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3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

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Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#41

Post by brudgers »

wombatpm wrote: post #31
brudgers wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 listing…

Standardized wall sections, JIT inventory management, dedicated install teams?

We have standardized components delivered just in time by ordinary vendors and installed by subcontractors specializing in that work.

It is all commoditized and builders and trades people have choices about who they work with and long standing business relationships.

The inherent complexity of construction is a job shop scheduling problem which is not just in NP it is NP hard.

With a whole additional dimension of human social relationships and woven in. Everyone is trying to solve their own NP hard problem across a different set of projects and under a different set of constraints.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#42

Post by brudgers »

lowbloodsugar wrote: post #32
brudgers wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 listing…

I feel like you’re telling ford how the Model T production line can’t work because someone wants a different color. Yet, it’s ironic that we still end up with cookie cutter houses, but they are all built as if they are bespoke.

You cannot build an airplane out of bricks.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#43

Post by brudgers »

eightysixfour wrote: post #35
brudgers wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. In successful businesses, lower costs usually correlate to greater profits not lower prices. This is particularly the case with the narrow section of the real-estate market that is single family housing (single family housing is about the lowest and worst use of real-estate (i.e. the opposite of highest and best use)). 2. Single family home construction in the US is highly prefabricated. You can go into any Home D…

> 3. Tearing down existing houses for replacement only makes economic sense in two cases. The first is when the value of the land justifies more expensive construction (e.g. MacMansions). The second is when redevelopment is not for the market (e.g. Habitat for Humanity). Interesting you chose “MacMansions” as the example instead of increased density. In my (very) urban area they tear down single family homes and repl…

I chose MacMansions because it was clear and ordinary and uncomplicated.

Building a six pack is driven by the same basic economic condition, the existing building is economically obsolescent.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#44

Post by brudgers »

cbames89 wrote: post #26
brudgers wrote: post #4

Earlier 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.

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.

At scale it takes significantly less time because the designs are familiar and there are not mobilizations and demobilizations. The next framing job is on the next lot.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#45

Post by CalRobert »

pxmpxm wrote: post #22
brudgers wrote: post #4

Earlier 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 can, a random example of someone doing this is https://prefabhome.eu/en

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#46

Post by magic_smoke_ee »

Seems pointless and expensive, and it's concrete that doesn't lend itself to modification or repair. 3D printing in this case appears to be used as a tech gimmick rather than an actually-scalable process, or it would already be in-use everywhere.

The most inherently sensible home would be protected from wind (derecho, hurricane, and the uncommon tornado), fire, flooding, and severe heat and cold (and associated climate control costs) by building mostly underground on flat, stable, high ground.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#47

Post by lnsru »

xnx wrote: post #18

Glad to see new building techniques being attempted in real world scenarios. 3d printed structures will be most compelling when they do more things that are difficult or impractical with traditional techniques: curved walls, built inside, ornamentation, patterns, etc.

There is nothing you can’t do with classical drywall. Curved walls, ornamentation, patterns, integrated furniture… you name it. 3d printing has a huge limitation here - you need support to print over empty area. I am sure it’s not fun removing concrete support pieces from huge concrete structure without cracks.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#48

Post by Simon_O_Rourke »

magic_smoke_ee wrote: post #46

Seems pointless and expensive, and it's concrete that doesn't lend itself to modification or repair. 3D printing in this case appears to be used as a tech gimmick rather than an actually-scalable process, or it would already be in-use everywhere. The most inherently sensible home would be protected from wind (derecho, hurricane, and the uncommon tornado), fire, flooding, and severe heat and cold (and associated clima…

> The most inherently sensible home would be protected from wind (derecho, hurricane, and the uncommon tornado), fire, flooding, and severe heat and cold (and associated climate control costs) by building mostly underground on flat, stable, high ground.

If I had the luxury of time and money that's the kind of home I'd build out, probably with a few Maginot line type turrets peeking out from the "roof".

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#49

Post by AngryData »

beretguy wrote: post #28

Good thing is it provides better insulation than wood.

Maybe if you compared it to the cheapest 2x4 construction that would cost 1/4 the amount. If you spent even just half of the structural cost on a better wood design you can have offset 2x6s 12 inch spaced stud walls for an 8 inch thick wall space. I don't see how any masonry work no matter how low density could have better insulation values.

Re: 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

#50

Post by nyclounge »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #2

"...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 is what I was thinking. I mean what is nice about those prefab housings like the ones you see on Amazon and Walmart is that they are really cheap!
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