Tiny houses are revolutionizing the world of real estate. These structures, usually 500 square feet or less, are turning homebuyers into home builders and unburdening many a homeowner of their crippling mortgages. One company is taking the DIY tiny house to the next level with its line of 3D-printed homes.
According to Mariella Moon for Engadget: "San Francisco-based startup Apis Cor built a whole house in a Russian town within 24 hours. It didn't repair an existing home or use prefabricated parts to make that happen -- the secret lies in 3D printing. The company used a mobile 3D printer to print out the house's concrete walls, partitions and building envelope. Workers had to manually paint it and install the roofing materials, wiring, hydro-acoustic and thermal insulation, but that didn't take much time.
The result is a 400-square-foot house that's around as big as a standard hotel room. It's no mansion, but it could prove attractive to the growing contingent of people who prefer tiny homes. Apis Cor says the whole house cost about $10,134 make, with the door and windows eating up the largest part of the budget. That sounds about right for a tiny home, though that probably doesn't account for the cost of land."