2024-11-24T01:17:59-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150074894/researchers-develop-method-to-3d-print-inexpensive-houses-from-peat Alexander Walter 2018-07-25T15:07:00-04:00 >2018-07-31T07:01:35-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/d8/d8ed37770fe68e80a2c0248cf1edb8fd?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Cut peat blocks were already being used for building houses thousands of years ago. Now, scientists at the University of Tartu have developed a material which could make it possible to print energy-efficient houses out of milled peat and oil shale ash using a 3D printer.</p></em><br /><br /><p>"As peat and oil shale ash are not very expensive, house builders would be especially happy about the price of the material. According to Liiv, scientists calculated that the cost for the construction of a house shell printed from this material with a floor surface of 100&ndash;150 square meters could be about &euro;5,000 (compared to the construction of the shell of a framed building of equivalent size, which would cost about ten times more). Thus, peat material could be used to build a very cheap house with an energy class A."</p> <p>H/T <a href="http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/estonia-team-discovers-way-print-affordable-houses/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Global Construction Review</a></p>