XPost: alt.construction, alt.politics.usa, alt.economics

https://www.marketplacehomes.com/blog/real-estate-trends/building-homes-with-life-size-lego-bricks/

The process is similar to injection molding, in which the
systems’ proprietary material can be made into a variety
of shapes— whether it’s LEGO bricks, beams, joists, and
much more. There’s no more need for welding, cutting, or
masonry on-site. Finished block walls function just like
traditional concrete, making it easy for plumbers,
electricians, and HVAC techs install other household
systems without any adaptations.

RENCO’s unprecedented building system uses methyl
methacrylate glue and recycled glass fiber. This
patented mineral composite, fiber-reinforced (MCFR)
building system is less affected by supply chain issues.
A methyl methacrylate bonding agent fuses MCFR pieces
together. No welding, nailing, or cutting metal required.

. . .

Ummmmmmm ... first off, note that no plastic lasts forever
in the real world, and glues do even worse. They always
auto-catalyze and become more brittle and UV/heat just
speed up deterioration.

Currently this company is building 4-5 storey structures
in central Florida. It's hot, there's lots of UV and
salty mist and such. They CLAIM they're cat-5 rated, but
that's NOW. What about in 10 years ???

Hurricanes not only press sideways, they also tend to
try and lift roofs. If the glue becomes crappy then
the blocks will separate, a stream of them spinning
off into the void.

The idea of "Lego-like" construction methods is as old
as Legos themselves. Mostly this involved making concrete
bricks with projections that fit into slots in the bricks
below. Big issue is that concrete has little lateral,
bending, strength just like any stone. A two-inch lip
on the 'socket' part will snap under sideways stress
pretty easily. This means you have to use steel rebar
and it becomes basically normal CBC procedures then.
No gain.

The plastic, the glass fiber and 'calcium compound'
filler all have different thermal expansion rates
as well. This promotes delamination. Calcium compounds
(limestone dust ?) are also a bit hydroscopic and
alkalinity tends to be worse for plastics than acids.

In short, GOOD TRY ... but I'd stick to 1/2 floor
structures where lateral stress from wind pressure
will be much less. The outside should also be covered
with 'vinyl siding' or whatever to protect from UV.
When THOSE are proven, move to bigger stuff.

There is a huge market for single-famil 1/2 floor
homes. Traditional CBC is ultra-expensive these days,
so this new method could make a big difference.

In Africa, there's a sort of home industry for making
plastic construction bricks and such - mostly from the
zillions of old plastic water bottles that are around.
However, again, we're talking smallish single-floor
houses and you only run into hurricane conditions on
the east coast. These mostly aren't even 'composite'
bricks, just pure old PET (or PET+sand) melted down and
molded. Floors may be recycled polyethylene-jug tiles.

SO ... keep a CLOSE eye on these new structures. Do
periodic testing for product break-down. These MAY
be 10-25 year structures instead of 50-100+ like
concrete/bricks/wood. Still, the PRICE is a compelling
issue at the moment ... "Lego" is fast and cheap.

Oh, a final suggestion ... NO glue ... mold 'em with
locking ridges ... hammer-down and they're solid. Oh,
and making a channel for steel rebar wouldn't be a
bad idea either ... cut threads and fasten a solid
lintel at the top to hold everything together - and
you can also bolt the roof parts to those as well.

In short, promising - but as with any new construction
method it needs to be monitored over time. Given the
price/speed factor, likely you could build these three
times for the price of traditional concrete buildings.
Leveraging "recycled" materials is an eco-plus too.

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