Construction company Harcourt Technologies (HTL) has begun constructing Ireland’s first 3D printed homes in Dundalk.
As a part of this project, three social housing units at Grange Close are being built with a COBOD‘s 3D printer, which uses a gantry-mounted system to extrude concrete based on a digital blueprint, eliminating the need for traditional blocks. Additionally, the land for this initiative was supplied by the Local Authority. Upon completion, the three-bedroom homes will house three families from Louth County Council’s social housing list.
Justin Kinsella, Managing Director of HTL, explained, “It’s like building a concrete block wall, but the machine lays 50mm layers instead of manual placement.”
According to HTL, this approach triples construction speed compared to traditional methods, with homes projected to be finished by October. Kinsella highlighted a one-third labor cut and a maximum three-fold boost in construction pace. This translates to an overall 25-30% speed increase.
With a current printing speed of one 50mm concrete layer in 18 minutes, the printer aims to reduce this to 12 minutes. While expenses align with conventional techniques, the significant time reduction has the potential to dramatically decrease overall costs, Kinsella explained.
Michael McBride, Project Manager at B&C Contractors, commented that the 3D printing process is automated rather than labour-intensive. He noted that the finished product is stronger and could become more common in future construction projects.
