Best Idea - Or Looming Problem ? Building Condos From "Lego"-Type Blocks
"68g.1499" <[email protected]> Fri, 26 Jan 2024 01:34:34 -0500
| Newsgroups | alt.construction,alt.politics.usa,alt.economics,soc.culture.usa |
|---|---|
| Organization | hexfet fermion |
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
https://www.marketplacehomes.com/blog/real-estate-trends/building-homes-with-life-size-lego-bricks/ The process is similar to injection molding, in which the systems’ proprietary material can be made into a variety of shapes— whether it’s LEGO bricks, beams, joists, and much more. There’s no more need for welding, cutting, or masonry on-site. Finished block walls function just like traditional concrete, making it easy for plumbers, electricians, and HVAC techs install other household systems without any adaptations. RENCO’s unprecedented building system uses methyl methacrylate glue and recycled glass fiber. This patented mineral composite, fiber-reinforced (MCFR) building system is less affected by supply chain issues. A methyl methacrylate bonding agent fuses MCFR pieces together. No welding, nailing, or cutting metal required. . . . Ummmmmmm ... first off, note that no plastic lasts forever in the real world, and glues do even worse. They always auto-catalyze and become more brittle and UV/heat just speed up deterioration. Currently this company is building 4-5 storey structures in central Florida. It's hot, there's lots of UV and salty mist and such. They CLAIM they're cat-5 rated, but that's NOW. What about in 10 years ??? Hurricanes not only press sideways, they also tend to try and lift roofs. If the glue becomes crappy then the blocks will separate, a stream of them spinning off into the void. The idea of "Lego-like" construction methods is as old as Legos themselves. Mostly this involved making concrete bricks with projections that fit into slots in the bricks below. Big issue is that concrete has little lateral, bending, strength just like any stone. A two-inch lip on the 'socket' part will snap under sideways stress pretty easily. This means you have to use steel rebar and it becomes basically normal CBC procedures then. No gain. The plastic, the glass fiber and 'calcium compound' filler all have different thermal expansion rates as well. This promotes delamination. Calcium compounds (limestone dust ?) are also a bit hydroscopic and alkalinity tends to be worse for plastics than acids. In short, GOOD TRY ... but I'd stick to 1/2 floor structures where lateral stress from wind pressure will be much less. The outside should also be covered with 'vinyl siding' or whatever to protect from UV. When THOSE are proven, move to bigger stuff. There is a huge market for single-famil 1/2 floor homes. Traditional CBC is ultra-expensive these days, so this new method could make a big difference. In Africa, there's a sort of home industry for making plastic construction bricks and such - mostly from the zillions of old plastic water bottles that are around. However, again, we're talking smallish single-floor houses and you only run into hurricane conditions on the east coast. These mostly aren't even 'composite' bricks, just pure old PET (or PET+sand) melted down and molded. Floors may be recycled polyethylene-jug tiles. SO ... keep a CLOSE eye on these new structures. Do periodic testing for product break-down. These MAY be 10-25 year structures instead of 50-100+ like concrete/bricks/wood. Still, the PRICE is a compelling issue at the moment ... "Lego" is fast and cheap. Oh, a final suggestion ... NO glue ... mold 'em with locking ridges ... hammer-down and they're solid. Oh, and making a channel for steel rebar wouldn't be a bad idea either ... cut threads and fasten a solid lintel at the top to hold everything together - and you can also bolt the roof parts to those as well. In short, promising - but as with any new construction method it needs to be monitored over time. Given the price/speed factor, likely you could build these three times for the price of traditional concrete buildings. Leveraging "recycled" materials is an eco-plus too.