How durable to fire and storm is the home?
Concrete is obviously very fire resistant and as mentioned earlier, the 3 bedroom home weighs 45 tons, so it is also very wind resistant.
How clean will you leave my property?
Very clean.
Does customer have to pull the permit or contractor?
Depending on the governmental jurisdiction, the general contractor will handle those details but it is up to the customer to ensure the general contractor is getting all required inspections and filing all required paperwork.
Can I use traditional, vinyl siding around my new 3d printed house?
Yes. However, the cost of the material and labor may unnecessarily add expense to the project.
How long does it take to print a structure? There are many factors that control the time to print such as wall engineering, the linear distance you are printing including interior walls, the viscosity of the mix and speed of the pump and printer, and, synchronizing those three elements. This does not include weather and other potential delays.
How smooth is the finished product?
As the wall is printed, it prints in layers. Those layers can be left alone, smoothed while the concrete is still fresh, have plaster applied after the concrete is dry, or be covered with sheetrock/paneling/siding after the concrete has hardened.
How quick can you print 1250 sf house?
The printing portion will take approximately 20 or so hours but it takes several days to assemble and calibrate the machine, disassembly of the machine and clean-up. There are daily preparation times and other activities. You should plan on at least a few weeks.
How complex can my project be?
The beauty of 3D printing is that the design capabilities are virtually unlimited. The only limits are that of geometry and concrete science and engineering.
How do you handle the plumbing and electrical?
Traditional construction will have the plumbing and electrical run inside the walls through the studs and between the exterior siding and interior sheetrock. In 3D printing, depending on the wall design and engineering, the plumbing and electrical can still be run inside the walls, or, embrace a more industrial look by putting wiring in the conduit while hiding the plumbing inside cabinets.
How high or how wide can you print?
We can print almost any size structure — just not in a single print. We have printed 9′ high walls. The capability is more but we have not printed higher.
Do you print internal walls or are they built with traditional studs/siding/sheetrock?
We can print internal walls but traditional stud walls can be used as well.
Do you need a foundation?
Yes, you will need a foundation. The type needed depends on many factors which an engineer will design. Some factors to be considered are the weight of the walls, soil type, support material such as rebar or post-tension cables, etc.
How long does it take the walls to dry?
Generally, concrete is measured by the strength in PSI after 7 days and after 28 days. With this said, the concrete is very hard within hours.
What is the weight of the house?
We printed a 3 bedroom 2 bath house and the walls weighed 45 tons (90,000 lbs)
Can you print the roof out of concrete as well?
We can but would require substantial engineering. It is probably not practical at this point.
What if the foundation moves and my house develops cracks? How long can you guarantee your concrete walls?
Before we build on any job site, we have a professional soil sample taken and sent to a lab for testing and then the foundation is engineered by a licensed structural engineer based on the soil and type of home being built. We offer the same warranty as required by traditional builders.
What kind of concrete do you use?
Proprietary at the moment.
I have a down payment but cannot pay cash, does your company provide financing?
Unfortunately, you will need to utilize a standard mortgage company or pay cash.
What is the process if I want to consider building a concrete home?
Please see our home page for a list of requirements.
What is the minimum number of homes I could contract you for?
We understand that the technology is new and some customers may want to test at a more aggressive level than others. With that said, we can contract for as few or as many as you are comfortable with.
Who is responsible for which portions of the project?
This can be worked out. However, all parties will be required to follow the regulations and rules required by International Residential Code (IRC) and any local building requirements.
I have a private island, if I transport your machine and crew, can you build me a mansion?
Yes. Absolutely.
Can you print a house in another state? How far will you travel?
There are no limits as to where the machine could go, but currently we are only printing in the DFW area. The cost to print any distance from the DFW area may be cost prohibitive due to sourcing of material, travel costs and other variables that could be discovered.
What type of consulting do you offer?
We can offer consulting based on our actual real-life experiences printing homes. This could include what to look for in a printer; what issues you should plan for in a print; how to negotiate contracts with contractors who have not had experience working with concrete walls; etc.
What type of training do you offer?
We can provide custom training at any point very similar to the consulting.
What is the cost of your consulting/training?
The cost will depend on your needs, your urgency and our scheduling backlog. You may contact us with your list of objectives and we will work to customize a solution.