October 2016
I know people...
Jay McHugh| 617-699-7442
You Could Print Your Next Home
In my work, I’m connected to service people of all kinds. If you need a painter, gardener, plumber, handyman, etc., I’d love to refer you to someone who’s great at what they do! Pull out your phone and let me know what you need.
617-699-7442 JMcHugh@laerrealty.com
Corny Halloween Humor A musician is passing Vienna's Zentralfriedhof graveyard on October 31st. Suddenly he hears music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin coming from under the ground in a grave. The headstone on the grave reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. The musician listens for a while. He knows its symphony music, but he’s puzzled. Then he cries out, “I’ve got it! It’s Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but it’s being played backwards!” He runs to the caretaker’s house, wakes him, and frantically describes the strange backward music coming from Beethoven’s grave. The caretaker says, “Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. He’s just decomposing.”
We're all familiar with the typical "wood studs and plywood" construction of homes. But homes of the future will take advantage of innovations in materials and construction approaches to provide greener, faster, cheaper, and more flexible options. Concrete, long considered a gray, inflexible substance is being used in exciting ways. For instance, according to the company Sollars Home, their homes are cast from concrete on site, using a patented concrete forming system. The benefits of concrete include being termite-proof, fire-proof, tornado and hurricane resistant, and energyefficient. But some companies are going even further. Architects around the globe have begun to print homes using 3D
printers. Construction processes are still being experimented with, but many examples can now be found of homes printed mostly or in small part by 3D construction processes. For example, in Amsterdam, a team of architects constructed a home they call the 3D Print Canal House, using bio-based, renewable materials. The site is both a construction site and a museum. At USC in California, Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis is pushing the fabrication process of what he calls "contour crafting." He hopes to develop a gigantic 3D printer, able to print a whole house in a single run, from its structure to its electrical and plumbing conduits. While some experts are skeptical of some processes, the 3D construction movement seems to be here to stay.
How Much Is Your Home Worth Today? Home prices have been rising steadily. If you haven’t checked lately, you might be surprised at what your home is worth today. Email or text your address to me at Jmchugh@laerrealty.com or 617-699-7442, and I’ll send you a speedy estimate.