Well, just hang on for a few life times or more. 3-D printed home construction should become a mainstream method of construction when it can print and deliver 35-foot wide 12 in 12 trusses, and a few other sorta large items. Until then, we'll likely do things pretty much the way they've been done for hundreds of years. By that time you may be ready to trade your VW! :-)

I think the idea is that what gets printed is some type of plastic enclosure and concrete just get poured in. I suppose that some rebar gets put in as well.

Well you can wait until prices drop as you say, but frankly, don't hold your breath.

I honestly can't see it happening in our lifetimes. The system you describe would have to be in such wide-spread use, and the base materials so cheap and plentiful that they'd displace something like ICF, which has already fallen in price. And no matter what the base material, you still have the other material and labor costs. I just don't see it happening.

I also don't see self-driving cars 'taking' over anytime soon. While it certainly is coming, most 'experts' I've read on the subject are talking at least a couple decades before it becomes widespread. Even if they were to come to major metro areas, don't forget half of this country is a lot more rural.

I wouldn't wait for that self-driving car. Even when they do come out, I for one plan to keep driving my own car -- if only in self defense from all those folks who will be getting the first series of self-driving cars which will undoubtably have bugs!

(But then again you are talking to someone who prefers to pay attention while behind the wheel -- I don't even use cruise control!)

People who don't use cruise control belong in prison.

You won't be getting another home in your lifetime if you're waiting on 3D printing. It's not a viable methodology for producing most of what goes into a home.

Self driving cars . ? . . .

Did you know, in England, they are going to change to driving on the right side of the road? They are going to phase it in. For the first month, only the trucks will switch to driving on the right . . . . . . . . . . .

The 3D printers I've worked with are rather slow, whereas the injection molders that make ICF are very fast. The material cost would be a wash, so 3D printing is going to have to be to get a LOT faster to compete.

I'm still waiting for the flying cars they promised so many years ago...

Speed is not as important as the reduced cost of labor, so it could still make financial sense.

3D printing a house...next we'll be 3D printing our children!

But cpartist, the individualization would make 3D printing even more of a plus, as it would be just as easy for a computer to printout a standard box as a fancy design.

That's true; 3D printing would lend itself to easy customization. But unless you printed smaller units, like blocks, the machine would have to be huge. Although labor might be saved, you'd be tying up a very expensive machine for a long time. Then there's the problem of either moving the house, or if printed on-site, the machine. I imagine it will start out as a hybrid technology, building a house with mostly standard ICF blocks, for instance, and then custom printing special blocks of a different size or design. I don't know about the very latest technology, but printed parts usually aren't nearly as strong as their molded counterparts.

Just out of curiosity, where do you 'keep reading this'? I simply can't imagine it being a widespread use in the future. Certainly not sustainable.

A better near-term use would be architects and designers generating a 3D printed scale model of the proposed home for their clients. What GW'er wouldn't want that?

Based on my conversations with architects in the commercial sector its sooner than you may think. It will be used in conjunction with prefabricated pods. Residential...who knows.

https://3dprint.com/126426/3d-printed-museum-office/

And, why, may I be so bold as to ask:

Ichabod Crane

People who don't use cruise control belong in prison.