Construction crews build 3D-printed house in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - Construction crews are building a 3D-printed house in Sacramento, the city's first.

Robots are being used to build the house out of concrete, layer by layer, with the foundation and walls going up.

Estelle Gonzales, a robotics engineer, says this construction method is cheaper, and is more resistant to fire, which can bring down insurance costs.

"It is cheaper. It actually is more beneficial...energy efficiency. You save money in the long run. Just the fire resilience to it, especially in California. We're actively going into spaces of the insurances. Because this is something we can start coordinating, saying, 'Hey, would you approve X amount of 3D-printed homes in a community?' Because that's going to cut back the fire spreading component of it and hopefully get some of those cheaper insurance rates back into California."

Estelle Gonzales, robotics engineer

The builders say the homes are also termite resistant because they're not using lumber.