Brutally honest video on Mighty Buildings. It's an interesting concept with a lot of potential, but it's not a fully 3D printed building. Let's keep the media honest.
I really appreciate your brutal honesty and no nonsense objective overview on these future housing pitches we see online frequently. In the future do you plan to post a video on what you see as the ideal concepts using the best, affordable and innovative methods of construction?
Have you ever heard of Boxable? It’s pre-fab home company that is completely manufactured and shipped. Starting price is $50k a unit. I’d love to hear your opinion.
The pricing is completely bonkers. I love tiny homes but part of the appeal of tiny homes are the tiny price. $185K for a 350Sqft is not even remotely within reason. $528 a sq foot is insane.
There are probably places where people would consider that reasonable, but I’m living in a 1800 sq foot house with a huge garage on a full acre that cost less than that…
Even in the highly overpriced market I'm in now, you could buy a large, stationary house for that. The tiny house (mobile homes) fad is mostly for wealthy, virtue-signaling young adults.
In fact it would surprise me if established manufactured home builders didn't begin cranking out ADU's. Many factory home builders are well capitalized with full infrastructure, and quite nimble.
A single wide is at least more mobile. Hell, I believe even a luxury RV would have a better fit and finish (at a lower cost). I could see using LSM as an exterior on traditional housing, but then you are competing against every other building material. There is nothing else brought to the table here. Sure, it looks good, but that much glass must make it horrendous to live in (or have horrendous heating and cooling bills- how is that sustainable?).
It's a fashion statement! Just like owning a Birken bag or a Frenchie. Single-wides are ubiquitous because having axles under them makes them not accountable to the same standards and codes as a _permenant_ structure. _This_ is not that.... It's a modular home that is *entirely* contained in one module.
I’m glad you got a shot of the giant crack in the wall. Every time I see 3D printed homes, my first thought is “where are the expansion joints?”, especially with the concrete ones
Yup! Science is always going to get in the way of aesthetics. (just like those flat solar panels on their roof that won't be as efficient as angled ones).
The fact that none of the founders have a construction background pretty much says it all. I think the main goal of these guys was to be the Elon Musk of housing, which is overhyped and overmarketed. Now the realities are coming into play and they have pretty much gone back to the starting block and had to rethink and redirect this project. They probably would like to ditch this but have sunk too much capital in it. All hat, no cattle.
The way a lot of "technical" folks speak really grates my nerves. The upspeak, the answering your questions beginning with "Yeah, so...." and so on. It's becoming more and more prevalent and my old English teacher is spinning in her grave.
Anytime a person speaks quickly, believe he/she is hiding something. I worked on Wall Street for many years and the biggest scamsters were fast talkers...
They've essentially developed printing technology to manufacture a slightly novel, durable 'plastic', non-structural panel. The home price point is ridiculously expensive, carbon zero or not. Of course this project could kick-start an industry resulting in more competition and lower prices. Probably their most important contribution is attempting to standardize ADU regulations.
The concept of “3D printed houses” is mostly a solution looking for a problem. It essentially is a “trendy” way to try and reinvent framing for a house that requires machines that weren’t necessary before. I’m willing to bet MORE material is being used than traditional framing too. In this videthey used steel framing for structure underneath which basically means the 3D printed goop is for decoration?… They should’ve stopped after the steel. These little companies have nothing to offer when you realize they’re little more than a silly, gimmicky, overdone way of building walls.
@@jacky9575 Don't know about the guy above but my main issue with that labeling is the fact it's used more on new methods/products then anything else and bring the issue of their upfront environmental footbrint and when they are demolished and simply tossed because it is greatly cheaper making fresh instead of recycling.
@@jacky9575 LEED and other "sustainable" credits give value to absurd things like bamboo cabinetry (assembled with toxic glue and slave wage labor in Southeast Asian and shipped across the planet) Credit for BS mechanicals tied to IOT that are completely fubared if a control board fails or your internet goes down. Credit for recycled aggregate when we should be looking for an alternative to conventional cement rather than using _more_ of it. Ad infinitum.... It's 98% greenwashing in it's most insidious form. Virtue signaling.
Wow, all these comments make sense. Interesting that Silicon Valley VCs, who dumped millions in this, could not see through the glimmer of 3D printing - to see what is really there.
Take out here, 3d printing is a tool, a wonderful one albeit, truth is complimenting it with conventional building will open lots of opportunities for growth and innovation, it's not the "golden goose 🦆" of the building industry, but it could definitely be a useful component.
You have really exposed the devil laying in the details. Your channel is an excellent source of engineering details needed to bring the ideas into reality.
@@spicemasterii6775 Not particularly. It's a personal issue on my part. I find him to be smug but that is no reflection of his knowledge. He is intelligent, but his delivery doesn't hold me. I saw this from Dave at EEV Blog of which I am also not a fan.
@@spicemasterii6775 You don't have to be a fan of Thunderf00t to recognize that solar roadways was a terrible and stupid idea. I've seen plenty of takedowns of solar roadways that never even mention Thunderf00t - a lot of them have probably never even heard of the dude bro (and he is a dude bro).
What annoys me is how removing labour from the equation is somehow considered a virtue. Work is dignity. That and the removal of personal agency. You can build your own home, do it from basic, non petroleum based materials like hempcrete, cob, adobe, rammed earth, timber, stone, but the industry is too over regulated and biased against the owner builder. Excellent content as always Belinda.
I feel like "missing middle" is increasingly just a NUMTOT friendly buzzword for the kinds of upper class housing that companies were already doing. I just fail to see how plastic and glass houses with pools in the desert is going to sustainable or improve the housing situation in California in any way.
Why would it need to improve anything besides the profit. Get real. Maybe the innovation and ideals make a change, but it more than likely isn't their intention. If xou cant afford to live in California, then move away. Nobody cares. Didnt want to sound like a capitalist smartass, but that's how the economy works. Pay or gtfo.
@@privileguan9127 Poor people don't really move though. If the poor people of California left then there wouldn't be a problem. It's not the lower class that's leaving California. It's the upper middle class.
For 1 its and advancement of technology For example back in 2018 or so the "liberator" was test which is an all 3d printed 357 handgun (im not sure if its 357 sig or 357 magnum) the printer used at the time ran around 10 k a comparable printer now would be about 300-500 So cresting and advancing new technology to give a superior means of manufacturing 2 quickly creating homes at a potentially low cost means more and and better housing as she said it is all around better than concrete Lastly "plastic" incase you're unfamiliar alot of things are made from "plastic" you can with a 500 to 800 usd printer without modifications print with the same material polymer handgun frames are made out of (glass reinforced nylon) and harder materials such as carbon fiber reinforced nylon aswell as certain types having better thermal properties than something such as steel in way of a 3d supressor Dont underestimate a technology you dont understand i made the same mistake then I took the time to learn about it and honestly I expect 3d printing to replace most forms of fabrication and manufacturing in a few decades especially after seeing this its further along than I had figured
@@royrogers3624 1. .380 not .357 2. the sorts of printers were 200usd in 2018, not 10k 3. this is a completely different technology you clearly have no idea what you're talking about, genuinely baffling reply
The only part of this company that I think has real potential is the light stone material as a replacement for concrete in certain applications. And maybe their use of 3D printing. Other than that, their pricing and perhaps quality control leaves a lot to be desired.
Steel moment frames alone cost a lot more than stick-framed walls (and are far less energy efficient), and then you have to then print a wall in that plane, and then then you have to cover that wall with gyp board, because it is printed out of flammable material - which does not meet US building codes or California wildfire code. This is a perfect example for your last video - about 3D-printed buildings being a gimmick.
So it's super expensive trailer. Those prices are bonkers then I realized oh wait..California company schmoozing California politicians...makes sense. I love this channel, great job!
There are *three, big, red flags* for me regarding this company and their product. 1. *The pricing is very high.* In Texas, I can get so much more of a quality home including larger size with the prices they're quoting. Maybe in California this is a good thing, but if they plan on expanding into other states, they're going to have to figure out a way to lower costs. 2. *Regulations, regulations, regulations.* A company that goes out of its way to ask the government to regulate businesses is _not_ a friend to businesses. By artificially increasing regulations, they're trying to make sure _other businesses,_ especially _smaller businesses_ don't compete with them. If they think their standards are high, then they should just use their standards; they don't need the government to regulate all businesses to what they're doing. 3. *The Oakland mayor was involved.* Whether through kickbacks, donations, bribes, or what have you, the Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf should _not_ be around and involved. Politicians tell people what politicians believe the people _want_ to hear and can make utopian promises, but when their promises don't work out, the politicians aren't responsible for any repercussions of what they were involved in. I did a basic search and the first thing that came up for her was _"Oakland Mayor Schaaf says she believes A's want to stay in Oakland despite team's objections to city vote."_ www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/Oakland-Mayor-Schaaf-A-s-want-to-stay-in-16329705.php She's promising the team that taxpayers' money will cover *$352 million* in expenses for a baseball team to stay and get a new stadium. John Stossel and others have done great research in exposing that taxpayer money is never made back when it's used to assist in building stadiums, regardless of sports. Belinda, thank you for this video. I love when you get to explore work sites and give us the good information. I'd never heard of this company and will probably never use their product, but the knowledge you gave me has already made me smarter. :)
Have they tested these dwellings in areas that tend to get natural disasters like tornados or hurricanes. The unknowns….are the insurance companies willing to insure them?
I know this wasn't the main point of the video, but the concept that 3-D printing, or any technology, is the key to solving homelessness really bugs me. Any kind of construction (or re allocation) will do. Helping our neighbors live indoors is not a technological problem!
There are so many jokes I can make about these being the "Tesla of construction." Not the least of which is the fact that if a kid hit's your house with a ball, your house bursts in to flames. I wonder if they're installing a self-cleaning feature in this model. It would be cool to move your house with a phone app though.
Ah, the good 'ol "disrupt" phraseology, as if it can only be used in a positive connotation, such as in obliterating stodgy old entrenched methods and replacing them with superior developments. They fail to acknowledge that disruption can cause setbacks and deleterious knock-on effects, such as negative public perception that persists long after the problems are fixed.
Thanks for a great video! It’s great to hear the truths of what is actually going on instead of just hearing a headline and then never hearing about it again. Thank you for not overly editing your conversation with the rep. I can honestly say that your videos have changed my perspective on building materials and processes.
This is just an expensive trailer home. Same with these tiny houses, it looks more HQ but it's essentially still just a trailer park in the end just with more rich people or with hippies this time
I built my tiny home using split wall technique will aircrete as insulation. It is 528sf with a half loft and a 6'x14' porch, lots of windows just not as open as these homes. My cost for the finished shell ( with half log ext.) Was $11,580. Very warm and cozy on Montana winter nights. There are way too many greedy people taking advantage of the poor and needy.
This sounds so expensive and we haven't gotten to the actual price yet. Ah. $185k... Most full size houses in my neighborhood are cheaper (until the landlords start bidding you up ofc) - and that includes a yard and driveway. Downsizing is nice and all, but the point of downsizing is supposed to also reduce the price. If you're still paying a full price for a tiny portion of the space, you're not saving any money. Edit: Wait, they're targeting firefighters, school teachers, etc as their customers? I get that housing is ridiculously expensive in CA, but this just seems... How much do they think these ppl get paid?! Most firefighters are volunteers! They don't get paid anything!
This was a super insightful video! As always Belinda's reporting feels non biased and gets to the point. One small thing I caught which was strange. When she's talking about building the Coachella houses, she says they use flexible solar on the roof. Why in the world would they do that when they are building perfectly flat roofs that seem taylor made for traditional modules?
Exactly. Hence why I threw the "apparently" in that sentence. I asked them why they would choose flat panels instead of optimally angled ones. The answer: "it will be a new type of solar panel that captures sunlight throughout the day, so it averages out to the same as an angled panel. It also won't puncture the roof." As an architect, I have a hunch that designer didn't want the panels to be visible from the ground in the rendering. Aesthetics over function.
Positioning the building where the widows face south (north in the southern hemisphere) would require a overhanging roof that blocks the sun in the summer.
@@BelindaCarr The good reason I think to have horizontal panels is the now low cost of the panels versus the tilt framing (which would need to be optimised for each site). Whilst there are more panels required to cover the area horizontally, they still capture about the same about of energy, just at a lower power versus area. A problem with horizontal is that they won't self clean, though it could be they end up having a small pitch and a couple of variations to optimise for orientation. I wonder if the use of flexible panels is that they considering having have a sight hump or crown in the roof for drainage and cleaning.
Sprawl is fine when coupled with uncommonly thoughtful zoning protocols, and requirements upon developers to make accommodation for sustainable, walkable communities. Urban zones are much easier to get wrong than rural ones, leading to bad outcomes for residents and ecosystems.
There are many reasons people move out of urban areas when they can afford to live elsewhere. Make cities more attractive to families, and people will go there. But many will never willingly move to big cities, so you have to find a way to make suburbs "sustainable." After the events of the summer of 2020, authoritarian government is the only way to get many people into cities.
@@freethebirds3578 "After the events of the summer of 2020, authoritarian government is the only way to get many people into cities." And people left for the same reason, driving up housing prices across the nation. I've run into all sorts of younger people that left New York, Newark, Philadelphia...for rural Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina and previously contracting Northeast Tennessee. With the middle class having fled cities in such large numbers, one would think that they left an urban real estate collapse in their wake. They certainly jacked up most of the $125k houses to $200k in less than a year. The sellers think they made out like bandits.....until they go looking for another home.
@@wisenber People leave cities because they don't want to live in crowded conditions where they cannot be guaranteed to be safe. You make it sound like you think the effects on the housing market were intentional.
It’s probably the opposite of a subsidy. Permits are so expensive in California. There’s usually square footage minimums that these home do not meet. They hate building new housing units in California that’s partly why they have so many homeless.
If the business was honest, they should have cut the news/media/politicians short and should have posted their own video on various platforms showing how wrong and misinformed they are and set the record straight. Instead they kept quiet and enjoyed the limelight. Tells a lot about about their integrity and honesty.
One minute into the video and the estimated costs pop up and that’s where we see that this is yet another proof of concept, a product for yuppies with a bunch of money to be dumped in a “feel-good” build. Are those people out of their f$&”g minds ?!
So UV curing resins come in many recipes, but currently they all derive from petrochemical supply chains. Biologically sourced polyesters, epoxides and acrylates are all possible, but the only route we have right now is to grow oil crops and press the seeds. So it becomes a choice between further supporting the petrochemical industry by buying a house’s weight in their products, or further subsidizing oil crops which under current farming practice creates soil carbon loss, fertilizer run off and just general poor land use decisions. Mass timber construction, for all its problems, is simply a more direct utilization of solar-to-biomass energy. The energy a plant invests in creating oils uses up more of its photosynthetic potential than does the creation of lignocellulose.
I had very similar points in my reply. Growing up my father was director of engineering for a few plastic/chemical corporations. I know just how petroleum intensive monomers and resins are. I'm not big on mass timber. Not nearly using wood for its great qualities, and losing on its mediocre R-value. Though I DO appreciate 'nature's primary fiber reinforced composite' for everything it IS.
$250k they're mad So it a poor cladding company basically. They'd be better off making custom smaller insulation bats / cladding components with the technology
Wow, so many engineer's who never built a real house trying to change the game. Sorry kids. The only thing you'll be building is the new housing projects for the hood.
There is so much intelligence and well thought out content here! Been following since I realized the typical architecture path wasnt right and found your video talking about it. Its great to learn what else is going on in this industry, its easy to get burnt on it amd want to ignore it. Thank you for your videos!
Their "LSM" is really interesting, it would be cool to learn more about its properties like in your previous videos on different types of insulation. Also, thanks for the no-frills assessment of this startup. The business model and state of their technology really make it easier to understand where 3d building construction stands today and might go tomorrow. I wish more journalists would do this instead of "regurgitating" misinformation and talking points (when you said that, it cracked me up).
I grilled them about LSM, but they couldn't reveal the details since it's proprietary. I would love to know exactly how it cures and what it's made of.
@@BelindaCarr They are probably using a Dupont 405nm UV based corian quartz resin that you could probably order from the chemical plants in Texas. I did research into purchasing plastics and custom resins in 2017-2018. In the US we actually ship plastics to China just to have them shipped back to us at a markup.
They didn't 3d print the pipes, valves, toilet, sink , shower enclosure, light fixtures, wiring, switches, outlets, vanity, doors, trim, flooring, windows, paint, kitchen countertop, cabinets, HVAC, foundation........ What is its rating for earthquake and wind loads?
'Affordable housing' is a concept that requires clarification. In the first place we need to define the term 'affordable'. Traditionally mortgage lenders stated that a homeowner's principle + interest payment should not exceed 25% of averaged monthly household pre-tax income (AKA gross income). Although ratios like this might appear cookie cutter in principle, it seems like a good starting point. Lifetime maintenance and 'operational' cost of any structure cannot be ignored as part of the affordability metric; these include prop taxes, repairs/improvements, roofing/siding, energy cost and insurance. Houses generally are not a great investment play. Over the long term residential value appreciation is about equal to inflation, and that's before the above mentioned list of annual/maintenance cost, and does not include seller's +-10% cost when the home is eventually sold. Belinda mentions that housing minimalism is a smart concept, I totally agree. Thinking smaller and energy efficient is smart.
By the way he speaks, something tells me Mr. Ruben went to Law School, first and foremost.... No real "printing" here, and no real innovation. They're just trying to make cheap, over-priced tract housing that they can pass off as being "new", all while gaming the bureaucracy for grants, loans, and favorable legislation for the company itself. aka "Development: 101". The only company I've found that seems to actually be 3-D PRINTING actual houses is ICON out of Austin(?) , Texas. I've even tried contacting them, but their website isn't very user friendly and I don't think they're interested in doing small, one-off jobs so much as large, multi-million dollar developments. Therein lies the rub, none of these companies actually want to work with individuals on a case-by-case basis. They want cozy deals with local governments that make the massive profits without really addressing many of the issues they claim to care about. There's simply not enough money in helping the "little guy", when you can become a "big guy" over night. If any of these companies were serious they'd have 4-6 basic layouts in stock that anyone could choose from and could be printed on a slab in a couple days and enclosed in 1-2 more. All the finish work and systems work could be done later, if need be. There's no need for all of this up-selling of interiors and appliances and BS. Print the structure and leave. It's not that hard. I'd buy 10 right now, but I haven't found a company that's actually serious and can back up their claims with anything other than marketing and "projections". When did we forget how to innovate? None of this tech is actually very difficult anymore. Yet, no one can seem to make it work. It's almost as if no one is trying...
I think they're going about this the wrong way, instead of what they're doing now, I think they should use their proprietary material to 3D print ICF blocks. They can even be much longer/larger than normal ICF blocks, as big as their printer will allow. Not only that, they can 3D print all the curves, corners and other bespoke shapes to their hearts content. Take a home plan, break it down into the most sensible sized 3D printed blocks, print it, finish the blocks where necessary, load it on a semi and send to customer's site. Heck, they could even just send the printer(s) on site, print there and then return the printer! The blocks could be finished out to already contain snap-in/feed through points for rebar, they could even already have snap/lock together points for brick to brick. You could _really_ put together the walls very quickly with zero waste material (or at least MUCH less than normal) and fill with concrete very quickly. No window/door bucks needed, significantly less (to no) bracing needed, the list goes on and on. I think they've seriously missed a trick with this. I'm not spending $200k on a 350sqft studio, but if they could provide ALL the blocks to build an ICF house at a competitive price to normal ICF, perhaps even less with less labor and materials costs/waste, then I'd be down.
I really like your videos. While I know you were trying to be generous to the builder, but 3D printing the entire frame doesn’t constitute a 95% reduction in labor…A 3D printed shell doesn’t reduce the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or finish work for a completed unit. This is much larger than 5% of labor.
Modern investment capital recently is chasing most any next-tesla pipe dreamer. Smooth talkers who demonstrate techie ideas always seem to draw a crowd of investors waving cash. Partly due to generally crappy returns on cash and stupid high P/E's everywhere else.
I feel sad for Millenials/Gen Z who have to pay $300k for a single person pod (i.e. you will own nothing an be happy). As a Gen X kid I was able to attend college for a somewhat reasonable rate and I was able to accumulate a little wealth before the boomers decided to become vampires preying on their grandchildren. I wish I had a solution, and I'm happy that organizations like Mighty Buildings are trying, but I can't see this helping many young people at the current prices.
Missing middle is not about income bracket. It is about but doing scale from a duplex to a small apartment building. The goal about missing middle is to incrementally reconstruct our existing neighborhoods with affordable housing. Adu would be on the fringe of an missing middle spectrum. But I know you know that 😃. I really appeciate you candid fact finding. Thanks for not caving to the pressure of the "brands".
Tesla pursued niche customers before tackling the more difficult problem of mass manufacture, which means that APUs are analogous to the Roadster for Mighty Building. The goal is usually to bring costs down by a significant fraction, if not an order of magnitude. If legislators really wanted to tackle the problem of housing shortages, they would address the problem of 1 out of ever 9 houses being vacant, likely with less absurd homestead exemption thresholds, and disoccupancy fees.
So ... live in what essentially boils down to a hotel suite for the same bottom line price as buying a pre-owned home that has 4 to 6 times the square-footage. I remain skeptical this could draw buyers, but with "investors" buying all those pre-owneds and turning them into rental properties or flipping them for huge markups, I guess in today's market - if you want to own - you have to compromise on multiple fronts.
Their marketing manager needs to go to prison for bait and switch. It seems like they see FDM as a get rich quick scheme. There is no reason they cannot print the frame, counters and partitioned areas in one print. If they aren't using supports then of course their prints without the steel frame would fail. I really would not care about surface finish. You can use UV resin to smooth out the walls. We have people that use tough bed liner spray to fill cracks. The issue with the windows and the low R value could be resolved by high quality european designed windows and films. I want to know what the material cost for just the shell and wiring would be for basic lighting. You should be able to design water channels into the print as well as lay the wiring in sections. The only reason that one building cracked is because of the failure to use supports during printing. They could have made custom removable supports. They aren't even limited to one resin. The price is too damn high and that's the cost of doing business is regulatory heavy California. It sounds like they needed to hire some people that have 3D printing experience and estimation experience rather than just a sales and marketing manager without any technical 3D printing experience.
Land costs not included in prices mentioned. So these costs aren't comparable to homes for sale. Also it would be nice if a comparison (cost, features, sustainability) was made with existing manufactured homes that have "green" claims.
Expensive tiny homes will never take off. Apartments/condos are more economical and profitable for both the developer and the end user. Show me the neighborhoods of tiny homes.. no one is gonna buy this to stick it in the woods, either.
Maybe for California, although I think the problem there is much deeper and totally unrelated to the construction industry. In my area, a builder quality 3 bedroom 1600 sq ft house sells for about $175, 000. That's in a decent subdivision on a quarter acre.
Excellent intro to this type of construction. I believe this may not be for everyone, but it offers some solutions. Will see about the cost in the long run. Too expense for now.
I’m confused, what solutions are you referring to? Did you watch the video? This building is just a really expensive small building built like every other. The printed part is just a architectural non structural piece. Perhaps I missed the solution you are referring to.
I just refereed to this construction method as a solution to resolve some expensive ways to build structures. As of now, it is just too expensive. However, they have to start somewhere has development cost lots of money. Let see if they can make some structural printed section over time. That's all. Cheers
Your videos continue to be some of the best, most thorough, and honestly engaging content on youtube! I can't wait until you reach that 100k subscriber mark. :)
I'm encouraged that your channel is growing so quickly. I'm always happy to see hard work rewarded, but in your case, there is another dimension. You seem to be reaching for a health balance between critique and encouragement. I respect this, but I'm also heartened by the fact that so many people are resonating with it.
Excellent reporting, editing, and information. I felt like I was watching a high-budget mainstream produced documentary on 3D printed ADU's. Great work. I'm subscribing now :)
Nice job asking the difficult question on the overall R value when at the factory. He did a pretty good job answering too. Side note, did they outfit you in pink, or did you?
Mahn... I really do appreciate the objectivity of this channel. A breath of fresh air from the irksome exaggeration I see all around TH-cam. Thank you for your effort.
I enjoy your honest appraisal and your humour too. Thanks for the information, I am planning to build my first home soon and the knowledge you provide is helping the design ideas flow.
really tempted in buying from these guys, but their price is soooo high. So leaning to boxable.... I have a 2000 sqft home, single and live in my bedroom and kitchen....
The honesty is really what made me subscribe. Really refreshing to hear your perception and professional opinion of things. I wanted to be an architect during my youth so I thoroughly enjoyed being reminded of the things that made me interested in the field. Good luck on your way to 100k... it won't be long now! 🙌
Quarter of a million bucks for a box? I mean a box! That's scandalous! So if it's not what it was said to be and they own up to that, which is a good, surely they need to update all those You Tubers who have misquoted or just lied, tell them to take down or change their posts. I would, as it would damage their reputation, then ask those guys round for a tour and get the right message out. Those dudes have a good attitude, but $250K plus? Wow!
I appreciate your approach to topics like this, keep up the informative content that cuts through the noise and hype. I would rather know the truth about both good and bad ideas!
I think she means the uber inflated R&D department for the company is affordable because they charge outrageous prices , 8 plus times per square foot of a regular home, for a traditionally built tiny home 😆
Exactly. - For the size of the "house" - yes tiny - getting the plot of land for free would make it "affordable" - possibly even cheap. then again if we put it in our mum's side yard, at least it gets us (the grown child) out of the basement. lol... The parents yard is basically free (already paid for) land...
This channel is refreshing when looking stuff up for building a place and finding a constant barrage of buzzwords, marketing, SEO, upselling, and prices that don't say dollar signs but instead "CONTACT US". (If the price is "CONTACT US" or "INQUIRY" then it isn't actually for sale, imo. Unless you are purposefully trying to spend more for no reason.) It's nice to see not everyone is infected, just.. most.
Company plans developments deep in the desert featuring pools and lawns. 🤦♂️ WTAF? Let's do _exactly_ what we already know NOT to do... "We're going to put solar on it". Aaaaa, yeah! That's written into the code for new construction in California. You actually _cant_ NOT put solar on it.... I'd be very interested in the carbon cost and petroleum percentage of their chemistry. I understand 20% filler from xyz sources. (They say they're using borax today) But what about the 80% UV curing polymer? I have figures for materials like polymethylmethacrylate. And we can pretty easily figure out how much goes into each building if they disclose to the state the SDS and the weight of material used in each dwelling unit. Triple glazed low-E and rainwater catchment would be fairly easy to implement in their current structure, not costing much more if you have orders to fill and your house factory is working at capacity. (But special orders, rather than inventory would suck) Steel frames and studs are always going to bridge. Who's looking at alternatives with similar structure/moment values? Comparing the printed, curved endshell to SIPs is totally disingenuous.
When I lived in Alaska I built my modified A frame cabin with 5 foot side walls, 16 foot rafters and o.d. of 16x24 and a half loft. With 1 cedar tree and $6000 I had a nice warm cabin for 2. 180,000 is so beyond rediculous as to be a face palm moment. Bringing up "California" as a good standard is laughable. California thinks it's good to kill a mosquito with a canon!
Brutally honest video on Mighty Buildings. It's an interesting concept with a lot of potential, but it's not a fully 3D printed building. Let's keep the media honest.
I really appreciate your brutal honesty and no nonsense objective overview on these future housing pitches we see online frequently. In the future do you plan to post a video on what you see as the ideal concepts using the best, affordable and innovative methods of construction?
Have you ever heard of Boxable? It’s pre-fab home company that is completely manufactured and shipped. Starting price is $50k a unit. I’d love to hear your opinion.
Great video! So glad you saw through the bs
@@salkjshaweoiuenvohvr Working towards it! I'm trying to learn about each method in detail first.
@@jordanvill7361 Yes, I have. I was hoping to visit their factory in Nevada, but they're closed to visitors right now.
The pricing is completely bonkers. I love tiny homes but part of the appeal of tiny homes are the tiny price. $185K for a 350Sqft is not even remotely within reason. $528 a sq foot is insane.
There are probably places where people would consider that reasonable, but I’m living in a 1800 sq foot house with a huge garage on a full acre that cost less than that…
It doesn't make sense anywhere! If land is cheap, you can build more for less! If land is expensive, you can buy the same for cheaper!
Even in the highly overpriced market I'm in now, you could buy a large, stationary house for that. The tiny house (mobile homes) fad is mostly for wealthy, virtue-signaling young adults.
@@timgleason2527 new York city would find that reasonable. Right in the middle of wall street. Otherwise it's wasteful. Smallest unit is 600 per sqft
loool "the tesla of housing"
I love this channel she really hits hard on over hyped things in Architecture and gives a grounded yet optimistic view
This is essentially a luxury single-wide manufactured home.
In fact it would surprise me if established manufactured home builders didn't begin cranking out ADU's. Many factory home builders are well capitalized with full infrastructure, and quite nimble.
A single wide is at least more mobile. Hell, I believe even a luxury RV would have a better fit and finish (at a lower cost).
I could see using LSM as an exterior on traditional housing, but then you are competing against every other building material.
There is nothing else brought to the table here. Sure, it looks good, but that much glass must make it horrendous to live in (or have horrendous heating and cooling bills- how is that sustainable?).
It's a fashion statement!
Just like owning a Birken bag or a Frenchie.
Single-wides are ubiquitous because having axles under them makes them not accountable to the same standards and codes as a _permenant_ structure.
_This_ is not that.... It's a modular home that is *entirely* contained in one module.
.... For Tesla owners
Yes
Belinda "Trash the Hype" Carr is in the HOUSEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Everyone boast the R value of their product until you talk to them about windows.
"well the windows that cover 99% of the house are R2 but this one specific block here has an r value of one million... Or something"
Or how tight their building is... as long as you never open a door or window.
The outside... eeewwwww
That one tiny piece of neutronium which has an R value of over 2 trillion (until it goes through explosive decay I guess).
I’m glad you got a shot of the giant crack in the wall. Every time I see 3D printed homes, my first thought is “where are the expansion joints?”, especially with the concrete ones
Yup! Science is always going to get in the way of aesthetics. (just like those flat solar panels on their roof that won't be as efficient as angled ones).
The fact that none of the founders have a construction background pretty much says it all. I think the main goal of these guys was to be the Elon Musk of housing, which is overhyped and overmarketed. Now the realities are coming into play and they have pretty much gone back to the starting block and had to rethink and redirect this project. They probably would like to ditch this but have sunk too much capital in it. All hat, no cattle.
DING DING DING! We have a winner!
I think it is that business plan that is shaped like a pyramid.
"All hat, no cattle" I'd imagine you didn't coin that euphemism, but I damn sure am going to steal it!
The way a lot of "technical" folks speak really grates my nerves. The upspeak, the answering your questions beginning with "Yeah, so...." and so on. It's becoming more and more prevalent and my old English teacher is spinning in her grave.
Anytime a person speaks quickly, believe he/she is hiding something. I worked on Wall Street for many years and the biggest scamsters were fast talkers...
Agree. (Belinda doesn't do this!)
They also use the universal millenial conversation filler - "Sooo, yeah."
"none of us are from a construction background" no wonder the little buildings are so moronically built and relies so hard on the 3d print marketing
Very observant.
Hi Belinda. $250k here in Michigan still buys a 1700 sq ft house on 3 acres.
They've essentially developed printing technology to manufacture a slightly novel, durable 'plastic', non-structural panel. The home price point is ridiculously expensive, carbon zero or not. Of course this project could kick-start an industry resulting in more competition and lower prices. Probably their most important contribution is attempting to standardize ADU regulations.
When you consider the carbon footprint of transporting the machines, the houses, the supplies, etc. Probably not carbon-neutral. That's my guess.
The concept of “3D printed houses” is mostly a solution looking for a problem. It essentially is a “trendy” way to try and reinvent framing for a house that requires machines that weren’t necessary before. I’m willing to bet MORE material is being used than traditional framing too. In this videthey used steel framing for structure underneath which basically means the 3D printed goop is for decoration?… They should’ve stopped after the steel. These little companies have nothing to offer when you realize they’re little more than a silly, gimmicky, overdone way of building walls.
100% agree. It’s very similar to the “sustainable” and “green” trend in the building industry.
@@ramzy1285 Interesting, please explain more your point about the trend of sustainable houses
@@jacky9575 Don't know about the guy above but my main issue with that labeling is the fact it's used more on new methods/products then anything else and bring the issue of their upfront environmental footbrint and when they are demolished and simply tossed because it is greatly cheaper making fresh instead of recycling.
@@jacky9575 LEED and other "sustainable" credits give value to absurd things like bamboo cabinetry (assembled with toxic glue and slave wage labor in Southeast Asian and shipped across the planet)
Credit for BS mechanicals tied to IOT that are completely fubared if a control board fails or your internet goes down.
Credit for recycled aggregate when we should be looking for an alternative to conventional cement rather than using _more_ of it.
Ad infinitum....
It's 98% greenwashing in it's most insidious form. Virtue signaling.
Wow, all these comments make sense. Interesting that Silicon Valley VCs, who dumped millions in this, could not see through the glimmer of 3D printing - to see what is really there.
Take out here, 3d printing is a tool, a wonderful one albeit, truth is complimenting it with conventional building will open lots of opportunities for growth and innovation, it's not the "golden goose 🦆" of the building industry, but it could definitely be a useful component.
In this scenario, it's not even 3d printing a building in any way. It's 3d printing an accessory for your home.
You have really exposed the devil laying in the details. Your channel is an excellent source of engineering details needed to bring the ideas into reality.
The "solar roadway" of housing. That politician made me physically face-palm.
Thunderf00t fan?
@@spicemasterii6775 Not particularly. It's a personal issue on my part. I find him to be smug but that is no reflection of his knowledge. He is intelligent, but his delivery doesn't hold me. I saw this from Dave at EEV Blog of which I am also not a fan.
@@spicemasterii6775 You don't have to be a fan of Thunderf00t to recognize that solar roadways was a terrible and stupid idea. I've seen plenty of takedowns of solar roadways that never even mention Thunderf00t - a lot of them have probably never even heard of the dude bro (and he is a dude bro).
What annoys me is how removing labour from the equation is somehow considered a virtue. Work is dignity. That and the removal of personal agency. You can build your own home, do it from basic, non petroleum based materials like hempcrete, cob, adobe, rammed earth, timber, stone, but the industry is too over regulated and biased against the owner builder. Excellent content as always Belinda.
I feel like "missing middle" is increasingly just a NUMTOT friendly buzzword for the kinds of upper class housing that companies were already doing. I just fail to see how plastic and glass houses with pools in the desert is going to sustainable or improve the housing situation in California in any way.
Why would it need to improve anything besides the profit. Get real.
Maybe the innovation and ideals make a change, but it more than likely isn't their intention.
If xou cant afford to live in California, then move away. Nobody cares.
Didnt want to sound like a capitalist smartass, but that's how the economy works. Pay or gtfo.
@@privileguan9127 Poor people don't really move though. If the poor people of California left then there wouldn't be a problem. It's not the lower class that's leaving California. It's the upper middle class.
For 1 its and advancement of technology
For example back in 2018 or so the "liberator" was test which is an all 3d printed 357 handgun (im not sure if its 357 sig or 357 magnum) the printer used at the time ran around 10 k a comparable printer now would be about 300-500
So cresting and advancing new technology to give a superior means of manufacturing
2 quickly creating homes at a potentially low cost means more and and better housing as she said it is all around better than concrete
Lastly "plastic" incase you're unfamiliar alot of things are made from "plastic" you can with a 500 to 800 usd printer without modifications print with the same material polymer handgun frames are made out of (glass reinforced nylon) and harder materials such as carbon fiber reinforced nylon aswell as certain types having better thermal properties than something such as steel in way of a 3d supressor
Dont underestimate a technology you dont understand i made the same mistake then I took the time to learn about it and honestly I expect 3d printing to replace most forms of fabrication and manufacturing in a few decades especially after seeing this its further along than I had figured
@@royrogers3624
1. .380 not .357
2. the sorts of printers were 200usd in 2018, not 10k
3. this is a completely different technology
you clearly have no idea what you're talking about, genuinely baffling reply
@@Alex-nl5cy What did you mean by plastic tho? I was a bit confused on that myself.
The only part of this company that I think has real potential is the light stone material as a replacement for concrete in certain applications.
And maybe their use of 3D printing.
Other than that, their pricing and perhaps quality control leaves a lot to be desired.
Steel moment frames alone cost a lot more than stick-framed walls (and are far less energy efficient), and then you have to then print a wall in that plane, and then then you have to cover that wall with gyp board, because it is printed out of flammable material - which does not meet US building codes or California wildfire code. This is a perfect example for your last video - about 3D-printed buildings being a gimmick.
So it's super expensive trailer. Those prices are bonkers then I realized oh wait..California company schmoozing California politicians...makes sense. I love this channel, great job!
You mean they can't 3D print refrigerators and HVAC?! I guess traditional glass is kinda 3D printed if you think about it lol. Just not automated.
76.9k soon to be 100,000. You deserve it!
Thank you!
There are *three, big, red flags* for me regarding this company and their product.
1. *The pricing is very high.* In Texas, I can get so much more of a quality home including larger size with the prices they're quoting. Maybe in California this is a good thing, but if they plan on expanding into other states, they're going to have to figure out a way to lower costs.
2. *Regulations, regulations, regulations.* A company that goes out of its way to ask the government to regulate businesses is _not_ a friend to businesses. By artificially increasing regulations, they're trying to make sure _other businesses,_ especially _smaller businesses_ don't compete with them. If they think their standards are high, then they should just use their standards; they don't need the government to regulate all businesses to what they're doing.
3. *The Oakland mayor was involved.* Whether through kickbacks, donations, bribes, or what have you, the Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf should _not_ be around and involved. Politicians tell people what politicians believe the people _want_ to hear and can make utopian promises, but when their promises don't work out, the politicians aren't responsible for any repercussions of what they were involved in.
I did a basic search and the first thing that came up for her was _"Oakland Mayor Schaaf says she believes A's want to stay in Oakland despite team's objections to city vote."_ www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/Oakland-Mayor-Schaaf-A-s-want-to-stay-in-16329705.php She's promising the team that taxpayers' money will cover *$352 million* in expenses for a baseball team to stay and get a new stadium. John Stossel and others have done great research in exposing that taxpayer money is never made back when it's used to assist in building stadiums, regardless of sports.
Belinda, thank you for this video. I love when you get to explore work sites and give us the good information. I'd never heard of this company and will probably never use their product, but the knowledge you gave me has already made me smarter. :)
Have they tested these dwellings in areas that tend to get natural disasters like tornados or hurricanes. The unknowns….are the insurance companies willing to insure them?
I know this wasn't the main point of the video, but the concept that 3-D printing, or any technology, is the key to solving homelessness really bugs me. Any kind of construction (or re allocation) will do. Helping our neighbors live indoors is not a technological problem!
There are so many jokes I can make about these being the "Tesla of construction." Not the least of which is the fact that if a kid hit's your house with a ball, your house bursts in to flames. I wonder if they're installing a self-cleaning feature in this model. It would be cool to move your house with a phone app though.
Self-driving tiny houses ftw 😄
Ah, the good 'ol "disrupt" phraseology, as if it can only be used in a positive connotation, such as in obliterating stodgy old entrenched methods and replacing them with superior developments. They fail to acknowledge that disruption can cause setbacks and deleterious knock-on effects, such as negative public perception that persists long after the problems are fixed.
All that printing just to make a EXPENSIVE tiny home why even bother w the tech lol
Thanks for a great video! It’s great to hear the truths of what is actually going on instead of just hearing a headline and then never hearing about it again. Thank you for not overly editing your conversation with the rep. I can honestly say that your videos have changed my perspective on building materials and processes.
Most "technology" reporters are incompetent at everything save for writing click-bait.
This is just an expensive trailer home. Same with these tiny houses, it looks more HQ but it's essentially still just a trailer park in the end just with more rich people or with hippies this time
I built my tiny home using split wall technique will aircrete as insulation.
It is 528sf with a half loft and a 6'x14' porch, lots of windows just not as open as these homes.
My cost for the finished shell ( with half log ext.) Was $11,580.
Very warm and cozy on Montana winter nights.
There are way too many greedy people taking advantage of the poor and needy.
This sounds so expensive and we haven't gotten to the actual price yet. Ah. $185k... Most full size houses in my neighborhood are cheaper (until the landlords start bidding you up ofc) - and that includes a yard and driveway. Downsizing is nice and all, but the point of downsizing is supposed to also reduce the price. If you're still paying a full price for a tiny portion of the space, you're not saving any money.
Edit: Wait, they're targeting firefighters, school teachers, etc as their customers? I get that housing is ridiculously expensive in CA, but this just seems... How much do they think these ppl get paid?! Most firefighters are volunteers! They don't get paid anything!
"the whole realm of 3d printing is filled with hyperbole and misinformation" NOOO! !!!! I was so excited from the introduction😭
This was a super insightful video! As always Belinda's reporting feels non biased and gets to the point.
One small thing I caught which was strange. When she's talking about building the Coachella houses, she says they use flexible solar on the roof. Why in the world would they do that when they are building perfectly flat roofs that seem taylor made for traditional modules?
Exactly. Hence why I threw the "apparently" in that sentence. I asked them why they would choose flat panels instead of optimally angled ones. The answer: "it will be a new type of solar panel that captures sunlight throughout the day, so it averages out to the same as an angled panel. It also won't puncture the roof."
As an architect, I have a hunch that designer didn't want the panels to be visible from the ground in the rendering. Aesthetics over function.
Oh, those silly little thing called physics.
Positioning the building where the widows face south (north in the southern hemisphere) would require a overhanging roof that blocks the sun in the summer.
@@BelindaCarr The good reason I think to have horizontal panels is the now low cost of the panels versus the tilt framing (which would need to be optimised for each site). Whilst there are more panels required to cover the area horizontally, they still capture about the same about of energy, just at a lower power versus area.
A problem with horizontal is that they won't self clean, though it could be they end up having a small pitch and a couple of variations to optimise for orientation.
I wonder if the use of flexible panels is that they considering having have a sight hump or crown in the roof for drainage and cleaning.
@@BelindaCarr Are you AIA?
If Mighty Homes truly understand sustainability they should not be participating in a scheme that contributes to suburban sprawl.
Sprawl is fine when coupled with uncommonly thoughtful zoning protocols, and requirements upon developers to make accommodation for sustainable, walkable communities. Urban zones are much easier to get wrong than rural ones, leading to bad outcomes for residents and ecosystems.
There are many reasons people move out of urban areas when they can afford to live elsewhere. Make cities more attractive to families, and people will go there. But many will never willingly move to big cities, so you have to find a way to make suburbs "sustainable."
After the events of the summer of 2020, authoritarian government is the only way to get many people into cities.
@@freethebirds3578 "After the events of the summer of 2020, authoritarian government is the only way to get many people into cities."
And people left for the same reason, driving up housing prices across the nation. I've run into all sorts of younger people that left New York, Newark, Philadelphia...for rural Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina and previously contracting Northeast Tennessee.
With the middle class having fled cities in such large numbers, one would think that they left an urban real estate collapse in their wake. They certainly jacked up most of the $125k houses to $200k in less than a year.
The sellers think they made out like bandits.....until they go looking for another home.
@@wisenber People leave cities because they don't want to live in crowded conditions where they cannot be guaranteed to be safe. You make it sound like you think the effects on the housing market were intentional.
@@freethebirds3578 If that's your take, you should reread my comment.
The design gives off what I’d call a “Retro-modern” aesthetic. Feels like something that would sit next to Monsanto’s old “house of the future”
Yea, it’s known as “retro-futurism”. It has a very space-ageish appeal
@@atlf3357 I’m not sure if “futurism” is the best word in this case. It feels more in-line with earlier “modern” architecture.
How much of their operational costs are covered by state and federal handouts?
It’s probably the opposite of a subsidy. Permits are so expensive in California. There’s usually square footage minimums that these home do not meet.
They hate building new housing units in California that’s partly why they have so many homeless.
A lot. You don't make something so useless as this unless you are getting your real money elsewhere.
If the business was honest, they should have cut the news/media/politicians short and should have posted their own video on various platforms showing how wrong and misinformed they are and set the record straight. Instead they kept quiet and enjoyed the limelight. Tells a lot about about their integrity and honesty.
One minute into the video and the estimated costs pop up and that’s where we see that this is yet another proof of concept, a product for yuppies with a bunch of money to be dumped in a “feel-good” build. Are those people out of their f$&”g minds ?!
Why not 3D printed modular panels instead of trying to build whole structure?
Because it would be cheaper if you do penalized stick build
In the future, you will live in a box, you will own nothing, and you will be happy (or else).
So UV curing resins come in many recipes, but currently they all derive from petrochemical supply chains. Biologically sourced polyesters, epoxides and acrylates are all possible, but the only route we have right now is to grow oil crops and press the seeds.
So it becomes a choice between further supporting the petrochemical industry by buying a house’s weight in their products, or further subsidizing oil crops which under current farming practice creates soil carbon loss, fertilizer run off and just general poor land use decisions.
Mass timber construction, for all its problems, is simply a more direct utilization of solar-to-biomass energy. The energy a plant invests in creating oils uses up more of its photosynthetic potential than does the creation of lignocellulose.
@Theballonist perzactly. I’ve been looking at industrial hemp derived products lately and see enormous potential there.
I had very similar points in my reply.
Growing up my father was director of engineering for a few plastic/chemical corporations.
I know just how petroleum intensive monomers and resins are.
I'm not big on mass timber. Not nearly using wood for its great qualities, and losing on its mediocre R-value.
Though I DO appreciate 'nature's primary fiber reinforced composite' for everything it IS.
It reminds me of a container homes.
$250k they're mad
So it a poor cladding company basically.
They'd be better off making custom smaller insulation bats / cladding components with the technology
But cladding that does not meet CA fire code.
Belinda, thank you for always being transparent with what you share; this means people are properly informed :-)
How do you know a politician's lying? they're mouths are open.
Wow, so many engineer's who never built a real house trying to change the game. Sorry kids. The only thing you'll be building is the new housing projects for the hood.
At 10 times the price of conventional construction paid for by the unwilling taxpayers who don't even know they are getting conned.
There is so much intelligence and well thought out content here! Been following since I realized the typical architecture path wasnt right and found your video talking about it. Its great to learn what else is going on in this industry, its easy to get burnt on it amd want to ignore it. Thank you for your videos!
Their "LSM" is really interesting, it would be cool to learn more about its properties like in your previous videos on different types of insulation. Also, thanks for the no-frills assessment of this startup. The business model and state of their technology really make it easier to understand where 3d building construction stands today and might go tomorrow. I wish more journalists would do this instead of "regurgitating" misinformation and talking points (when you said that, it cracked me up).
I grilled them about LSM, but they couldn't reveal the details since it's proprietary. I would love to know exactly how it cures and what it's made of.
@@BelindaCarr They are probably using a Dupont 405nm UV based corian quartz resin that you could probably order from the chemical plants in Texas. I did research into purchasing plastics and custom resins in 2017-2018. In the US we actually ship plastics to China just to have them shipped back to us at a markup.
They didn't 3d print the pipes, valves, toilet, sink , shower enclosure, light fixtures, wiring, switches, outlets, vanity, doors, trim, flooring, windows, paint, kitchen countertop, cabinets, HVAC, foundation........
What is its rating for earthquake and wind loads?
'Affordable housing' is a concept that requires clarification. In the first place we need to define the term 'affordable'. Traditionally mortgage lenders stated that a homeowner's principle + interest payment should not exceed 25% of averaged monthly household pre-tax income (AKA gross income). Although ratios like this might appear cookie cutter in principle, it seems like a good starting point. Lifetime maintenance and 'operational' cost of any structure cannot be ignored as part of the affordability metric; these include prop taxes, repairs/improvements, roofing/siding, energy cost and insurance. Houses generally are not a great investment play. Over the long term residential value appreciation is about equal to inflation, and that's before the above mentioned list of annual/maintenance cost, and does not include seller's +-10% cost when the home is eventually sold.
Belinda mentions that housing minimalism is a smart concept, I totally agree. Thinking smaller and energy efficient is smart.
By the way he speaks, something tells me Mr. Ruben went to Law School, first and foremost....
No real "printing" here, and no real innovation. They're just trying to make cheap, over-priced tract housing that they can pass off as being "new", all while gaming the bureaucracy for grants, loans, and favorable legislation for the company itself. aka "Development: 101".
The only company I've found that seems to actually be 3-D PRINTING actual houses is ICON out of Austin(?) , Texas. I've even tried contacting them, but their website isn't very user friendly and I don't think they're interested in doing small, one-off jobs so much as large, multi-million dollar developments. Therein lies the rub, none of these companies actually want to work with individuals on a case-by-case basis. They want cozy deals with local governments that make the massive profits without really addressing many of the issues they claim to care about. There's simply not enough money in helping the "little guy", when you can become a "big guy" over night.
If any of these companies were serious they'd have 4-6 basic layouts in stock that anyone could choose from and could be printed on a slab in a couple days and enclosed in 1-2 more. All the finish work and systems work could be done later, if need be. There's no need for all of this up-selling of interiors and appliances and BS. Print the structure and leave. It's not that hard.
I'd buy 10 right now, but I haven't found a company that's actually serious and can back up their claims with anything other than marketing and "projections".
When did we forget how to innovate? None of this tech is actually very difficult anymore. Yet, no one can seem to make it work. It's almost as if no one is trying...
Why aren't they doing triple paned, gas filled windows? Noise reduction, another ADU box checked, makes home MUCH more energy efficient!
I think they're going about this the wrong way, instead of what they're doing now, I think they should use their proprietary material to 3D print ICF blocks. They can even be much longer/larger than normal ICF blocks, as big as their printer will allow.
Not only that, they can 3D print all the curves, corners and other bespoke shapes to their hearts content. Take a home plan, break it down into the most sensible sized 3D printed blocks, print it, finish the blocks where necessary, load it on a semi and send to customer's site. Heck, they could even just send the printer(s) on site, print there and then return the printer!
The blocks could be finished out to already contain snap-in/feed through points for rebar, they could even already have snap/lock together points for brick to brick. You could _really_ put together the walls very quickly with zero waste material (or at least MUCH less than normal) and fill with concrete very quickly. No window/door bucks needed, significantly less (to no) bracing needed, the list goes on and on.
I think they've seriously missed a trick with this. I'm not spending $200k on a 350sqft studio, but if they could provide ALL the blocks to build an ICF house at a competitive price to normal ICF, perhaps even less with less labor and materials costs/waste, then I'd be down.
I really like your videos. While I know you were trying to be generous to the builder, but 3D printing the entire frame doesn’t constitute a 95% reduction in labor…A 3D printed shell doesn’t reduce the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or finish work for a completed unit. This is much larger than 5% of labor.
Modern investment capital recently is chasing most any next-tesla pipe dreamer. Smooth talkers who demonstrate techie ideas always seem to draw a crowd of investors waving cash. Partly due to generally crappy returns on cash and stupid high P/E's everywhere else.
I feel sad for Millenials/Gen Z who have to pay $300k for a single person pod (i.e. you will own nothing an be happy). As a Gen X kid I was able to attend college for a somewhat reasonable rate and I was able to accumulate a little wealth before the boomers decided to become vampires preying on their grandchildren. I wish I had a solution, and I'm happy that organizations like Mighty Buildings are trying, but I can't see this helping many young people at the current prices.
Missing middle is not about income bracket. It is about but doing scale from a duplex to a small apartment building. The goal about missing middle is to incrementally reconstruct our existing neighborhoods with affordable housing. Adu would be on the fringe of an missing middle spectrum. But I know you know that 😃. I really appeciate you candid fact finding. Thanks for not caving to the pressure of the "brands".
Tesla pursued niche customers before tackling the more difficult problem of mass manufacture, which means that APUs are analogous to the Roadster for Mighty Building. The goal is usually to bring costs down by a significant fraction, if not an order of magnitude.
If legislators really wanted to tackle the problem of housing shortages, they would address the problem of 1 out of ever 9 houses being vacant, likely with less absurd homestead exemption thresholds, and disoccupancy fees.
... get ready for the government massive subsidies for this new 'affordable' housing ...
So ... live in what essentially boils down to a hotel suite for the same bottom line price as buying a pre-owned home that has 4 to 6 times the square-footage. I remain skeptical this could draw buyers, but with "investors" buying all those pre-owneds and turning them into rental properties or flipping them for huge markups, I guess in today's market - if you want to own - you have to compromise on multiple fronts.
That example in the background has so much glass! Oh my gosh I feel like we need to go back to older style building with more narrow windows.
Their marketing manager needs to go to prison for bait and switch. It seems like they see FDM as a get rich quick scheme. There is no reason they cannot print the frame, counters and partitioned areas in one print. If they aren't using supports then of course their prints without the steel frame would fail. I really would not care about surface finish. You can use UV resin to smooth out the walls. We have people that use tough bed liner spray to fill cracks. The issue with the windows and the low R value could be resolved by high quality european designed windows and films. I want to know what the material cost for just the shell and wiring would be for basic lighting. You should be able to design water channels into the print as well as lay the wiring in sections. The only reason that one building cracked is because of the failure to use supports during printing. They could have made custom removable supports. They aren't even limited to one resin. The price is too damn high and that's the cost of doing business is regulatory heavy California. It sounds like they needed to hire some people that have 3D printing experience and estimation experience rather than just a sales and marketing manager without any technical 3D printing experience.
Land costs not included in prices mentioned. So these costs aren't comparable to homes for sale. Also it would be nice if a comparison (cost, features, sustainability) was made with existing manufactured homes that have "green" claims.
The embodied carbon on these things must be terrible. Only 10% of the 3d printed stuff can be recycled. How was this sustainable again?
Expensive tiny homes will never take off. Apartments/condos are more economical and profitable for both the developer and the end user.
Show me the neighborhoods of tiny homes.. no one is gonna buy this to stick it in the woods, either.
Is there any window glass technology with higher R value? Triple glazing maybe?
Small size and high price, without foundation included. What went wrong? I will build traditional house instead.
Maybe for California, although I think the problem there is much deeper and totally unrelated to the construction industry.
In my area, a builder quality 3 bedroom 1600 sq ft house sells for about $175, 000. That's in a decent subdivision on a quarter acre.
Just buy a large van and convert it. You can drive it and have similar luxuries for much cheaper.
😘 omg I have been searching for content like this in yt. Found your content finally.
Excellent intro to this type of construction. I believe this may not be for everyone, but it offers some solutions. Will see about the cost in the long run. Too expense for now.
I’m confused, what solutions are you referring to? Did you watch the video? This building is just a really expensive small building built like every other. The printed part is just a architectural non structural piece. Perhaps I missed the solution you are referring to.
I just refereed to this construction method as a solution to resolve some expensive ways to build structures. As of now, it is just too expensive. However, they have to start somewhere has development cost lots of money. Let see if they can make some structural printed section over time. That's all.
Cheers
Holy cow. 20k for foundations... what is it gold laced concrete ?
Your videos continue to be some of the best, most thorough, and honestly engaging content on youtube! I can't wait until you reach that 100k subscriber mark. :)
I think you missed the land cost in pricing, and that's is quite expensive in CA
This is a container that cost 10X.
Look at the short lived early 1950s Lustron homes. About 900-1200 sq feet. Ahead of their time.
Look at Levittown.....
i should 3d print a car door handle and sell the car as a 3d printed car. i hate liars
"We don't have enough ppl to build" Um, that doesn't sound right...
I'm encouraged that your channel is growing so quickly. I'm always happy to see hard work rewarded, but in your case, there is another dimension. You seem to be reaching for a health balance between critique and encouragement. I respect this, but I'm also heartened by the fact that so many people are resonating with it.
The name of Tesla, is being massacred by rich deuce bags
So grateful for your videos! They’re the only thing on TH-cam that has a discerning look at hyper-inflated fads in building.
Excellent reporting, editing, and information. I felt like I was watching a high-budget mainstream produced documentary on 3D printed ADU's. Great work. I'm subscribing now :)
Nice job asking the difficult question on the overall R value when at the factory. He did a pretty good job answering too. Side note, did they outfit you in pink, or did you?
We have those in Canada. They're called sheds.
Great job, girl! Your family, kids, must be so proud. You're killing it!
Mahn... I really do appreciate the objectivity of this channel. A breath of fresh air from the irksome exaggeration I see all around TH-cam. Thank you for your effort.
Holy crap. Thanks for the truth
I enjoy your honest appraisal and your humour too. Thanks for the information, I am planning to build my first home soon and the knowledge you provide is helping the design ideas flow.
really tempted in buying from these guys, but their price is soooo high. So leaning to boxable.... I have a 2000 sqft home, single and live in my bedroom and kitchen....
The honesty is really what made me subscribe. Really refreshing to hear your perception and professional opinion of things. I wanted to be an architect during my youth so I thoroughly enjoyed being reminded of the things that made me interested in the field. Good luck on your way to 100k... it won't be long now! 🙌
Quarter of a million bucks for a box? I mean a box! That's scandalous! So if it's not what it was said to be and they own up to that, which is a good, surely they need to update all those You Tubers who have misquoted or just lied, tell them to take down or change their posts. I would, as it would damage their reputation, then ask those guys round for a tour and get the right message out. Those dudes have a good attitude, but $250K plus? Wow!
I appreciate your approach to topics like this, keep up the informative content that cuts through the noise and hype. I would rather know the truth about both good and bad ideas!
You used the word "affordable" in there somewhere so I continued to watch. Still trying to figure out how that is affordable.
I think she means the uber inflated R&D department for the company is affordable because they charge outrageous prices , 8 plus times per square foot of a regular home, for a traditionally built tiny home 😆
I was just stating what's on the home page of their website. I guess $600 per sqft is affordable for California?
Exactly. - For the size of the "house" - yes tiny - getting the plot of land for free would make it "affordable" - possibly even cheap. then again if we put it in our mum's side yard, at least it gets us (the grown child) out of the basement. lol... The parents yard is basically free (already paid for) land...
This channel is refreshing when looking stuff up for building a place and finding a constant barrage of buzzwords, marketing, SEO, upselling, and prices that don't say dollar signs but instead "CONTACT US". (If the price is "CONTACT US" or "INQUIRY" then it isn't actually for sale, imo. Unless you are purposefully trying to spend more for no reason.) It's nice to see not everyone is infected, just.. most.
Company plans developments deep in the desert featuring pools and lawns. 🤦♂️
WTAF? Let's do _exactly_ what we already know NOT to do...
"We're going to put solar on it". Aaaaa, yeah! That's written into the code for new construction in California.
You actually _cant_ NOT put solar on it....
I'd be very interested in the carbon cost and petroleum percentage of their chemistry.
I understand 20% filler from xyz sources. (They say they're using borax today)
But what about the 80% UV curing polymer? I have figures for materials like polymethylmethacrylate.
And we can pretty easily figure out how much goes into each building if they disclose to the state the SDS and the weight of material used in each dwelling unit.
Triple glazed low-E and rainwater catchment would be fairly easy to implement in their current structure, not costing much more if you have orders to fill and your house factory is working at capacity. (But special orders, rather than inventory would suck)
Steel frames and studs are always going to bridge. Who's looking at alternatives with similar structure/moment values?
Comparing the printed, curved endshell to SIPs is totally disingenuous.
WTH?????
Upwards of 180000???
You can get tiny modular homes for a lot less.
When I lived in Alaska I built my modified A frame cabin with 5 foot side walls, 16 foot rafters and o.d. of 16x24 and a half loft.
With 1 cedar tree and $6000 I had a nice warm cabin for 2.
180,000 is so beyond rediculous as to be a face palm moment.
Bringing up "California" as a good standard is laughable.
California thinks it's good to kill a mosquito with a canon!