21–30 of 172 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well concrete is not waterproof (generally) so they are technically also using the form as waterproofing. It's pretty clever IMO but you'd need rebar at the very least for any structure worth building...
Concrete construction without rebar is more durable and worth bringing back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_concrete
https://www.concretecontractornc.com/a-house-built-with-styr...
Is concrete actually a good building material for homes? It doesn't seem like it'd be insulating, and you're definitely not getting internal plumbing/wiring. And concrete is actively bad for the environment. It all feels like the shipping container home -- seems great at a glance, but doesn't really pan out to be lived in. Ikea style flatpacked prefabs still seems like a vastly better option to me.
Why not 3d print homes at that point? At least you can get the rebar and other forms in place ahead of the print, and you get more flexibility in the final design of the structure.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well concrete is not waterproof (generally) so they are technically also using the form as waterproofing. It's pretty clever IMO but you'd need rebar at the very least for any structure worth building...
Concrete construction without rebar is more durable and worth bringing back. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_concrete
This seems awful. The inflatable form is not reusable.
Even worse, it becomes the inside and outside vapor barrier for the entire house. An air tight home lined with phthalate-laden PVC? No thank you.
Is concrete actually a good building material for homes? It doesn't seem like it'd be insulating, and you're definitely not getting internal plumbing/wiring. And concrete is actively bad for the environment. It all feels like the shipping container home -- seems great at a glance, but doesn't really pan out to be lived in. Ikea style flatpacked prefabs still seems like a vastly better option to me.
This article mentions 100 and 200 square feet buildings, so I don't think there's gonna be much in the way of internal structure. I could see an inflatable structure with 'tubes' at certain places for wiring and plumbing to pass through, which would save cutting holes later.
But like everyone else says, there's easier ways to get the frame up faster. What makes construction slow is coordination between the many different trades that need to work in the same area. With many parts in sequence, and each trade having high utilization, scheduling is difficult --- either you plan with large gaps between trades, or you blow up everyone's schedule when one trade falls behind for whatever reason.
Is concrete actually a good building material for homes? It doesn't seem like it'd be insulating, and you're definitely not getting internal plumbing/wiring. And concrete is actively bad for the environment. It all feels like the shipping container home -- seems great at a glance, but doesn't really pan out to be lived in. Ikea style flatpacked prefabs still seems like a vastly better option to me.