World’s largest 3D-printed community takes shape in Texas

[oldbrownhat]

Article here. I've heard of ICON 3-D printing before but this is on a big scale. (But where better to "go big" than Texas?)

Not everyone's cup of tea, but an interesting process. Wind- and fire-resistant and thermal mass to even out temperature differences.

The walls of each home are made from a mix of concrete powder, sand, water and additives that are added to the printer and then pumped out through a nozzle, adding layer upon layer and building up the wall.

While the process looks like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube, the final product gives the walls the look of corduroy fabric.

Lennar [Homebuilders] offers eight different single-storey, three- and four-bedroom models and each home is solar-powered, meaning the power bills are shockingly low for those living there — Feekings told CNBC that her electric bill was just US$26 last month.

[lihpster]

Pretty cool. One thing I noticed that shows the Texas design that wouldn't work well up here. No gutters and downspouts. I suppose something could be rigged up, but standard gutters won't mount without some adapting. I wonder what they cost compared to a stick built house?

[oldbrownhat]

Originally Posted by lihpster

Pretty cool. One thing I noticed that shows the Texas design that wouldn't work well up here. No gutters and downspouts. I suppose something could be rigged up, but standard gutters won't mount without some adapting. I wonder what they cost compared to a stick built house?

I hadn't noticed the lack of gutters! But I'm sure that can be accommodated.

As to price, according to the article:

Homes in Wolf Ranch start around US$400,000 ...
and come with solar panels and smart home technology, features the builders say help homeowners save further on utility bills.

Miller told CNBC that his company is now planning a second 3D-printed community in Texas, but this time it will feature double the number of structures, larger homes and will be even more affordable.

Those prices likely reflect some economies due to building a large number of houses in one locale. Building just one or two in another place might be costlier due to shipping those huge printers.

[Nevada Ed]

Saw that news a few years back.

Being used for the low rent section of a town, some where.

They are hoping that their new product will work on the moon ?

[CalifEd]

This Old House had a segment on this.
It showed the machine in action and a model home that was made with this process.

Kinda weird looking but I suppose the first car looked weird to all of the horse and buggy crowd too.

[A10]

That's pretty cool technology for sure.