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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday August 05 2021, @07:23AM   Printer-friendly

These Foldable Houses Cost $50k and Go Up in a Day:

3D printing has become the hottest new construction technology of the past few years, with houses being laid down in California, Texas, New York, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Germany, to name just a few. There's no doubt it's an efficient, low-cost way to build durable homes, with the added bonus of a wow-factor (which may soon expire given how fast the method seems to be proliferating).

But one company is taking a totally different route to affordable, easy-to-build housing: foldable homes.

[...] Like 3D printed homes, Boxabl's innovation seems promising as a source of affordable housing, and could become a major new player in the industry. However, also like its 3D printed counterparts, one of Boxabl's big limitations is that it requires an empty piece of land at ground level—and these are exactly what's scarce in dense urban centers, and often even in surrounding suburbs.

But with more people leaving cities post-pandemic and many companies implementing flexible work policies, we may not see urban populations grow as fast as expected. Either way, don't be too surprised if you see a small, sleek, folded-up house pull into your neighborhood on the back of a truck sometime in the next couple years.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Spamalope on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:13AM (2 children)

    by Spamalope (5233) on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:13AM (#1163414) Homepage

    Is that not a 1 room apartment/mobile home without trailer wheels for $50k?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:33PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:33PM (#1163458)

      Exactly what I was going to say--this looks like a little wrinkle added to a mobile home. Many nice, low cost houses are double-wides--two mobile homes attached side-by-side.

      TFA doesn't mention, but perhaps the big difference is that Boxabl has venture capital to burn? If so, this might not be a good time to be in mobile home stocks...

      • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:46PM

        by Freeman (732) on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:46PM (#1163719) Journal

        You put nice and mobile home in the same sentence. We've got two very different versions of nice.

        --
        Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:35AM (2 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:35AM (#1163415) Journal

    one of Boxabl's big limitations is that it requires an empty piece of land at ground level

    that describes a "limitation" of almost every suburban block in almost every part of the developed world... and even places where they only have mud huts or tents.

    you can't sleep on a slope, or cook, or make love (for long)

    To survive and thrive, you need some level space.

    Is TFA complaining that this isn't a multi-storey solution to all the world's housing problems?

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:30AM (#1163429)

      Have Vanessa never heard of terracing?

      For a home of such small dimensions, surely an earth mover can create a terrace that size in an afternoon.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @03:23PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @03:23PM (#1163525)

      Is TFA complaining that this isn't a multi-storey solution to all the world's housing problems?

      A few years back, I lived in a 3000 sq. ft. house appraised at $300k: $250k for the house and $50k for the land.
      So, $100/sq. ft.

      If you built one of these on the same lot, it would cost $100k: $50k for the house and $50k for the land.
      That would be $250/sq. ft.

      If you magically found a completely free lot, you're still looking at $125/sq.ft.

      The point is that this isn't a solution to any kind of low cost housing problem. The cost of the building makes it unsuitable to use in rural areas where land is cheap, and the low rise footprint makes it unsuitable in the city where land is expensive.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Nuke on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:03AM (7 children)

    by Nuke (3162) on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:03AM (#1163419)

    If we booted out the illegal immigrants, the first world locations mentioned would not have such a housing shortage and would not need this crap.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:26AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:26AM (#1163428)

      Yes, let's start with giving the Americas back to the natives, shall we?

      • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:38PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:38PM (#1163460)

        Sure, American citizens of European ancestry can return to Europe.
        Non whites can leave Europe and Arabs can leave Israel.

        Asshole! [wikipedia.org]

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 07 2021, @09:29AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 07 2021, @09:29AM (#1164336)

          and all persons not of aboriginal blood can leave australia for the country their ancestors came from

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 07 2021, @09:39AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 07 2021, @09:39AM (#1164337)

            and the next day everyone else in the world moves in

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:33PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:33PM (#1163481)

        Trudeau? What are you doing on here Justin? Are your white-guilt tears glands all dried out?

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:35PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:35PM (#1163483)

      Not a troll! Doing what OP says would free up millions of apartments and rooms in the US alone for citizens and non-illegals to rent.

      • (Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:48PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @10:48PM (#1163753)

        I don't understand how such posts can be marked as troll. Are the democrats advocating that illegal immigration should simply be accepted? We should control immigration like every other country does and prevent illegals from coming/staying here illegally.

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:30PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Thursday August 05 2021, @12:30PM (#1163455) Journal

    “Waterproof” would be a bit more reassuring than “water-resistant” (I mean, we’re not talking about a raincoat here, and even if we were, the same would apply!), but it seems this is just semantics; since there’s no lumber or sheetrock used for the walls, it’s virtually impossible for water to warp or corrode them

    Oh, my 8000" TV and my servers and pc just got soaked and ruined but, "Hey", the walls are fine!

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:10PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @01:10PM (#1163469)

    US$50k doesn't make you a new player when 'Dongas' (as we call them in AU) are US$15k new,and transportable.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @07:57PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @07:57PM (#1163654)

      $50K's not a bad deal when you consider that it's venture-capital backed and you get to keep whatever hookers and blow are left inside when they deliver it.

    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:48PM

      by Freeman (732) on Thursday August 05 2021, @09:48PM (#1163722) Journal

      Otherwise known as a shack, okay, maybe slightly better than a shack.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday August 06 2021, @04:01AM

      by Reziac (2489) on Friday August 06 2021, @04:01AM (#1163878) Homepage

      That's not the target market. The target market is the "tiny houses for the homeless" racket, where California is presently set to pay something like a million bucks for each 200sqft "tiny house".

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday August 05 2021, @05:17PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 05 2021, @05:17PM (#1163567) Journal


         

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @06:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @06:04PM (#1163598)

    I would go with a traditional pre-fab over this, and here's why. A truck is a truck. You're trucking this thing in no matter what. With a traditional pre-fab, the act of trucking is kind of like a shake-down cruise. You know that the thing is going to hold together in what amounts to a very strong earthquake, with a duration longer than any quake that's possible.

    With this, you're assuming that the work done to unfold the house is going to hold up to loads. That work is being done on site, out in the open, and isn't being tested. If it's not done right, maybe the house folds back up on you during a quake or strong wind. No thanks.

    I do like the use of steel and concrete, as they are fire-resistant materials and that would be ideal for me because I live in a fire hazard zone. Hopefully I don't have to rebuild, but if I do the leading candidate is pre-fab wooden framing on a new cinderblock foundation covered with stucco and a tile roof.

    Wood is bad for fires, but good for earthquakes. Stucco and tile mitigate starts from flying embers. Nothing can mitigate a fire-storm because the interior of a concrete house has been shown to be capable of reaching the kindling point of its contents during wildfires, so at that point you pretty much have to give up unless you want to live in a very expensive cave with no sunlight or anything ever coming in.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @06:38PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @06:38PM (#1163617)

    Flat roofs suck. Where do leaves and water go? What's the roof like when it spends the winter covered with wet oak leaves? Do you like going up on the roof and cleaning it a lot? OK, I was skeptical for other reasons too but it sounds like they've done some good structural testing; but flat roofs suck. It might be OK in an urban setting with few trees, but pigeon droppings are still going to accumulate up there and not run off.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:22PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:22PM (#1163669)
      Put a small "free range" garden on top aka don't do anything at all.
      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:43PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 05 2021, @08:43PM (#1163678)

        I've seen these, and I'm not hot on the idea. Even if they have enough safety factor to handle the load, this brings in a whole new batch of maintenance issues. All roofs leak eventually. Flat roofs leak sooner than pitched roofs, and when you have to repair the garden roof it'll be a royal PiTA.

        I'm not saying these houses have no use case. Musk is living in one now, but he probably won't be living in it for 20 years, he isn't living under trees, and he's rich enough to not care about the time or expense of maintenance issues that crop up in the real world.

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