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A solution for low cost housing...

by Kurt
13 replies
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I've come across "air create" a few times and it seems like a great solution as a building material for low cost housing. It's basically foam mixed with concrete. I wonder if it could be used with a 3D printer?




I see projects like this and wonder if an organization like Habitat For Humanity couldn't give a lot more people homes if they did something like this?
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    It looks like something a garden gnome would live in. Wait!, I have a prospect for them.
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    • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      It looks like something a garden gnome would live in..
      Looks like something you aspire to live in, someday, when your blogging career takes off.
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  • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
    Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

    I see projects like this and wonder if an organization like Habitat For Humanity couldn't give a lot more people homes if they did something like this?
    These projects are already underway.

    New Story, a company that builds housing in the developing world, has a new invention: a massive 3D printer that will soon be able to extrude an entire four-room house in less than a day.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/40538464...inted-for-4000
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by OptedIn View Post

      These projects are already underway.

      New Story, a company that builds housing in the developing world, has a new invention: a massive 3D printer that will soon be able to extrude an entire four-room house in less than a day.

      https://www.fastcompany.com/40538464...inted-for-4000
      Yes, 3D printing has a lot of potential. It's a matter of the best material to use in 3D printers and I wonder if they've has success with aircrete. Since it starts as a foam I wonder if aircrete is stable enough at first to be used in 3D printers?

      The 3D printers I've seen that create homes all used either cobb or concrete. Concrete has it's own environmental issues and is more costly than aircrete.

      Because the technique in my OP uses forms/molds which can be reused, it may not need to be "printed" and can just be poured. Maybe a combo of both would be optimal.

      I think the biggest issue in the US is where to get the land needed for homes. If this issue can be resolved, these new construction techniques could go a long way to solving homelessness and expensive housing, which in turn would help with a number of other issues.

      Boulder Colorado has plans to build a community underground. There's a lot of benefits to this, such as climate control and being able to use the ground for other purposes like farming, gardens, nature preserves and green space.


      http://news.kgnu.org/2016/04/boulder...y-underground/
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  • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
    I hear there is a 3d printer than can replicate large guns. It's made by Canon
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    great for the developing world or in the developed world..where building codes will allow and where new home construction isn't intentionally limited . so that house prices are not artificially forced up ..so that cities counties and states . Get to collect more real estate taxes every year and when houses are sold .

    i watch many of the developing techs and it is great .how rapidly advancing tech is dropping the cost of most everything..where there are not entrenched interests to keep prices high or rising ..

    Much of the forest destruction talk about in the video was caused to clear forests for farm land most of the world still builds with concrete or non timber ..and with modern advancement..we can grow food almost anywhere without clearing any more land ..

    The great part about this video , is that advancment are no longer limited to being developed in labs with lots of investment.. now these people did this on the ground in a developing country and can spread their idea and show other people how at low cost
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  • Profile picture of the author Plutorial
    I've heard of several projects like these underway but there hasn't been a project of large enough scale that would make a significant difference in one shot. Perhaps due to cost and since many of these non-profit organizations might have trouble funding the technology, we're all left to wonder on the day a world without any homeless might exist.
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    here is the how to build your own dome home or at least mix aircrete video from the guy in the OP's post .. he sells the foam mixing machine for 500 dollars US ..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=rBBSrdCYsvA
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    though i am pro 3d printing ..3d printing has it's real ideal uses on a custom production level .. the same way you can print out a single copy of a book with a printer.. but if you want 100 or a 1000 copies you go to a regular book printing process ..and cost of the printing material for 3d printers gets pricy fast .. but for already pricey stuff ..or stuff you can't ge off assembly lines anymore .. 3d printing is very nice .

    the machine to 3d print a home or building is probably expensive to build and yes you might be able to build a house for cheep..where they already build houses for cheep ..but if you only build one house or one building with a machine/3d printer you have to add that to to the real cost of the home .

    because aircrete it as strong as conrete but as light as wood ..you can prefabricate a building and ship the blocks to a construction site and assemble a house or larger building ..the same way cars and other things get assemble ..you may 3d print some parts of the house ..but not the entire house ..

    the major cost of building a home from wood ..is paying all the people who need to cut and nail together stuff on site and as much or more wood gets sent to a landfill than gets used in the house
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    I am going to transfer over some of my concepts/theory from my robot apocalypse post ..

    Take the cost of making aircrete with the big machines that used to be needed ..so it restricted it to industrial tools or uses .. now with a foaming agent ,this the 500 foaming machine , (going pricey here) a 300$ or so concrete blender .. plastic barrels from any hardware store , sand ,water and bags of cement ..and what ever forms you want to use ..and hand saws .

    You can build what you want to build with air crete ..and you don't need strong people to carry heavy concrete blocks around ..or people who can actually nail two pieces of wood together ..

    With air crete and 3d printing in construction.. maybe use the 3d printing to make different molds for the concrete blocks ..you drop the cost of building a lot of things .. that are really not economical to build ..or you have to be rich to get built today ..

    How much would it cost to get the same size hobbit hole type home built in the Usa today ..by people skilled enough to build it up to code
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  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Plenty ballsack chic featurin' architecturally on this additive mofo baby -- jus' don't feel like home to Moi.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I love the aesthetics of these and other tiny homes. My worry with this one would be if the foam is toxic in any way. I've seen a few of these types of things devised that I wouldn't want to live in.
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    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      I love the aesthetics of these and other tiny homes. My worry with this one would be if the foam is toxic in any way. I've seen a few of these types of things devised that I wouldn't want to live in.
      the foam is used is from dish soap or another foaming agent ..so it will be a lot less toxic than most thing used in building modern houses ..

      I have been looking at tiny house or this kind of alternate material for years.. but i want to live in a tropical area where it is warm all year and rains a lot ..

      When i stayed in the philipines almost 4 years ago the nice little house i stayed in for a few months had just been built..out of concrete and the owner who was in his late 70's had done a lot of the work so it was done for 20,000-25,000 US ..so i am really not impressed with the so called low cost of building the hobbit hole in Thailand ..

      I would build one of these minus the annoyingly small portal doors inside ..but what impresses me is the low cost of the tools involved to turn regular concrete into aircrete.. the 500 $ ..think about all the other things built or made with concrete besides houses ..or what is made with wood ..but would be better with concrete if it was as light as wood
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