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Updated over 2 years ago, 06/02/2022
3D Printing - Austin, Texas
Hey y'all -
New BP member, and relatively new RE investor. Have been doing flips since 2018, and just finished my first New Construction house at 900 Garden Villa Court, 78704.
Has anyone in Austin started 3D printing any projects? We are about to buy our first printer, and looking forward to learning tons and chatting about it, and networing around 3D printing.
Austin, Texas
@Ryan Kelly. Yes, we are going to start 3D printing homes. Should have our printer by the beginning of 2022.
@Nicholas I'd LOVE to check that out once you secure the printer. Austin desperately needs some affordable housing options and I think 3-D printing can help bring material costs down.
- Ryan Kelly
@Nicholas Landis there is a company called Icon that has already completed a home in East Austin. To me this is more of a gimmick than a real path for low cost home building. What we really need is streamlined processes from the COA, ie. get out of the way of development and stop creating massive delays in the approval process. Lastly, cutting property taxes would go a long way for cutting cost of housing but it is evident the COA wants nothing to do with reducing spending.
As you can see in the link below, they are still using quite a bit of traditional building supplies and methodology especially on the 2nd floor.
https://www.archdaily.com/958376/americas-first-3d-printed-homes-for-sale-in-austin-texas
@Stephen Stokes yes, we are aware of Icon. Why do you think it's a gimmick?
I think it's a new cool technology that still needs to work out some kinks, but I think 3D printing is going to put the building industry on its head. The possibilities are really fascinating. Concrete mix can be made to be fireproof, and earthquake resistant.
Totally agree we need a more streamlines process from CoA, but Austin is light years ahead of Los Angeles, NYC and other big cities, and hopefully we will stay ahead of the curve. Building a house in LA takes min 2 years. It's insane, Austin is much better than that.
@Nicholas Landis gimmick because it didn’t actually save the developer any money or time . It’s just one example (the east Austin Icon project) so the evidence is anecdotal but if there was real value the big boys like Lennar, KB and DR would be chomping at the bit for this. As always, my crystal ball doesn’t work and never has but I don’t see this becoming the norm but rather the niche for those buyers who desire to pay slight more for a home made this way. We have become accustomed to the idea that new technology is disrupting so many areas of life that many people believe every aspect of life will be disrupted by new technologies. I recently put up an analysis of the lumber pricing and now it seems we are right back to where we were. If lumber prices go up tremendously and stay elevated compared to concrete maybe this takes off.
@Nicholas Landis from what i understand a 3d printer is only doing the easiest and cheapest part of the home-structural walls.
Would the roof,foundation, windows, siding, soffit, drywall, cabinets, trim, electrical, plumbing, hvac, flooring and etc not have to be done in a more typical fashion?
@Nicholas Landis Is this really doing anything more then the walls? Everything I have researched 3d printing is just concrete walls. In my area the whole basement or foundation is formed poured and stripped in 3 days. I can't imagine the printer does it any faster.
@Waylon Zook - that's correct. Just the structural parts, but that is part of the biggest time suck in a build. Structural and the final 5% take the most time. So it's less expensive from a material standpoint and also a time standpoint.
All those other things you mentioned have to be done in a more typical fashion. Plumbing and electrical are the biggest growth opportunities. There are a couple of ways to run them, and the structural engineer we are working with has done 5 projects, and they have all done electrical and plumbing differently.
I'm far from an expert, but from what I understand the foundation will be traditionally poured, and being in Texas, we do not deal with basements. That being said, the printer will just print the structural walls on top of a traditionally poured foundation. The time savings isn't from the foundation but rather in the printer's ability to print the structural walls for a 1,600 sq ft house in just 48 hours.
We should have our printer by the beginning of the year, and then will have a lot more learning to do while we practice on some of our own personal pieces of land.
Originally posted by @Nicholas Landis:
I'm far from an expert, but from what I understand the foundation will be traditionally poured, and being in Texas, we do not deal with basements. That being said, the printer will just print the structural walls on top of a traditionally poured foundation. The time savings isn't from the foundation but rather in the printer's ability to print the structural walls for a 1,600 sq ft house in just 48 hours.
We should have our printer by the beginning of the year, and then will have a lot more learning to do while we practice on some of our own personal pieces of land.
I'm a builder and I think these will be something big someday. If you don't mind, what is the cost of the printer?
@Nicholas Landis when you say 48 hours is that printing time or is that printer shows up to printer gone time?
Here in Southern Delaware all the first floor walls can be put up in one day. Second story floor next day and second floor walls third day.
When you say structural walls are the none structural still framed?
I just don't see any savings in the printed homes yet. You complicate all the trades with nontraditional processes. This negates any time or labor savings.
Hey @Mike Reynolds my whole family is in Nacogdoches. Connected to the Perry family.
Anyway, the printer is $390,000.
Printing time. Printer lives there a bit longer. Need curing time between levels, or rooms depending on the scale of the build.
In a single story build, none of the walls are framed, just printed. Or can be done that way anyway. Oftentimes a hybrid is preferable. In a 2 story, they just do exterior structural, and interior traditional stick.
Yep, figuring out how to do it well still be expensive. After those first couple that struggle, we will have a new process and be off to the races.
Originally posted by @Nicholas Landis:
Hey @Mike Reynolds my whole family is in Nacogdoches. Connected to the Perry family.
Anyway, the printer is $390,000.
I know them well. Good people from the ones I know.
So, help me out here. I am a bit curious. You pour the slab monolithic. Then you print the walls.
I can see this would be easier and a bit quicker than a tilt up. How do you do the electric and plumbing? What about waterproofing from the monolithic and the walls? Water stop? something else?
What about embeds for beams in larger houses? I would really like to see one go up. If you do one, I would really like to see it if I could swing it.
I am doing the practice gym at the college. I have been there since early this year. I wasnt there when they started. I think it could have been printed myself.
Hey @Nicholas Landis, I am a builder in NC and I'm also planning to purchase a 3D printer in 2022. The two that seem to be best in the field are COBOD and MudBots. We are looking at the 35x35 model that Mudbots has because it doesn't require a crane for setup.
What company do you plan to purchase from and what has your experience working with them been like? Have you been able to see any printers in action?
@Mike Reynolds apologies, Missed your reply. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns. Our structural engineer said in the 5 he's done so far, all of them had different ways they ran plumbing, electrical and mechanical. So it's a learning experience along the way.
Embeds are possible. Dubai is building a 3D printed skyscraper, to be completed by 2026.
Waterproofing. Hadn't thought of that honestly, will bring it up to my team and see their thoughts. Zip system liquid flash? But then where? I see the point.
@Jensen Roll we are planning on engaging MudBots. We love the COBOD but, Peri has been impossible to deal with, and we don't think that their prices are competitive.
Originally posted by @Nicholas Landis:
@Mike Reynolds apologies, Missed your reply. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns. Our structural engineer said in the 5 he's done so far, all of them had different ways they ran plumbing, electrical and mechanical. So it's a learning experience along the way.
Embeds are possible. Dubai is building a 3D printed skyscraper, to be completed by 2026.
Waterproofing. Hadn't thought of that honestly, will bring it up to my team and see their thoughts. Zip system liquid flash? But then where? I see the point.
A skyscraper is pretty awesome. From what I have read so far they have only reached 5 stories so far. It would be mind boggling on just how to build a printer that wouldnt topple over from the weight of several dozen stories of concrete in it.
@Mike Reynolds - think of how much concrete is in a normal skyscraper. So so much. It will be the same as building a normal skyscraper. Steel reinforced concrete.
Originally posted by @Nicholas Landis:
@Mike Reynolds - think of how much concrete is in a normal skyscraper. So so much. It will be the same as building a normal skyscraper. Steel reinforced concrete.
I get that about the actual building. I was wondering how you would work the actual printer 50 stories high.
In my mind you would have to raise the printer as you went because I can't see any other way. I will be looking that up though.
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I see your post is several months old. Did you ever get your printer? Are you still doing it? Have you built anything?
Another big question is how plumbing, electrical, etc. are installed, doors, windows, etc. so that they look finished. I haven't seen much on the integration of that. The technology is pretty new, therefore; finding the right printer will be the challenge. Will you just do exterior walls, or all walls?
In what way was COBOD difficult to work with? In regard to concrete it seems some use materials that can be purchased locally, and others are proprietary formulas, which prices could be manipulated, once enough builders buy their products and are dependent on them.
Also, what are you thinking on storing the printer, hauling it, set up, etc. as far as equipment/space you'll need?
- Karen Margrave
