Open Vision Builders is creating the first 3D-printed home in Wapakoneta.
Precious Grundy | The Lima News
LIMA — A new wave of homemaking is headed to the Lima/Allen County region. Open Vision Builders is bringing 3D-printed homes to Northwest Ohio. The company is currently building its first home in Wapakoneta.
“We are being inundated with people who want to know more about it because it is an exciting technology,” said co-owner John Smoll. “It is not necessarily new technology but it is newer to this part of the world — in the South and the West (where it is warmer), 3D printing started about 10-12 years ago.”
The technology uses a 3D printer to build a home.
The goal of the company is to increase the housing stock and bring affordable, easy-build homes. Smoll said the 3D-printed homes (when customized) can be just as expensive as a normal home.
“As long as we control the amount of customization that goes into each home, I think we have an opportunity to produce a home for 80 to 85% the cost of what a modular or stick-built home — when we say affordable, we are not talking section eight housing. We are also not talking about a certain percentage of medical income. We are just talking about more affordable than the typical home.”
The company decided to bring the homes to the area because of the opportunity and potential to build with fewer man-hours and skills.
“Labor and skilled labor have become very hard to get,” Smoll said. “I have been a builder for almost 30 years — the ability to attract and hire is getting harder and harder — the technology used for 3D printing falls in line with what a lot of young people are learning in school today. They can use technology to execute the build as opposed to needing the skill of a laborer.”
The company became excited about the new technology knowing they can build quality and durable homes without training a large number of builders.
“Many of the young people coming out of school today are very proficient with computers,” Smoll said. “That is what 3D building enabled this industry to do — we can take one person who might have skill in designing and building and be able to telegraph that through many people who are executing it with the skills that they already know. Our dream here is to produce affordable housing available for sale to first-time homebuyers especially; our goal is to get affordable houses into the hands of the people who are trying to find them and are having trouble.”
Smoll said the new build will not be available for sale. The organization hopes to use it for a model home for those interested in buying or purchasing a 3D home.
“We hope to keep the house for training and demonstration,” Smoll said. “We are going to be doing a lot of events where we can have that house open for people to come in. We want it to be available for an Airbnb as well. Someone who wants can look at it and get a feel for the home.”
Smoll also said the builders hope to track the performance of the home in this atmosphere.
For more information visit Live3dhomes.com.
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
