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Scizmz t1_j8krg4l wrote

Reply to comment by roundearthervaxxer in Can 3-D Printing Help Solve the Housing Crisis? - Standard construction can be slow, costly, and inefficient. Machines might do it better. by speckz

The amount that you can reduce costs on modern builds is limited. Mostly by the combination of what materials and methods are approved for building by municipal codes, but also based on several other factors. Realistically you wind up with a lot more fees for inspections and permits, mello-roos or the local equivalent, and lots of other cost structures municipalities throw up. New building is a huge revenue generator for municipalities. So they do their damnedest to make sure that the property taxes are as high as they can get them on new construction.

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roundearthervaxxer t1_j8lelai wrote

I can imagine that finishing, plumbing, electrical is a bulk of the cost. What percentage is pouring foundation m, framing and exterior?

Ultimately plumbing and electrical could be printed too, perhaps interiors as well.

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Scizmz t1_j8ljpkh wrote

That's the thing, the foundation's cost is digging, reinforcement and framing for it. The actual concrete is a small fraction of the cost.

The bigger issue is that you'll never get materials approved to build out as things stand with current materials technology. Concrete is great for compression, so stacking things on top of it, it's great for holding them up. But when it comes to sheer stress, it will crack and shatter like crazy. 3d printed homes just wouldn't stand up to weather and conditions that they'd need to in order to be cost effective and meet building codes. Then there's the reinforcement and need to run all kids of stuff through the walls.

After you get over all of those hurdles, you still have to deal with the fact that in various places weather can be very sporadic. And as such the drying and curing of a house would not be even or consistent.

You're better off building a house modularly or even building panels in a factory, then shipping them to site. You get the materials that are optimized for the climate, the conduits and piping needed, and it can be built to the point of exterior weather proofing before a 3d printed house can cure.

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roundearthervaxxer t1_j8lluw1 wrote

Awesome. Thx for the detailed explanation. High-end prefab houses always seemed like a good idea to me. My grandparents had a Sears house that was shipped via rail.

It seems like things could have gone more in that direction. With modern tech could you ship perfectly interlocking wall units? If so, why isn’t that standard.

With cad it seems like you create some really cool designs.

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