3D-printed home construction underway in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Your next home could be printed instead of built. 

3D printing is transforming the construction industry, and the Space Coast is leading the way. The region’s first 3D-printed home is under construction right now in Melbourne, with more homes in the works.  The new building is located just off Eau Gallie Boulevard near Wickham Road, and it’s not your normal construction site. 

Number one, it’s pretty quiet because of where a new home is being built. There’s no dust swirling around in the air. There’s only a small construction crew working with cutting-edge, new robots to make the home.  Layer by layer, a team of robots is building the walls on a brand new 2,100 sq. foot home. 

"Why reinvent the wheel when we can make the exact same thing, just better, faster, and more affordably?" asked Trevor Ragno, a director at Apis Cor. 

Viera-based company Apis Cor says 3D printing is the future. Robots work together to prep the concrete and pour the finished product with little help from humans. 

"We’re not reinventing the wheel, so the process and the guidelines are exactly the same," said Josh McCarthy, who’s the general contractor on the build. 

He says 3D-printed homes follow the same codes as normal buildings but are safer for construction crews.  

"It’s very nice as a contractor to have my people come and be able to go home exactly the same way they showed up," he added. 

Neighbors who live nearby have hardly noticed the new construction because the robots don’t make much noise.  

"I haven’t heard anything. It’s been real quiet. I can’t wait to see it, to be finished and built," said David McGuire, who came by to see the home on Friday.  

When finished, Ragno says the four-bed, four-bath home will cost around $300,000. 

He’s betting on 3D printing to build homes faster when workers are hard to find.  

"For every seven people leaving the construction industry, only one new person is joining," Ragno concluded. 

The home will take about three months to build from start to finish, and contractors are already working with Habitat for Humanity on the Space Coast to create new affordable homes.