From some of the stories I have seen on Weather channel, they did a bunch of research on houses and the theories that open windows equalize pressure and that did not pan out, it almost guarranteed total destruction. Just from the high winds in the instants during the passing, and the wind driven debris damage, I would say you really need something armored to survive a direct hit. But there was a video of a round concrete dome home, in a development that did take a direct hit a years or 2 ago, and it was intact, while only kindling surrounded it.

Here is some stuff I found looking for the article:

http://www.monolithic.org/homes/featu...

http://disastersafehomes.com/lessons....

Most tornado damage can be reduced or eliminated with the use of hurricane straps on the house frame, and steel shutters, but I rarely see builders offering those features. When we were planning on moving out here, my wife did consider an underground home, but it was too small. We installed a tornado shelter, but we seem to be in a low risk area, and have only even gone into the shelter once, briefly, in the eight years we've had it.

Nice idea, set up the big ol 3d printer and just make it and keep crawling, except they would just drive Mad Max looking trucks into it and knock holes in it.

So, does this mean "they" can print a border wall cheaply?

Read it, Dino. It'll be worth your time.

Ecccch, ugh, blech, and similar words of disgust. I made the mistake of reading this before breakfast.
Hasten, Jason, fetch the basin.

I would have to add that the texture is most likely part of their R&D process. The concrete flows out under extruded pressure and therefore may seek pressure equilibrium as it lays, thus arriving at the shape.

If they're interested in smoothing it over, they'll figure it out. Perhaps some sort of shaping components immediately after the extrusion head.

I have a feeling they may have gone down that path and found two major advantages to that textured approach:
1) Less cost to build the house: Just a spray head and no complicated shaping equipment to maintain.
2) The acoustics inside such a house would have more echo if everything were smooth. With the present log-like appearance, the interior is probably quieter with less echo.

I like the idea. My biggest concern would lie in the necessity for a perfectly stable exterior to support the 3D printer hardware. 24 hours to build the house is fantastic, but what would happen if the ground were soft (squishy) or unstable (sandy soil)?

I have a feeling they're well on their way to settling those matters too.

Indeed, so.

It is desert. 3 mo of cold, 6 mo of nice dry weather, 3 mo of HOT. not many non governmental snakes, but lots of scorpions

And they never revealed Help was there BEFORE the hurricane hit!!!

Our rich masters from both parties after they unite and call themselves the One World party....

I don't know, but I will see if there is a better article somewhere's...

My father built his last house in Biloxi MS, in 2008 or so, and it stood up to Katrina with no problems, and was really nice inside. Internal ducting designed into the overall wall/ceiling design and it all bolted together. Pricey though....

One thing I have never understood is the design of houses in the midwest. The dome home design seems tailor made for barns and houses, with steel shutters for entrances and windows, and let the tornado skip over it. I told my wife that was what I would build, but she says nope, west of the Cascades is it.

Personally, I like this idea, for a quick and easy way to provide shelter in emergencies and for poor areas, but I also like what has happened with Quonset huts, there are some spectacular houses I have seen for less than 30K put up weather tight, and you finish.

It was amazing how Lamestream kept honking about the evil trump killing all those poor colonials on PR, until that happened, then it all went dark.

I wouldn't build in Las Vegas, because it is Las Vegas....Just sayin, desert, snakes and heat....

Exactly....

Yes how many Puerto Ricans died because power was not restored for months. Maybe the socialist democrat leaders on the Island will be voted out. If not . it's hard to have a lot of sympathy.

Scale would be limited by the size or flexibility of the 3D printer.. not so much a limitation of the material.

We saw that theft and government corruption in Puerto Rico, the government took everything we sent to fix the electrical infrastructure and warehoused it.
Trump admin caught wind of it and sent in troops to break in the warehouse and give the supplies to the contractors and "Wala!" 80% of the island had electricity in days...

Not word one in the lamestream...

How in the h* can that be?! What do they do?
Pour some cement in a mixture,push a button , and
have a machine press the wet cement in between
boards to make walls, and a floor? (Don't try to tell me that a cement roof could be made that way, even if it were part of the house, it would have to be made separately.

I suppose its pretty much dependent on what you want in a house. Security, low cost, durability, etc. I currently live in a poured concrete house, with internal metal beamed walls with insulation. I doubt it was cheaper. It stays warm by itself for about 3 days when winter temps kick in, and stays cool for about 3 days when summer heat kicks in. Building codes dont like poured concrete in Las Vegas, except for very stringent commercial structures. For what its worth, I would never build another house in Las Vegas because of the codes.

Would certainly drop the cost of the "New York City" homeless bathrooms from several million each.. to... oh.. maybe $300k?

normally, I would agree.. but for the NGO's trying to do this in the third world, getting the building materials, nuts, bolts, hardware, etc.. onto the site is almost impossible with the local theft, the government corruption, etc..

Odds are, they can probably shrink the machine down to something that would fit in the back of a truck, just drive it off the dock to the site, hook it up to a cement bag and start pumping. The goal is to probably take out the middle man.

The $10,000 obviously isn't for the materials, it's probably estimated wear and tear, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on the equipment per-use (which probably costs in the millions).