MUSCATINE, Iowa — Muscatine has torn down the 3D-printed home it began building this past May. According to the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, the concrete formula that met the necessary requirements in lab testing did not meet the same requirements while on sight.
"We needed to meet 5000 psi (pounds per square inch) in each of those tests. We didn't get to that in most of the tests, to be honest," Housing Initiative Manager Ron Monahan said.
Although the first attempt didn't work out, construction has begun on a second 3D-printed home being built with a different concrete formula. So far, that formula is meeting the 5,000 psi threshold.
When complete, the 10 homes will cost roughly $300,000 each to purchase, which matches similar non 3D-printed homes in the area. The hope is to get the price down once the 3D building process becomes for efficient.
"The project itself was put together not because we wanted to build 3D homes, but because 3D homes was the solution to a housing problem we have in our community," Monahan said.
Construction on the second home will resume in the spring, with the plan to rebuild the torn-down home after the second one is complete. The Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine says sub-contractor Alquist 3D will absorb the cost of the rebuild and it will not be reflected in the future listing price of the home.
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