3D Printing Houses!

[RJSakowski]

I wonder about the robustness of unreinforced concrete walls. I live in a part of the country that has seen 100ºF temperature extremes. Others live in area prone to earthquakes. It would seem that any sort of remodeling or major repair would start with a jack hammer.

My wife would go absolutely bonkers with the structure. She is super tidy and cleaning the walls and ceilings would be better suited to a pressure washer. That of course, could be solved with a coat of plaster or stucco.

Any rewiring or replumbing becomes a major project unless you would be willing to live with exposed utilities.

It could be a great option for shop or shed though. I could see having a dual print head where and foam insulating section could be simultaneously printed with two outer concrete layers for those who live in colder climates.

 

[RJSakowski]

Here is a long but thorough and interesting walkthrough of the project in Georgetown, Texas.

While it is exciting to see this technology actually put to large scale practical use, I have a lot of questions and remain skeptical around the long term value of the property…I.e. this smells like a product idea with built in obsolescence. Or to put it more plainly, these are manufactured black boxes. Another movement in construction is container homes. In both cases, you are building something very, very permanent.

It would be extremely costly to remodel or add-on in the future given the method of construction and resulting aesthetics. So, high initial cost and high maintenance costs? We will see how this plays out in the future.


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OK, just finished this video and it answers most of my questions. This looks like a super cool way to address housing issues. I am curious as to the ingredients of the secret sauce are. Maybe ash from Mt St. Helens?

I had seen elsewhere where the secret to the longevity of Roman concrete was their utilization of Vesuvius ash in heir mix.