Can we please 3D print a city block next time?
3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
21–30 of 121 posts
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#22"...range in price from around $450,000 to close to $600,000." In other words, there is little economic incentive to recommend this construction method. Not much in the way of aesthetics either --- unless you want a ranch box.
3D printing doesn't relieve any important construction constraints and probably raises costs because unfamiliarity increases risks and increased risk increases price. Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. Sitework, finishes, and MEP systems are harder, tend to take longer, and cost more. Anyway, market rate housing sells at market rates no matter how it is built.
>Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction.
I'm perpetually confused on that front - interior, especially drywall, is stupid labor and time intensive (have to wait for taped joints to dry). There should be huge econmomies of scale for prefab walls with electric and ducting built in, yet all we see is this sort of 3d printing stuff.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#23"...range in price from around $450,000 to close to $600,000." In other words, there is little economic incentive to recommend this construction method. Not much in the way of aesthetics either --- unless you want a ranch box.
That's the selling price. It doesn't say anything at all about construction costs, but more about the housing market in general.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#24[flagged]
It's OK, they have an HOA which prohibits short term rentals, renting to non-families, wooden fences, etc.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aea220096e76febe0e35...
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
3D printing doesn't relieve any important construction constraints and probably raises costs because unfamiliarity increases risks and increased risk increases price. Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. Sitework, finishes, and MEP systems are harder, tend to take longer, and cost more. Anyway, market rate housing sells at market rates no matter how it is built.
>Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. I'm perpetually confused on that front - interior, especially drywall, is stupid labor and time intensive (have to wait for taped joints to dry). There should be huge econmomies of scale for prefab walls with electric and ducting built in, yet all we see is this sort of 3d printing stuff.
How do you finish the joints between sections of prefabricated walls?
Where do you store hundreds of running feet of prefabricated wall during construction delays?
How do you move sections of prefabricated wall into and within a dryed-in building?
How do you trim a section to fit and extend another when construction is not ideal?
Who is responsible when something is not right?
And of course there’s getting UL listings for any proprietary electrical connections and issues of inspection for code compliance.
Prefabricated walls are common and are suitable for cubical farms. They tend to cost more psf than regular construction but can be depreciated as furniture and reconfigured more easily than site built walls and fixtures.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#26"...range in price from around $450,000 to close to $600,000." In other words, there is little economic incentive to recommend this construction method. Not much in the way of aesthetics either --- unless you want a ranch box.
3D printing doesn't relieve any important construction constraints and probably raises costs because unfamiliarity increases risks and increased risk increases price. Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. Sitework, finishes, and MEP systems are harder, tend to take longer, and cost more. Anyway, market rate housing sells at market rates no matter how it is built.
It's ~21% the cost of a home, it's actually the single most costly and labor intense category. That being said it does only take 14-21 days to frame a home.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
3D printing doesn't relieve any important construction constraints and probably raises costs because unfamiliarity increases risks and increased risk increases price. Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. Sitework, finishes, and MEP systems are harder, tend to take longer, and cost more. Anyway, market rate housing sells at market rates no matter how it is built.
>Superstructure is about the easiest and fastest part of residential construction. I'm perpetually confused on that front - interior, especially drywall, is stupid labor and time intensive (have to wait for taped joints to dry). There should be huge econmomies of scale for prefab walls with electric and ducting built in, yet all we see is this sort of 3d printing stuff.
You’re not wrong. That is confusing.
I think of it like the satellite industry. Crazy high launch costs and weight penalties make satellites expensive to build. Maybe there’s some rule that the cost of the satellite has to equal to the launch cost?
I think the same things happens to building prices when the land cost and available land is super limited. Construction kind of rises to take a piece of that?
I’m not sure if I’m explaining the idea well.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#28Good thing is it provides better insulation than wood.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#293D printed concrete, to be exact; and the cost benefits over traditional cast concrete seem unclear to me.
Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas
#30Oh look, a suburb printer. Thirty minutes from Austin? I wonder if there's any grocery stores or places to gather any closer. So what if it's printed? Still looks like a miserable place designed more for cars to live in than humans.
you don't have to wonder. 8 minutes by bike: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lennar+at+Wolf+Ranch/wolf+ra...
Transportation from point A to point B isn't the only function of most cars on the road these days.
Relevant to central Texas in the summmer: 115° bike rides do not sound fun.