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Is concrete actually a good building material for homes? It doesn't seem like it'd be insulating, and you're definitely not getting internal plumbing/wiring. An

• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• codalan 4y ago
  Cement production is one of the biggest carbon emitters. There's also the issue of using PVC for the form. None of this seems eco-friendly. Why not 3d print homes at that point? At least you can get the rebar and other forms in place ahead of the print, and you get more flexibility in the final design of the structure.
• toast0 4y ago
  It can be. Concrete isn't a great insulator, but it can moderate temperature changes, so if you have big swings between the day and night, it will keep things cooler in the day and warmer at night, which can be helpful. But if you get a heat wave where it stays hot at night, you're going to be real warm inside the next day too. This article mentions 100 and 200 square feet buildings, so I don't think there's gonna be much in the way of internal structure. I could see an inflatable structure with 'tubes' at certain places for wiring and plumbing to pass through, which would save cutting holes later. But like everyone else says, there's easier ways to get the frame up faster. What makes construction slow is coordination between the many different trades that need to work in the same area. With many parts in sequence, and each trade having high utilization, scheduling is difficult --- either you plan with large gaps between trades, or you blow up everyone's schedule when one trade falls behind for whatever reason.
• francoisfeugeas 4y ago
  Well, the vast majority of Europe builds concrete homes. We definitely get insulation, internal plumbing and wiring.
  • inglor_cz 4y ago
    Individual homes in Europe are typically built from bricks, with concrete used for foundations/floors/ceilings. The work around internal plumbing and wiring is messy, though. A lot of abrasive brick dust is generated. I wouldn't want to be the guy doing this stuff. In a 3D printed home, nice empty spaces could be left in the wall while printing for all the necessary networks.
    • pjerem 4y ago
      In modern european homes, plumbing and wiring is done via "octopuses". Most of the time, every connection coming from the exterior are coming through the floor in a little room that we can use for storage and from there, everything is dispatched through inner walls which are basically empty (except around bedrooms if you want acoustic isolation). This allows to maintain everything from the inside. I wouldn't call it a mess but I'll acknowledge I'm talking about modern constructions.
      • inglor_cz 4y ago
        I was just watching the construction of my new home and they drilled into the brick walls all the time. [0] None of the walls were empty, all were solid brick with no empty space. It was quite a mess, though the guys doing the job were very professional and handled the dust disposal very well. [0] https://imgur.com/a/A3i1ANg https://imgur.com/a/A3i1ANg
        • pjerem 4y ago
          wow ! In which country are you ? I've never seen something like this in France.
          • inglor_cz 4y ago
            The Czech Republic. I have seen this in all homes under construction that I saw, except for wooden ones. Granted, it is a small set, N < 10.
• bombcar 4y ago
  You can use something like ICF (insulated concrete forms) but then you lose some of the speed of pure concrete.