And these guys print fairly flat, no ribbed look. 10,000 square feet, impressive. 👍

And only 7 people. 

I'm thinking with a bit more development they'll be printing these structures totally flat. 

 

 

Edited December 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

Nice, but who wants to live in a concrete house?  Especially in a development of printed houses that would have an 'institutional' look.

I live on a block in an older neighborhood where the houses are all different.  My next door has a wood lap strake siding on hers.  Up the block is a stucco house.  Mine is a stone masonry house almost 100 years old.

Wake me up when they can print a stone masonry house.

Noel

 

5 hours ago, martin-w said:

m thinking with a bit more development they'll be printing these structures totally flat. 

Who wants to live in a flat house ?

🤫

50 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Nice, but who wants to live in a concrete house?  Especially in a development of printed houses that would have an 'institutional' look.

I live on a block in an older neighborhood where the houses are all different.  My next door has a wood lap strake siding on hers.  Up the block is a stucco house.  Mine is a stone masonry house almost 100 years old.

Wake me up when they can print a stone masonry house.

Noel

 

Why would concrete limit the house design and outside look of the house? 3D printing should make it straight forward to have different designs for each house on the street, maybe even easier, and then one could cover the concrete with stucco, paint, brick or whatever else they like.

To me the biggest issue would be renovations down the road. A wall with a 2x4 wood frame is going to be much easier to change or knock down and remove entirely. On the other hand, I be interested to know if these 3D printed houses would survive hurricanes and tornadoes better. Might be worth the trade-offs if you live in tornado alley.

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

Nice, but who wants to live in a concrete house?  Especially in a development of printed houses that would have an 'institutional' look.

I live on a block in an older neighborhood where the houses are all different.  My next door has a wood lap strake siding on hers.  Up the block is a stucco house.  Mine is a stone masonry house almost 100 years old.

Wake me up when they can print a stone masonry house.

Noel

 

 

That's just the basic structure Noel. They can be rendered (stucco) as you call it, or clad in anything you like. 

There are some quite imaginative designs. 

11 minutes ago, GHD said:

Who wants to live in a flat house ?

🤫

Wall surface is flat to make it easier for any type of final wall surface, inside or out to be applied!  Possible sheetrock on the inside and brick, stucco, siding, etc for the outside.

13 minutes ago, goates said:

 

To me the biggest issue would be renovations down the road. A wall with a 2x4 is going to be much easier to change or knock down.

 

That's because you come from a country where wood houses are the norm. We in the British Isles and Europe mostly build in brick and concrete. Knocking down or changing such structures is something we do all the time. Not an issue. 

Edited December 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

4 minutes ago, charliearon said:

Wall surface is flat to make it easier for any type of final wall surface, inside or out to be applied!  Possible sheetrock on the inside and brick, stucco, siding, etc for the outside.

 

Yeah, you can dry line the interior, render it. Whatever you fancy. Same for exterior. It's no different to any structure.

Is concrete a good insulator? No, concrete is not a very good insulator. The average mixture of concrete only has an r-value of between 0.1 to 0.2 per inch of thickness. This means an average 12 inch thick concrete wall only has an R-value of between 1.2 and 2.4. Compare that with the average 2×6 wood framed wall with R-29 insulation. Floors aren’t any better. A 6 inch slab has an R-value between .06 and 1.2. Wood framed floors are thicker than walls and generally have an R-value between R-30 and R-38. The R-value of concrete varies depending on how dense the concrete mixture is. In general, low-density concrete has a higher R-value than high-density concrete. This is bad for residential construction because we typically use high density concrete to build a foundation.

So now you are going to tell me you can put a frame on the outside of the concrete to hold the R29 insulation and cover it with wood and then add a wood frame inside the house to attach the sheet rock to.  How thick is this wall going to be?

Noel

40 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

That's because you come from a country where wood houses are the norm. We in the British Isles and Europe mostly build in brick and concrete. Knocking down or changing such structures is something we do all the time. Not an issue. 

Does that include all of the interior walls as well? There are houses in North America built using brick for the outer walls and structure, but the interiors are still usually wood frame in some fashion. It isn't that I don't think you can make changes, just that with the wood frame houses commonly built in North America, it is easy, and less effort, to make almost any change you want after the house is built.

31 minutes ago, goates said:

Does that include all of the interior walls as well? There are houses in North America built using brick for the outer walls and structure, but the interiors are still usually wood frame in some fashion. It isn't that I don't think you can make changes, just that with the wood frame houses commonly built in North America, it is easy, and less effort, to make almost any change you want after the house is built.

 

Yep. UK houses have two brick leaves with a cavity in the middle. They've been built this way for a very long time. These days insulation is inserted between the leaves. Prior to 1920, it was just double brick l with no cavity and "soldiers" (bricks on end) to act as wall ties. These days we use stainless steel wall ties. Damp course of course to stop rising damp. Engineering bricks below the damp course which are denser. 

Less effort yes, but brick houses last many lifetimes. There are brick built houses in the UK 500 years old.

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Cavity_wall

Edited December 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

49 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Is concrete a good insulator? No, concrete is not a very good insulator. 

Noel

 

3D printed houses are insulated the same as your wooden houses and our brick houses. Our brick houses have insulation between the cavity. And 3D printed houses inject insulation, as they are built with a cavity too.

Thick concrete can act as a thermal mass of course, a lot of modern buildings are built with that concept in mind.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/thermal-mass#:~:text=In simple terms%2C thermal mass,to have low thermal mass.

"What is thermal mass?

In simple terms, thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb, store and release heat. Materials such as concrete, bricks and tiles absorb and store heat. They are therefore said to have high thermal mass. Materials such as timber and cloth do not absorb and store heat and are said to have low thermal"

Edited December 17, 20223 yr by martin-w

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

 

Yep. UK houses have two brick leaves with a cavity in the middle. They've been built this way for a very long time. These days insulation is inserted between the leaves. Prior to 1920, it was just double brick l with no cavity and "soldiers" (bricks on end) to act as wall ties. These days we use stainless steel wall ties. Damp course of course to stop rising damp. Engineering bricks below the damp course which are denser. 

Less effort yes, but brick houses last many lifetimes. There are brick built houses in the UK 500 years old.

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Cavity_wall

What about interior walls for bedrooms etc.? I get how exterior walls work as brick houses here work the same way. It's the interior walls for each room that I see being the bigger difference with a 3D printed concrete house. Unless they just use the concrete for the exterior walls and wood or steel for internal ones.

12 hours ago, goates said:

What about interior walls for bedrooms etc.? I get how exterior walls work as brick houses here work the same way. It's the interior walls for each room that I see being the bigger difference with a 3D printed concrete house. Unless they just use the concrete for the exterior walls and wood or steel for internal ones.

 

Traditionally, UK houses are single course of bricks for interior walls. From time to time in older properties you'll find lath and plaster if its not a supporting wall. And stud partitions or wall board in more modern properties. So it depends if its structural, a supporting wall. But even if not structural you'll often find brick or block.

My first house was a 1960's semi-detached and exterior walls were brick cavity construction and interior walls single course of concrete block. Its not dense concrete, more of a lighter weight block. 

My second house was a 1950 semi. Exterior cavity wall and interior, single layer of brick. We knocked the lounge through to the dining room to form one big room. It was a supporting wall so required building regs approval and a steel RSG had to be installed.

Also owned a mid 1990's link-detached house. Again, cavity walls for the external walls and interior walls were either light weight block or if an exterior wall, Thermalite blocks. Thermalite blocks are a block with better insulating properties. The only areas that were plaster board were a small area between stairs and bathroom and between main bedroom and small adjacent bedroom. 

I'm now in an old traditional Cottage and the walls are one layer of solid granite. About 18 inches thick. All interior walls are solid granite too. Now that would be fun to demolish.

The 3D printed houses I've seen are mostly solid interiors walls but I have seen some with stud partitions. 

Basically, if its structural its solid, if its not it "might" be a stud partition. But could be solid.

Lots of new innovations around of course, like SIPP's panels. Sip's have a wooden sheet material with insulation in the middle. 

https://www.hemsec.com/sips/hemsec?gclid=CjwKCAiAkfucBhBBEiwAFjbkr5F_6d6JIOFSRVXNNYLKvjEX8vKSPDHZFqCt3-zdZYKxnV6RDiaIOxoC66oQAvD_BwE

 ICF's are polystyrene type material forms. They attach together like Lego and then they pour concrete in the middle. 

A lot of self builders that are using the above. 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 20223 yr by martin-w