Cost comparisons

between traditional build and 3D printing

 Summary
3DBuildingPrint is not only the only faster, more efficient, less labor intensive, ecologically-friendly, 0% waste product
and with less chance of human error – It is also more cost effective
£10,312
£8,020 Room By Room
Left graph shows the costs for a model 4 bedded house (216 m2), split by the
Professional Fees
major areas of expenditure expressed as a percentage of the total build cost
£4,583
of £115,000. Plumbing & Heating
Superstructure
The superstructure element of the work is by far the most in cash terms. The £37 809 £5,729 Electrics
major elements of this have been shown in the graph.
£4,583 Preliminaries
The superstructure costs total £37,800 or 33% of the total outlay.
It is predominantly in this area where the 3D printing solution can generate Groundworks
savings. Finishes
£17,186
£26,352 Super Structure

3DBuildingPrint use a methodology whereby the "shell" of the house is constructed within a couple of days
This cuts down the on-site labour cost significantly as we are able to deliver the finished article in between 6-9 weeks
Costs reduced by 33%* Days reduced by 37%*
£114 574
120
£100,000
£37,809 – £38 151 Super Structure 98 Super Structure
100
£80,000 £76 423 Finishes Finishes
18 – 36 days
£17,990 Groundworks 80 Groundworks
£26,352 62
£60,000 24
Preliminaries 60 Preliminaries
£17,186 7
£40,000 £17,186 Electrics 14
20
Electrics
£13,749 40
Plumbing & Heating 7 Plumbing & Heating
£20,000 20
Professional Fees 20 14
Professional Fees
13
Room By Room 7 Room By Room
£- 0
Traditional 3D Print Traditional 3D Print

* -– All calculations will be provided on next pages 2

 House specification for cost comparisons

We will be considering an large house, which measures an area of 5.4m X 40m = 216 m2
Slab 12 000 8 000

Height, mm Length, mm
Front elevation 150 12 000 150
Right elevation 8 000
Rear elevation 12 000
Left elevation 8 000

Front elevation Side elevation

Single floor 12 000 8 000

Height, mm Length, mm
Front elevation 5 400 12 000
Right elevation 8 000
Rear elevation 12 000
5 400
Left elevation 8 000

Front elevation Side elevation

Footings 14 000 10 000

Height, mm Length, mm
Front elevation 300 14 000
300
Right elevation 10 000
Rear elevation 14 000
Left elevation 10 000

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 Standard house building
Assumptions
Costs of main resources
Bricks parameters1
Height 0,065
Length 0,215
Width 0,1025
Price per 1 unit £ 0,44
Bricks in pack 1 000
Price for pack £ 440,00

Mortar Parameters2
Quantity of bricks for calculations 500
Volume per 500 bricks, m3 0,33
Volume in unit, m3 0,33
Price per 1 unit £ 28,00

Concrete Parameters3
Price per 1 m3 £ 85,00

Bricklayers parameters4
Price per day £ 180,00
Bricks per day 500

Building productivity
Method Units Productivity
Bricklayers bricks/day 500

Costs Unit Price per unit/day Quantity for day

Bricklayers persons £ 180,00 2
3D Printer Operator persons £ 250,00 2
Labourer persons £ 120,00 1
Foreman persons £ 250,00 1

1 - http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Engineering-Bricks-Red-65mm-Class-B/p/213642
2 - https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwit2t_Y5P3KAhXH2hoKHRkJBpoQFggtMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kellys.uk.com%2Fcontent%2Fdownload.asp%3Fid%3D193&usg=AFQ
jCNFY7WKw3Tf3KcwfQzuLhtDdvdbT8g&sig2=3cQcCNcvvHlRfKWrBeql2A
3 - http://www.lets-do-diy.com/Projects-and-advice/Concrete-work/Average-ready-mix-concrete-cost.aspx
4-

4
 Standard house building
Calculations of resources and duration

A single or double story building measured from the top of the foundation over 3m will be legally required to be a double skin wall
(Pavement Expert 2015). This project will be building a house of the height of 5.4 meters and will therefore require double skin
masonry.

Materials for Super Structure for Traditional Building

Traditional building
Bricks required
Super Structure Height, m Length, m Width, m Mortar
Bricks req. Total of
Bricks in a row Bricks req. for height required, tubes
for length bricks
Total for external of house 15 708
First Slab 0,15 12,00 8,00
First floor 5,40 40,00 0,30 2 84 187 15 708
Front elevation 12,00
Right elevation 8,00
Rear elevation 12,00
Left elevation 8,00
Footings 0,30 14,00 10,00
Total for internal of house 7 896
First floor internal wall 5,40 20,00 0,10 1 84 94 7 896
Total for house 23 604 49,57
Waste 5% 24 784 52,05
Rounding Total 25 000 53,00

A double skinned wall for a 4 bedroom house will use approximately 23,500 bricks, this will amount to 24 packs plus an additional pack

Bricks are achieved by the use of concrete or mortar, whilst the area to cover is 216m2 this can done from a range of prices. Mortar is a
commonly used in construction as it can be a thicker bonding agent. We will need about 53 tubes of mortar 0,33m3 each

An average brick layer is priced at 180 per day. The average amount of bricks laid per person is 500 per day
The average amount of brick layers needed is 2 which average a daily brick laid count of 1,000
In accordance with the above productivity, superstructure will be built in 27 days

5
 Standard house building
Total building costs for traditional building

As we can see below the costs for a model 4 bedded house (216 m2) will be about of £115,000
The superstructure element of the work is the most in cash terms, at costs of total £37,800 or 33% of the total outlay

Building costs for Traditional Building

Price per % of
Costs Unit Quantity Traditional building Preliminaries
unit costs Room By
Room £4 583
Super Structure £ 37 809 33%
£10 312
Walls, Footings and Slab Costs £ 17 584 15%
Concrete for Footing and Slab m3 £ 85,00 60,00 £ 5 100 4%
Finishes
Bricks pack of brick £ 440,00 25,00 £ 11 000 10%
£26 352
Mortar tube £ 28,00 53,00 £ 1 484 1%
Super
Labour £ 19 710 17%
Structure
Bricklayers persons £ 180,00 2*27 £ 9 720 8%
£37 809
Labourer persons £ 120,00 1*27 £ 3 240 3%
Foreman persons £ 250,00 1*27 £ 6 750 6%
Other Resources 1 £ 515 0%
Professional Fees £ 8 020 7%
Groundworks £ 17 186 15%
Plumbing & Heating £ 4 583 4%
Electrics £ 5 729 5% Professional
Electrics Fees
Finishes £ 26 352 23% £5 729 £8 020
Room By Room £ 10 312 9% Plumbing &
Heating Groundworks
Preliminaries £ 4 583 4% £17 186
£4 583
Total House Cost £ 114 574 100%

£115,000 is lower limit for a such house, therefore our comparing will be close to real
Precise project calculations can be carried out in the near future, in the next stages
But basing on this calculation we can compare Traditional building and 3D Print technology

6
 3D Print house building
Calculations of resources and duration

Basing on previous assumptions and count that 3D Printer productivity is about 20 m3 per day we can calculate resources
and costs for 3D printed house

Materials for Super Structure for Traditional Building and 3D Print

3D Print
Super Structure Height, m Length, m Width, m
Concrete required, m3

Total for external of house 121,20

First Slab 0,15 12,00 8,00 14,40
First floor 5,40 40,00 0,30 64,80
Front elevation 12,00
Right elevation 8,00
Rear elevation 12,00
Left elevation 8,00
Footings 0,30 14,00 10,00 42,00
Total for internal of house 10,80
First floor internal wall 5,40 20,00 0,10 10,80
Total for house 132,00
Waste 5% 138,60
Rounding Total 140,00

For double skinned wall for a 4 bedroom house we will use 300 mm concrete walls – so it will be about 140 m3 of material

Basing on 3D Printer productivity we can count duration of building (printing) process

It’s about 7 days instead of 27 for traditional building

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 3D Print house building
Total building costs for 3D print building

As we can see below the costs for a model 4 bedded house (216 m2) will be about of £76,500
The superstructure element of the work is the still most in cash terms, but it costs already £18,000 or 24% of the total outlay

Building costs for 3D Print

Price per % of Room By Preliminaries
Costs Unit Quantity 3D Print
unit costs Room £2 291
Super Structure £ 17 990 24% £10 312

Walls, Footings and Slab Costs £ 11 900 16%

Concrete for External and Internal walls m3 £ 85,00 80,00 £ 6 800 9% Super
Concrete for Footing and Slab m3 £ 85,00 60,00 £ 5 100 7% Finishes Structure
Labour £ 6 090 8% £17 186 £17 990
3D Printer Operator persons £ 250,00 2 £ 3 500 5%
Labourer persons £ 120,00 1 £ 840 1%
Foreman persons £ 250,00 1 £ 1 750 2%
Professional Fees £ 8 020 10%
Groundworks £ 13 749 18%
Plumbing & Heating £ 3 437 4%
Professional
Electrics £ 3 437 4% Fees
Finishes £ 17 186 22% £8 020
Electrics
Room By Room £ 10 312 13% £3 437 Plumbing & Groundworks
Preliminaries £ 2 291 3% Heating £13 749
£3 437
Total House Cost £ 76 423 100%

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 Comparisons – traditional build and 3D printing
Total building costs, durations and savings for 3D print building

As we can see below savings for a model 4 bedded house (216 m2) will be about of £38,000
The superstructure element of the work saves about £20,000 or 50% of the total savings, it is mostly labour savings

Building costs for Traditional Building and 3D Print

Price per Traditional building 3D Print Saving
Costs Unit Quantity
unit Cash % Days Cash % Days ₤ %
Super Structure £ 37 809 33% 18 £ 17 990 24% 7 £ 19 819 52% 11
Walls, Footings and Slab Costs £ 17 584 15% £ 11 900 16% £ 5 684 32%
Concrete for walls m3 £ 85,00 80,00 0% £ 6 800 9%
Concrete for Footing and Slab m3 £ 85,00 60,00 £ 5 100 4% £ 5 100 7%
Bricks pack of brick £ 440,00 25,00 £ 11 000 10% 0%
Mortar tube £ 28,00 53,00 £ 1 484 1% 0%
Labour £ 19 710 17% £ 6 090 8% £ 13 620 69%
Bricklayers persons £ 180,00 2£ 9 720 8% £ - 0%
3D Printer Operator persons £ 250,00 2£ - 0% £ 3 500 5%
Labourer persons £ 120,00 1£ 3 240 3% £ 840 1%
Foreman persons £ 250,00 1£ 6 750 6% £ 1 750 2%
Other Resuorсes 1£ 515 0% £ - 0% £ 515 100% 0
Professional Fees £ 8 020 7% 1 £ 8 020 10% 1 £ - 0% 0
Groundworks £ 17 186 15% 14 £ 13 749 18% 7 £ 3 437 20% 7
Plumbing & Heating £ 4 583 4% 13 £ 3 437 4% 7 £ 1 146 25% 6
Electrics £ 5 729 5% 20 £ 3 437 4% 14 £ 2 291 40% 6
Finishes £ 26 352 23% 24 £ 17 186 22% 20 £ 9 166 35% 4
Room By Room £ 10 312 9% 1 £ 10 312 13% 1 £ - 0% 0
Preliminaries £ 4 583 4% 7 £ 2 291 3% 5 £ 2 291 50% 2
Total House Cost £ 114 574 100% 98 £ 76 423 100% 62 £ 38 151 33% 36

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 Comparisons – traditional build and 3D printing
Total building costs, durations and savings for 3D print building

• Above are cost comparisons for traditional build and 3D printing, below – visualization of it
• In this simple modeling case we look at good efficiency of 3D printing technology:
– Less materials costs
– Less days for superstructure works
– Less days we need specialists on site, less labour costs
– Less chances for human errors
• Now we estimate costs on a typical 4 bedded traditional house can be reduced by £38k or 33% and this can be
further reduced as we develop this concept to design houses where the "printer" can perform the construction of
roofs and foundations
• This is a significant step in reducing both cost and time so allowing people to move into a property much earlier than
previously possible and improving any rental income stream if the house is being developed as a "buy to let"
Costs reduced by 31%* Days reduced by 37%*
£114 574
120
£100,000
£37,809 – £38 151 Super Structure 98 Super Structure
100
£80,000 £76 423 Finishes Finishes
18 – 36 days
£17,990 Groundworks 80 Groundworks
£26,352 62
£60,000 24
Preliminaries 60 Preliminaries
£17,186 7
£40,000 £17,186 Electrics 14
20
Electrics
£13,749 40
Plumbing & Heating 7 Plumbing & Heating
£20,000 20
Professional Fees 20 14
Professional Fees
13
Room By Room 7 Room By Room
£- 0
Traditional 3D Print Traditional 3D Print

This technology is here now and is definitely the future

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 Comparisons – traditional build and 3D printing
Wider vision and perspectives theses

Modeling shows us economy on savings resources like materials and labour wages, it shows time
economy and other savings in other part of building project
But our modeling don’t touch some other sides of new technology
• Site maintenance (toilets, health and safety on site, acoustic walls and machinery)
– Typically a middle house constructed using traditional methodology takes 34 weeks to build. This timeline is driven by a combination
of different circumstance. We aim to have our builds concluded in 10 weeks with a saving of £36,000 based on the weekly site
maintenance cost of 1,500.
• Wasted Trades
– Trades and skilled workman are often delayed because a previous part of the job has not been completed to allow that trade to
follow on
• Additional tools
– The costs of external scaffolding and building higher (any addition costs on top of the bricks and mortar would be) save about £2,250
• Potential financially savings because of speed of build
– Mortgage payments
– Rental payments
– Loan + interest payments
• Less components
– Saving of that less things to go wrong, less chance of going much builds generally to over budget
• Saving on wastage
– Less components can be stolen, gone missing or wasted because not needed in the build.
• The saving of nearly a third or quarter of time
– It is tangible even if the cost of materials are roughly the same
• Also if to be done overseas in third world countries
– The costs would be minimal as you would not have to consider building controls or planning requirements
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Thank you for attention!

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