really save that much time- and time is money. However, I'm sure that it does reduce labor cost- but that also means LESS jobs for the construction industry; which is still reeling from the loss of available skilled labor.
The only thing they're saving is the labor in framing and siding the house.
Roof - conventional.
Windows - conventional.
Wiring, plumbing - conventional.
Interior drywall, finish - conventional, except you COULD leave the walls bare concrete and use surface mount conduits and receptacles - but they didn't do this, and condensation in winter will be a big issue, plus concrete by itself's not a very good insulator.
HVAC - conventional.
Foundation - probably has to be stouter than conventional due to weight of walls.
So in the end they're taking a technology with high capital investment and replacing a technology with low capital investment for one fraction of the cost of a house.
The $300/SF figure is meaningless without a comparison of finishes and actual construction costs, which no one's going to provide. If you save 15% of 15% of the cost, you've saved 2.5% and you've used millions of dollars worth of equipment to do so, as opposed to using a bunch of guys with circular saws and nail guns. Ever see how fast a house frame goes up, when the builder is incentivized for rapid completion?
In other words, a solution in search of a problem. You want concrete houses, fast and cheap? Use pre-cast concrete blocks, like people in poor countries do.
You want cheaper houses, you have to look at all the costs of houses. Start with land.
The only thing they're saving is the labor in framing and siding the house.
Roof - conventional.
Yes, trusses and most likely typical asphalt shingles.
Windows - conventional.
Probably- and from a cost perspective, most likely vinyl
Wiring, plumbing - conventional.
Yes- with probably one major difference compared to most conventional wood framed houses- conduit.
Interior drywall, finish - conventional, except you COULD leave the walls bare concrete and use surface mount conduits and receptacles - but they didn't do this, and condensation in winter will be a big issue, plus concrete by itself's not a very good insulator.
The only drywall is the ceiling- all interior walls are the concrete. The exterior walls are insulated with an expanding foam (the walls, when "printed" are actually TWO walls- the hollow section between the two are used to run wiring- then filled with the expanding foam.
HVAC - conventional.
Yes, and most likely "heatpump".
Foundation - probably has to be stouter than conventional due to weight of walls.
Standard PTC slab- pretty much a given in TX
So in the end they're taking a technology with high capital investment and replacing a technology with low capital investment for one fraction of the cost of a house.
Well, I can't speak to that way of thinking, other than to say- "What were you thinkin'!?"
The $300/SF figure is meaningless without a comparison of finishes and actual construction costs, which no one's going to provide. If you save 15% of 15% of the cost, you've saved 2.5% and you've used millions of dollars worth of equipment to do so, as opposed to using a bunch of guys with circular saws and nail guns. Ever see how fast a house frame goes up, when the builder is incentivized for rapid completion?
And seen the "lack of" quality when completed!???
In other words, a solution in search of a problem. You want concrete houses, fast and cheap? Use pre-cast concrete blocks, like people in poor countries do.
You want cheaper houses, you have to look at all the costs of houses. Start with land.
Reminds me of that old saying- "It's dirt cheap!" They were never in the construction industry! 'Cause dirt ain't cheap- especially when you start moving it around!!!
The home has been printed using a material known as wood flour. It's essentially the waste left over from a sawmill — and mixed together with a binder made from corn.
"There's 1.2 million tons of wood residuals in our sawmills right now in the region that could go to print housing,"
They'll come of age (and may be necessary since HS grads no longer know how to do fractions and read tape measures and certainly don't want to get their hands dirty. (Such is the hiring pool in ,my area))
I would expect the most sustainable and practical 3D home solutions will come from areas with far more incentive and inventive than the USA. likely Scandinavian countries. USA homes are just TOO BIG to be viable, cheaper to slap up 'temporary' wood panels that bugs eat, fire consumes, and tornadoes blow away.
Cheap materials... If labor is not an issue... Rammed Earth. No need for insulation, siding, wallboard. but... NOT FAST! topped with a 'living roof' over a poured slab. (Just like other countries have done for decades.)
My last was $68/sf with LOTS of interior wood, stone, tile (we brought from Spain), Vaulted, 30% of exterior in energy windows, passive solar heat and cool.
I expect to still build for under $100sf on the (2) I'm currently designing.
View and solar accessible lots 1-5 acres, paved road access, utilities in the street. <7 minutes to full service town. (2) international airports within 1 hr, tourist / destination area
(1) $16,000
(1) $26,000
(2) $49,000
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 09-26-2023 at 01:54 AM..
I watched the first rammed earth home being built in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Actually the perfect place for it, as adobe is the mainstay there. It took quite a while to build that home, and they made the windows a lot smaller than the surrounding homes, which I didn't like. Unfortunately, that's what I see in the home above too.
At least adobe WAS the mainstay in Cruces. Out of the town proper, they're building stick built homes very quickly and very cheaply. But rammed earth and adobe are some of THE best ways to build if you can do it where you live. New Mexico has adobes that are 300 years old and older. Ancient building techniques are the way to go.
Last edited by stephenMM; 01-14-2024 at 04:05 PM..
Clearly construction isn’t your strong-point. A statement like that with no context means nothing-
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