This Ohio builder was a skeptic, now he’s all in on 3D printed homes  

The owner of Open Vision Builders in Lima, Ohio, John Smoll with over 30 years experience in the construction industry, wasn’t sold yet on the idea of 3D Printed Homes when the idea was first brought to him. 

Over the years, Smoll always looked for creative ways to make housing more affordable as he built custom homes and barndominiums.  But with drastic shifts in building material costs and skilled labor needs, he understands why new house prices are so high, “It’s not necessarily that the builders are making more money now than they ever did. The costs are there; they’re real costs,” says Smoll. 

Smoll saw the value of automation with 3D printing, but thought the industry needed more time to mature to be able to make homes faster and affordable.  So, in 2022 when his partners in Sustainable Concrete Innovations wanted to go to Texas to take a closer look at 3D printers, Smoll said he was an Ohio skeptic, especially given Ohio’s temperature differential throughout the year.  

But his partners were willing to take a chance and try it out. Smoll and his partners began to build the first 3D printed home in Ohio. As they worked out many of the initial problems, Smoll began to see the possibilities. “As we printed our first house, as the walls were going up, my skepticism was coming down,” said Smoll. If managed well, Smoll continued, “It’s very reasonable to think about building a 3D printed home within a month from the time you start printing.  

Expanding Workforce Pool  

Smoll was very excited when he realized how 3D Printing could move the needle on affordable housing for many different reasons, how quickly it’s built, how many man hours are needed and how durable it is.  

Instead of taking three to five years to train someone to build a conventional home, training for 3D printing a home a few weeks. Many young adults are experienced with using 3D printers. 

“They know more about it than I do when it comes to that. I understand the housing, how to build a house. They understand how to make the house.”  And for Smoll, that was a game changer and what really brought him on board.  

With the industry changing very rapidly, Smoll is amazed by the interest from those in different fields.  “A lot of youth today are interested in the 3D printing and the automation, and I feel like we’re able to get those individuals into 3D printing into construction that would never have considered it otherwise. “ 

One hire, Benjamin Howard who works for Smoll, had no prior construction nor 3D printing experience. With about two weeks to learn the basics, and just a few months to be proficient, Howard says, “It’s very simple overall. And if you have a background in computers and stuff like that for modeling, setting up models with CAD and BIM, which is Building Information Modeling, then yeah, you can absolutely do it very quickly.”  

Continual Concrete Development  

Also rapidly growing is development and sustainability in concrete. Testing for new concrete materials includes fibers and coal ash. According to Smoll, each layer of concrete needs to be hard in 3-5 minutes to be able to support the next layers that are building on it.  

“We’re getting a lot more faster cements, and one of the things that we’re doing now is we’re actually starting to use a cement that was- it’s zero carbon footprint basically because it’s created from fly ash, which comes out of coal mines,” says Smoll.  

“What I absolutely love about the 3D printing is the sustainability part of it…which came to me completely as a surprise when I began realizing all my material is recyclable.”  Any leftover concrete is ground up and turned into driveway gravel. 

Smaller Construction Footprints  

In addition, construction sites are easier to maneuver around. Smoll describes the 3D printer as a cross between a construction excavator base and a robot arm that sits on top of it with a 360-degree mobility. “So, we can print anywhere around that printer and within reach of what the robotic arm can print. And so, it takes up a space probably about eight feet by eight feet. The robot itself when the arm’s not extended, and maybe six and a half feet by seven.” 

Smoll continues, “A lot of these communities have lots that are infill what we call urban infill…So now I can go in and print next to homes that are existing on very small lots and build small homes that are affordable.” 

Sites also have a mobile mixing pumping station where cement gets mixed with water and then pumped into the printer and a generator which makes this off the grid.  “We can literally take this anywhere and build anywhere. So, on a mountainside, in a third world country that has no infrastructure, we could do that all on site,” says Smoll. 

Currently Ohio does not have 3D printing building codes but states that if you’re trying to build outside of the established code, then you can use commercial code which makes them more durable.   

Future Plans in Ohio 

Today Smoll is currently finishing a second 3D printed home in Lima, Ohio that he and his wife plan to live in. “There’s concrete piers that are poured on the inside with rebar so that it gives it that strength that we want to see in the wall because we want to see this being a more durable way of building than a two by four wall. So, wind resistance, hail resistance, debris, and a tornado in theory, much more durable.” 

In one of the rooms is a checkered diamond design imprinted on the wall and Smoll explains that adding curves, arches or textures are very easy to print without adding to the cost, whereas if done with convention construction the costs would be significant.      

Over time Smoll anticipates the costs will be 15-20% less than conventional construction and says that the key to affordability is building smaller homes that meet the basic housing needs but are designed for additions down the road that can be added without a massive mortgage upfront.  

And while he says government assistance for affordable housing is fantastic, it does limit growth.  Without the assistance, the door is wide open to build lots of affordable 3D printed housing if all the players in the housing industry work together.  

Smoll’s future goals include working with cities and municipalities to do more urban infill and new home builds under $100,000, which now are contingent on zoning in areas. He envisions 3D printing growth in Ohio and says many cities have been receptive, including Lima, Ohio where hopefully he plans to do some 700-800 square foot concept homes this year.    

“We’re thrilled about that, that we get to use our local community as a steppingstone to hopefully make this work throughout the state.” 

What do you think about 3D printed houses as a possible solution to increase the housing supply? Could this create new job opportunities? We want to build community around context and solutions in our cities. Your feedback is very important to the effort, as we continue to dig deeper into the responses to some of our most pressing social issues, including the housing crisis. Click on the green button to take a short survey to help reinforce and refine our work. Thank you.             

Emiko Moore – Multi-Media Journalist

Emiko Moore is a graduate of Ohio State University has been a freelance producer for NBC News for the last 20 years, covering stories in southwest Ohio and in the tri-state area. She also hosted The Lebanon City Show and was a print journalist for the Western Star, focusing on Warren County. Prior to moving back to her hometown of Lebanon, OH, she worked in NYC for NBC TODAY and NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation. As a volunteer with Building Bridges Community Conversations, Ishinomaki Playground Project, and Miller Ecological Park, she believes it takes continuous work to strengthen communities. She is excited about journalism that explores the issues while highlighting solutions to bring about positive change.