Elon Musk to use The Boring Company's dirt from digging to build low cost houses

[ItsMitch]

Source: Elon Musk | Teslarati

Musk at it again with some weird ideas for the Boring Company. The Boring Company is currently boring it's way through the California underground to make way for the transportation routes but people brought up a interesting question about the excess mud and dirt from the project and people wondered what the Company would do with it. Well Elon now came up with a good strategy to turn the mud and dirt into bricks to help with the house building costs. 

Quote

In a recent tweet, Elon Musk reiterated his plan to use dirt from The Boring Company’s tunnels to create bricks that can be used in the construction of low-cost houses.

 

The Tesla CEO’s latest update on the Boring Company bricks was posted on Monday as a response to Cody Johnston, a Twitter user who asked Musk if he would like to get into the affordable housing industry. Responding to Johnston, Musk stated that the Boring Company would be up for the task.

 

It did not take long before one of Elon Musk’s followers asked if the blocks could be used to build affordable houses. Musk responded to the suggestion in the affirmative, stating that the Boring Bricks are “interlocking with a precise surface finish,” which would allow the blocks to be stacked without compromising durability. Musk even noted that with the Boring Bricks, “two people could build the outer walls of a small house in a day or so.”

 

Among the Boring Company’s merchandise, the Bricks appear to be one that has been in the pipelines for some time. As could be seen in the tunneling startup’s FAQ page, the company is planning on recycling dirt from its excavated tunnels. The recycled dirt would be used to form blocks, which would, in turn, be used as tunnel linings or as building materials for structures like houses.  

 

“The Boring Company is investigating technologies that will recycle the earth into useful bricks to be used to build structures.  This is not a new concept, as buildings have been constructed from Earth for thousands of years including, according to recent evidence, the Pyramids.  These bricks can potentially be used as a portion of the tunnel lining itself, which is typically built from concrete.”

 

The Boring Company is making headway into its tunneling operations lately. Last April, an LA City Council Public Works Committee awarded the startup with an exemption from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for its proposed 2.7-mile proof-of-concept tunnel under Sepulveda Boulevard in West LA and Culver City.

S: https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-boring-co-bricks-affordable-housing/

 

I mean, if someone could make low cost housing for California then that's a good start I guess, Elon is known for his wild ideas, including the Boring Company Flamethrower (which should be shipping out soon, buyers must sign a waiver tho) so yeah. It could prove actually beneficial to house buyers in the long term if they do plan on building them with TBC's help. 

[GoldenLag]

inb4 the Tesla, Boring and SpaceX collector bricks............

[Taf the Ghost]

CA's issue is Land-Use & Land Costs. Though, weirdly, maybe Elon could actually get something done if he gives out tours of the facilities to the local politicians. 

[Phentos]

Just hope they don't make boring low cost housing with it. 

 

Because a boring house will make you feel like a stick in the mud.

 

 

 

 

^{I'll see myself out.}

[Brooksie359]

Building bricks seems more true to the company's name than most of the things it has done so far. 

[ItsMitch]

10 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Just hope they don't make boring low cost housing with it. 

 

Because a boring house will make you feel like a stick in the mud.

 

 

 

 

^{I'll see myself out.}

that was painful

[Phentos]

13 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

that was painful

I know. I cringed while typing out that drivel. 

[MrDynamicMan]

Reasons this is a dumb idea:

A) most buildings in America are built out of wood. Theres low demand.

B) Chain of supply. Where is the dirt coming out of the tunnel? Is there enough space to set up a brick factory?

C)  Odds are the dirt coming out of the tunnel isnt suitable to make bricks. Could be wrong, but thats just my guess.

D) Wooden houses are still waaaay faster to build than brick, especially small prefabs. After foundations are laid you can put a wooden prefab up in about 5 hours with workers who know whats up.

 

 

Reasons this is a good idea:
A) PR

B) Wherever the tunnel entrance is, dirt has to be moved away from there. Putting it in brick form adds value to the dirt, but it may not be worth the added cost.

C) Could possibly encourage a move towards better and sturdier brick houses over crappy wooden ones.
 

[ItsMitch]

5 minutes ago, MrDynamicMan said:

B) Chain of supply. Where is the dirt coming out of the tunnel? Is there enough space to set up a brick factory?

 

Considering that TBC has been digging for a few months now, I'm sure there's a huge supply of dirt or whatever. 

7 minutes ago, MrDynamicMan said:

D) Wooden houses are still waaaay faster to build than brick, especially small prefabs. After foundations are laid you can put a wooden prefab up in about 5 hours with workers who know whats up.

 

How come America hasn't changed to Brick tho, so much more durable than Wood and can survive quite the lashing in storm season. 

 

[MrDynamicMan]

Just now, SC2Mitch said:

Considering that TBC has been digging for a few months now, I'm sure there's a huge supply of dirt or whatever. 

Its not so much amount of dirt available, its the size of the manufacturing space.

Just now, SC2Mitch said:

How come America hasn't changed to Brick tho, so much more durable than Wood and can survive quite the lashing in storm season. 

 

Because brick is expensive and takes longer to build, basically.

[ScratchCat]

Courtesy of MS Paint, the greatest image editing program ever created:

[bcredeur97]

but how will the tunnels fare with earthquakes and such? Will the land above be made less stable from them?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, MrDynamicMan said:

Odds are the dirt coming out of the tunnel isnt suitable to make bricks. Could be wrong, but thats just my guess.

Almost any kind of dirt, etc. can be stabilized with Portland cement. The technology for making usable bricks from dirt has been around for a long time. Musk is just putting a new twist to it by making them interlocking, reducing the skill level and time needed to lay them. 

[ItsMitch]

1 minute ago, bcredeur97 said:

but how will the tunnels fare with earthquakes and such? Will the land above be made less stable from them?

Well, Tunnels are a lot more stronger because they'll be reinforced than actual land above it. Why you think there was fallout shelters during the war? Underground a lot safer from heavy hits especially during earthquakes, etc. 

[SpaceGhostC2C]

2 hours ago, SC2Mitch said:

I mean, if someone could make low cost housing for California then that's a good start I guess

It's important to bear in mind that what makes housing expensive, or better put, what makes housing so much more expensive on some areas compared to others, is mostly related to land prices, rather than the cost of construction materials or even labor.

Lower costs are lower costs, though, so everything can help a bit. But for a given level of demand, and given that land supply in a particular location is fixed, it may just mean a higher profit at equal price.

 

1 hour ago, MrDynamicMan said:

A) most buildings in America are built out of wood. Theres low demand.

It's sounds like an overstatement, but I don't know the numbers so it may as well be true. Do you have a good reference to look into that?

[Okjoek]

1 hour ago, MrDynamicMan said:

Reasons this is a dumb idea:

A) most buildings in America are built out of wood. Theres low demand.

B) Chain of supply. Where is the dirt coming out of the tunnel? Is there enough space to set up a brick factory?

C)  Odds are the dirt coming out of the tunnel isnt suitable to make bricks. Could be wrong, but thats just my guess.

D) Wooden houses are still waaaay faster to build than brick, especially small prefabs. After foundations are laid you can put a wooden prefab up in about 5 hours with workers who know whats up.

 

 

Reasons this is a good idea:
A) PR

B) Wherever the tunnel entrance is, dirt has to be moved away from there. Putting it in brick form adds value to the dirt, but it may not be worth the added cost.

C) Could possibly encourage a move towards better and sturdier brick houses over crappy wooden ones.
 

Don't forget Earthquake location. I'd rather not be in brick-housing.

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, MrDynamicMan said:

A) most buildings in America are built out of wood. Theres low demand.

What made you think that most buildings in the US are built using wood? 

[Okjoek]

17 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

What made you think that most buildings in the US are built using wood? 

Mass prefabrication that took place after the second world war.

[hobobobo]

I loled

 

We got free dirt and peasants need housing, we shall produce Age 4+ interlocking dirt bricks!

 

 

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 hour ago, VegetableStu said:

oh right that actually makes sense ._. but not sure if I'd prefer to be trapped underneath heavy rubble, or get buried with light wood splinters but self-rescuing involves getting impaled in various sizes

It's pretty much game over one way or another. What you want if you live in a seismic area is not to be buried by a particular material, but to use anti-seismic construction. I'm more familiar with concrete anti-seismic buildings, but I won't claim there isn't a wooden version without further knowledge.

[Guest The Viking]

2 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Don't forget Earthquake location. I'd rather not be in brick-housing.

basically he's digging up dirt from california for bricks but he won't be able to sell it in california knowing it's a highly sismic area?  well that starts badly.

15 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

It's pretty much game over one way or another. What you want if you live in a seismic area is not to be buried by a particular material, but to use anti-seismic construction. I'm more familiar with concrete anti-seismic buildings, but I won't claim there isn't a wooden version without further knowledge.

I'm also more familiar with concrete ones, that's what you have mainly here in europe, but those have deep foundations & use rubber to avoid sismic activity, rubber which is expensive and does come with its fair share of issues. Checked around, this link is very interesting (about wood frames)

https://csengineermag.com/article/wood-frame-construction-advantageous-in-areas-prone-to-seismic-activity/

Quote

Wood-frame systems, with solid design and construction, are proven to withstand the effects of powerful earthquakes. Wood’s versatility and structural performance offer a range of additional benefits and make it ideal for a number of building types and geographies.

 

 

so end of the day, musk's idea seems to be more for PR and maybe his fans who'll rush to buy pallets of bricks. Or he may really find some buyers who will put them to good use.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 minute ago, The Viking said:

so end of the day, musk's idea seems to be more for PR and maybe his fans who'll rush to buy pallets of bricks. Or he may really find some buyers who will put them to good use.

At least they should be Boring flamethrower-resistant  

[AlTech]

3 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

At least they should be Boring flamethrower-resistant  

I'm waiting for Musk to sell "Boring Sets" (just a bunch of Boring Bricks) much how like Legos are sold now or better yet just wholesaling Boring Bricks by the Kilogram lmfao .

[DanielMDA]

6 hours ago, SC2Mitch said:

Source: Elon Musk | Teslarati

Musk at it again with some weird ideas for the Boring Company. The Boring Company is currently boring it's way through the California underground to make way for the transportation routes but people brought up a interesting question about the excess mud and dirt from the project and people wondered what the Company would do with it. Well Elon now came up with a good strategy to turn the mud and dirt into bricks to help with the house building costs. 

S: https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-boring-co-bricks-affordable-housing/

 

I mean, if someone could make low cost housing for California then that's a good start I guess, Elon is known for his wild ideas, including the Boring Company Flamethrower (which should be shipping out soon, buyers must sign a waiver tho) so yeah. It could prove actually beneficial to house buyers in the long term if they do plan on building them with TBC's help. 

Praise The Lord Elon Musk, for he is  humanity`s savior

[RotoCoreOne]

Speaking of boring underground. I feel like we've been focused on building up... how about building neighborhoods and such underground?