Could this LEGO Plastic Brick replace Concrete Masonry Units?
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Lok N Blok podcast with Gregory Siener: • Lego-like Building Blo...
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:10 What is Lok N Blok?
3:40 Assembly
4:36 Properties
6:06 Concrete blocks
7:08 Plastic pollution
8:20 Sponsor
9:04 Pros
9:27 Hurdles
11:36 Conclusion
Lok N Blok is an innovative, easy to install, mortar-less, interlocking building block system. Its design enables quicker and easier installation than other building materials as it’s installed in fewer steps and doesn’t require specialized equipment. Lok N Blok is made of a proprietary mix of 49% recycled polypropylene, virgin polypropylene and fiberglass reinforcement. It also contains UV protection additives so it doesn’t become brittle in the presence of sunlight. It is smaller than a typical 8”x8”x16” CMU block. It is 12” long x 6” wide x 8” tall.
The block has tapered female dovetails on the ends and main faces. The slots measure 0.82” on the top and 0.53” on the bottom. Tapered male dovetails slide into these slots to create secure and strong connections. They can form flat ends, corners and even openings up to 6 feet in length with no additional header or reinforcement to maintain structural integrity. Square posts on the top surface of the block, fit into the square voids on the bottom surface of another block. This allows them to be stacked either directly on top of each other or offset by a quarter of a block or even half a block. There is no mortar or adhesive needed between the layers. The plastic webs in the middle have several purposes. They reduce the weight of the block, create room for additional insulation, and allow utilities to run vertically. Another cool feature is this circular void created when the blocks stack, which allows conduit and wires to run horizontally.
This system doesn’t require any reinforcement or concrete. However, you need to use a ⅝ inch threaded rod from the concrete slab or footer, through the entire wall. At the top of the wall, a compression spring nut holds the entire assembly down. All these features, especially the lack of mortar allows for quicker construction. It’s about 50 to 60% faster than traditional construction methods.
Lok N Blok is water resistant, chemical resistant, UV resistant, sound absorbing, bacteria resistant, easy to use, efficient and eco-friendly. It also has a high compressive strength, it’s lightweight, has high tensile strength and it’s fire resistant. That being said, it’s a new product so it costs more than traditional construction methods right now. It’s more expensive than steel stud walls and wood stud walls but it is 8% lower in cost compared to ICF walls.
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#lego #concrete #construction #plastic #recycling #buildings #energy #ecofriendly #carbonfootprint
Since this product has been in progress for 30 years, would have been good to see some projects where it was used already. Surely they have at least set up a demonstration sites and are gathering data on durability, fire testing, load tests, and a thousand other questions that they will need to answer to get it approved as a building material..
Great question zero answers.
If you want to know about studies please refer to Colombia, we have studied the construction of a transportation METRO and yet we haven´t been able to build it, too many doubts.....jejeje.
@@joseguevara184 Please provide links
Did a job in lake worth fla with a similar plastic product. Was a major pain in the ass. Learning curve may make it better. But they're glued together and the elevation was the main issue.
theres a reason y its accepted in S.America only.
Drawback! imagine the pain the Hulk must feel smashing through a wall and stepping on one of those giant lego bricks
🤣
I saw some thing related to this in Africa, where they were using recycled plastic to make blocks that they’re using for building schools. Their system clearly isn’t as sophisticated as this but it was such a good demonstration of the product. I would love to see some of what has been built in Central and South America.
I think I've seen those you mentioned. In a way I think those are better than these Lego blocks which still use a big part of new plastic and the one used in Africa, at least the one I saw were completely made out of recycled plastic.
Can you imagine what the chemical fumes will do to the endocrine system of those kids under the heat in Africa? They should be able to construct with proper material with all the resources they have... Well, if they were not been pillaged by us, that is.
In Canada, where I am, insulation is a big building component. Vapour retardant and air barrier integration in this system would mirror methods in CMU structures. You’d never worry about rot either, as we do with wood frame construction.
Plastics do "Rot" with heat cycling. Buildings are very much affected by heat cycling. Ask a mechanic why they hate plastic parts on older cars. They degrade and become embrittled over time with heat cycling and UV exposure. The thermostat housings on newer (2015ish+) mini coopers are a perfect example of this type of degradation.
Check out our new system in New Brunswick . Plaex bricks. Phenomenal! In eary stages but better!
Little concerned about how this would hold up in a fire compared to cement blocks, but I'd love to try it out on some smaller projects like a shed or something.
Also, plastics become too brittle in the freezing temperatures.
If you are thinking as a bare, exposed, product, then I would share the same concern. However, being as this is being used in new construction, and shaves 2 inches off the depth, that that is 2 inches of mineral wool insulation one could use which is highly flame resistant itself (or use aerogel insulation to save on space). This combination should be more than enough to buy the occupants ample time for exit, and possibly more. I do no see this being marketed for high rise buildings, so I am not even going down that path.
there's a reason this hasn't been used in the last 70 years. Also the share of recycled plastic is only 50% unfortunately.
@@MaximumEfficiency I'm sure they only use a small portion of recycled plastic because you don't know what you get from recycled. It could be a mixed bag of different types.
Brittle in cold? Melts in high heat? Burns in a fire? Thermal expansion and contraction through the seasons? Sustainability? Recyclable? Not as good as ceramics for compression? Lack of thermal sink compared to concrete? Cost? Dimensional stability?
I presume that the blocks could also be disassambled? If so, they could be an interesting option for rapidly constructed temporary buildings whose components can be reused, perhaps to make another type of building, and which could be transported in multiple smaller vehicles rather than needing a crane and low loader to shift a shipping container cabin, for example.
Burning man, carnivals, music concerts, etc.
I have more concern in mechanical resistance such as shear steranych but your apply seams more in place. Thanks for this 'new for me' applicable use case
Onsite contractor buildings comes to mind.
They specifically state that they are recoverable and reusable.
Some other kind of Prefab panels is propably more convenient- lego is a toy, to be optimal in real world temporary costruction this needs to factor in labor, too. Stacking bricks and then adding whatever you need is way more work than connecting a few panels and hooking up a few electric, ... connectors. (if you want something that packs small, and not just a bunch of containers)
Amazing product and great presentation. In your video you list "sound absorbing" as one of the benefits. Are there any specifications about its sound absorbing properties that are available? And has Greg considered application maybe in a different form factor as a sound dampening wall as we see along expressways where large concrete slabs are often used?
The shape is wonderful for the building construction. I am really impressed by the slot and wedge design. The idea of being able to have six foot opening without reinforcement is like magic. I just wish it was able to be shipped in a compact stack. One of the reasons Ikea is so profitable is they can flat pack anything. Shipping costs in money and carbon are based more on volume than weight. Think what papers cups would cost to ship if they did not stack so efficiently.
My concern is about the very low temperature. I've worked with polypropylene for 40 some years. In Canada, a few days after the temperature had dropped in the minus 20 to -30 degrees Celsius, people wearing PP orthosis would be coming in the lab for repair, replacement. Also, in the heat, sheets tend to warp, especially if it was nailed on the top of a table.
It will be good only for partition inside the building
Very good point when moulding reinforced PP the shrinkage added to the mould dimension would be in the region of 1.4% expansion and contraction against that of external and internal liners need to be considered. The difference in shrinkage and expansion against the steel hold down system over the heights needed is huge which will cause cold creep in hot weather. When the cold weather comes the steel hold down system is not holding at all.
These materials are crap but the idea is fine.
I've worked with plastic enough to know that as they decay, they emit poisonous compounds. So...no thanks!
@@815TypeSirius haha yyeah I agree
*Industrial Legos. I love it! My childhood building days will not have been in vain.*
I'm sure hundreds of inventors tried to do this before but failed for some reason. Maybe because the share of recycled plastic is only 50%?
Sounds great until you die from the toxic smoke or smoldering plastic during a fire. Horrible idea until they invent a plastic that is immune to fire and does not generate toxic smoke.
Although Lego now have in excess of 10000 unique molds. These guys need to catch up.
I was thinking the SAME THING!😅
Except this isn't how Lego works. The closest toy to this is Fischertechnik from Germany, which was marketed as engineering toys for kids. A lot of the instructions from the older sets actually go through different mechanical and engineering principals and explained how they worked far better than Lego ever did.
One of the attractions of ICFs is the protection against flying objects...i.e. tornado or hurricane damage. Wouldn't see these providing much in that regard. Might be possible to fill some cavities in the block to increase that feature. On the other hand, there's no mention of the fact that bugs would have no interest in these blocks, which is of considerable value in many situations. Interesting product.
They did say there was glass fibr in the block that bugs dont like. I'm not sold on the product though.
@@fishy2939termintes seem to make their way into the outside foam so you really have to seal it off with tape along the bottom of an ICF outside wall.
Insects were mentioned.
Saw this at the Orlando Build Show. Now skilled labor or DIYers can build a shipping container (but wider) shed in the backyard with a rooftop deck in a day or two. It was nice! Once they get a factory next to a plastic recycling plant it'll get cheaper but cost will be more than concrete.
Not it's not. Go to their website they have cost breakdowns for everything.
@@thatamerican3187 did you even play with the sq ft slider on the price, it costs more than half of of the other methods, yes it is faster but that is it. They need to r&d making it cheaper, also put it through testing for things like high wind, flood, hurricanes, and fire
You should definitely do a follow up on this. Some of the concerns people have in the comments are really interesting.
The follow-up has already been... almost 30 years now.
Brittle in cold? Melts in high heat? Burns in a fire? Thermal expansion and contraction through the seasons? Sustainability? Recyclable? Not as good as ceramics for compression? Lack of thermal sink compared to concrete? Cost? Dimensional stability?
@@SoloRenegade/videos You're missing the point. It has nothing to do with practicality or the environment. Its just that the established upper class wants to dictate who gets to live and who doesn't. That's why there's this obsession with building materials that can be easily controlled. Clay, lumber, concrete, soil, steel, etc can be found almost everywhere and the supply chains have few bottlenecks. However, the petroleum industry relies on a small number of refineries that can be easily controlled. Our country could end most of the epidemic of self-harm right now. The issue is that the people who make the rules pop a cork every time "one of those people" offs themselves.
@@ryelor123 yes, they want to prevent farming (first target of all socialists and communists in history). They want to stop car ownership and freedom of movement. they want to track and tax every individual transaction and penny spent. they want to control what energy we use to stay warm, to cook our food with, etc. They control our education and much of our media and propaganda. The seek to take control over children from parents. Thy are trying very hard to destroy community, religion, etc. They promote the welfare state at every opportunity. It never ends with these people.
Buen comentario!@@ryelor123
The ONLY cons are cost and regulations? I find that hard to believe.
I don't think they had time to study long term health effects yet... and I'm not gonna volunteer. lmao
fire unstability and share of recycled plastic is only 50%
Plus, the problem with recycled plastic isn't that we can't find uses for it, it's that plastic doesn't end up recycled. You won't be protecting the environment by using more plastic. The plastic in oceans was dumped there and would be dumped without ever considering recycling.
@@csehszlovakze she addressed the health concerns, that polypropylene has very low health risk and is not known to cause cancer, unlike many other kinds of plastics.
@zjg4gcvn she addressed pricing. it's more expensive, but not 20 times more, by a long shot.
I love her show the information is so helpful to us simple people, and she make science look 😊
Heat and fire are significant draw backs, which, I trust, will be overcome before being approved for construction use. They look great for DIY.
"I trust"?? If Grenfell and "plyscrapers" are any indication, I don't know if such trust is warranted.
I would like to see this tested in 2k sq ft working homes in both high heat and freezing temps over 15 years.
dont forget applied load - plastic is not known for its rigidity and resistance to compressive loading
@@mike60521x creep is propably a questin of additives like mica, microballoons, sawdust, .... fibreglass.... Also, pp wastewater pipes have been common for a while now. (in germany, with graphite additives as uv stabilizers... don't ask me, i'm don't know too much about it.) They last. They don't carry huge mechanical loads, of course.
Polypropylene is frequently used in fridges. Ive a fridge thats been in use for 30 years, its indistinguishable from its new state. Poly, is a miracle material that we not used enough, due to the fact it's one of the most expensive plastics
@@davidduffy9806 ah, but there is no external load placed upon your fridge - not to mention it is probably indoors (away from the deteriorating effects of uv on plastic) I have a cooler that is over 50 years old - it keeps the beer and the ice cold until it all melts - but I dont put the weight of a roof on the cooler either
@@davidduffy9806 does it receive a good dose of UV exposure?
I dunno. All plastics have a certain amount of elastic creep associated with them. Maybe the glass fiber reinforcement might slow that down, but I'd want to know those specifications before building with the material. You don't want to end up with a wall that sags over time.
I also wonder about the compressive strength for deformation and failure.
My same issue with this is creep, expansion and contraction cycles. I see why they use a spring retention on the top. Thermal cycling will likely cause significant expansion and contraction. Glass reinforcement will reduce this by about 50% but still. Concrete has a thermal expansion coefficient of 12, wood is around 30-60 depending on species and polypropylene is 150. What happens if a structure isn't winterized and heated or cooled for a period of time and you go through a 135+ degree F temperature cycle. Is it going to split all the sheetrock joints? Is it going to max out the compression springs and cause permanent deformation and damage of the blocks. What happens if the compression springs fail? Now your structure loses 100% of its tensile strength? No thanks. Hard pass. Cute idea though. I'd buy some for the kids to use to make a fort.
I own a tongue and groove home and they sag too over time, I think any building block material will do that be it wood, plastic, hemp or otherwise because it’s gravity that holds it together, but also as the house settles over time all these homes will sag due to the weight. But at least living surrounded by wood has a great aesthetic over the other materials so tongue and groove is my preference
Glass fibers == no recycling.
I would like to see some scientific comparison, aside from an infomercial. I can not get terribly excited over the benefits/drawbacks of concrete block in the first place. Concrete blocks are relatively cheap. Working with block is reasonably versatile and fast. But concrete is absorbtive, and susceptible to crumbling if the mix is less than perfect ( I have seen many instances that crumbled for lack of adequate portland cement in the mix. examples were cottage homes built around 1940 ) . Materials science should be able to offer an analysis of this product. Being proprietary for a patent is a problem. This would make the product unsuitable to be locally manufactured close to the market being served, and not able to be multiple-sourced. Concrete is not a brand, it is a specified formula. But I see huge potential... no need for concrete pumps, truck access issues, and truck weight limitations for bridges and community roads. Concrete may be best used, where it is cast-in-place, with rebar, to beg the benefits the two offer when working together. Have these been used for retaining walls, to demonstrate performance?
Could this be used for residential fencing right now in the US? Does it come in colors? Does it need an exterior facing, or is the material the finished look?
This would be wonderful for setting up inside walls. Imagine adding, subtracting bedrooms as your children grow up! (Or move back😮)
I feel like there is less shown about the drawbacks than normal in this video, but I also hope something like this can become successful
I noticed this too. I'm curious why the cost to construct is so much higher. It costs more "because it's a new product" doesn't make sense if it's been around for 30 years.
@@apathy_led wait for the patent to expire.
@@wabisabi7399 Exactly.
Anyone else seeing giant lego bricks?
Well, gee, *LEGO* is mentioned in the title and shown on the thumbnail, so _everyone_ should be seeing it.
@@grondhero funnily enough it wasn't mentioned when I watched the video because that's something that the creator has changed since it was published.
I'm an HVAC technician considering different material for a new construction home for my family. I'd love to see demonstrations of its insulative qualities, resistance to flooding, bullet resistance (this is America, sadly) among other things. Cool product with a lot of potential!
Introduces an alternative brick material and the question is: what is the bullet resistance? So you live in a war zone... nope USA
HAVAC Tech and your concern is bullets? WTF?
Fear monger much?
Bullet resistant? STF up beta
Hvac tech here....your believe all this bs?!?! 😂 must not have been a tech very long!😅
I would have issues with outgassing, instability, and longevity from the plastic blocks, especially in extreme weather. How would these blocks work in hot Arizona summer or in an Alaskan blizzard? What about fires?
I worked for a plastic extrusion company up until a few days ago since I took a new job utilizing my skills. That being said... All that crap plastic, if someone can clean it, and cut it up, it is pretty easy to extrude blocks like these even with mixed plastics and revolutionize the building industry. I was supposed to be designing the the metal parts to extrude these types of profiles, but they would never really let me do the CAD work, only the machining work. This is the type of stuff I would have loved doing more of. I hope that it makes its way out into the real world.
This stuff would melt in a fire,… and crack in very cold weather… it’s not better than the materials we currently use… only cheaper and lighter ….
Nice video. I'd like to see how much you can get these to be insulated to work for a passive home building material. What I would have liked to have seen in this video is that if it's been approved for use in 11 other countries, have they built anything with them yet? And if so, can we see the structures they've built? Even a prototype would be nice to see. And 327 F is pretty low temp for burning.
How do you lock plastic blocks as one wall on concrete floor and Celling? Can you do cement plaster to cover plastic blocks or need sheet rock?
interesting product - can you tell us the r-value / insulative properties - with and without foam insulation in-fill. And where they are in the process of getting it approved in the USA? Thx
Thank you. I see many applications for this product provided it is available at a reasonable price. Particularly interested in using the product to build custom risers for septic tanks as opposed to premade plastic risers.
Nice video Belinda, well done. I have many questions. My intuition is that LNB may not fare too well in a wind load test, compared to CMU with concrete and steel in the interstitial space, but I am curious. I wonder how much engineering analysis has been done. Is this the work (or barrier) that must be overcome as a precursor to wider acceptance in the US and elsewhere? Certified engineering analysis with wind tunnel, fire, and durability testing would be expensive. But, the cost to do this work may pay large dividends. If the founder has been working on this idea for decades, maybe he already tried and failed this approach. I have no idea, but I am very curious, and I have potential development project applications for this product.
Brittle in cold? Melts in high heat? Burns in a fire? Thermal expansion and contraction through the seasons? Sustainability? Recyclable? Not as good as ceramics for compression? Lack of thermal sink compared to concrete? Cost? Dimensional stability?
I don't think the objective is to beat concrete - rather, you want to beat wood.
It won't go anywhere. Wood and concrete are readily available and the issue with "climate" due to concrete is overblown and akin to people thinking that smoke detectors cause cancer due to Americium inside of them being radioactive. The only reason for the current war on concrete is that racist "pillars of the community" in countless towns and cities across America are unhappy that "certain people" are allowed to build homes in their communities. Same stuff that's been going on for centuries. Don't let blue-bloods gain the power to decide who lives and who dies. The reason for all this hype over plastic construction is that its relatively easy to control the plastics industry whereas its very difficult to control the concrete and lumber industries which can operate almost everywhere.
@@michaelnurse9089 trees grow for free. Not sure how plastic fiberglass is going to beat that. And being so light it will have a LOT of flux in a high wind which would be fine if the roof can also be done with them. However standard trusses will not like that at all.
@@SoloRenegade Many of those answers were given in the video. It sounds like you didn't watch it before asking these questions.
Retired construction site manager, just wish this product had been available when I first started. Endless possibilities, good luck with the product.
Maybe it was addressed in the video and I missed it, but how would you run the plumbing? Those center channels don't look big enough to ensure proper slope over longer distances.
Building practices would of course need to be adapted to this material (polypropylene has quite different thermal expansion and creep properties compared to concrete, and it would need fire-retardant cladding) , but it would be no more of a challenge than we already have when incorporating engineered wood into a building. The one thought I have is that in the case of a house fire, you would need to be able to leave the house before the blocks reach a melting temperature and the walls collapse. It would also give off carbon monoxide during a house fire with uncontrolled oxygen supply, but then so do many other materials inside a house already.
AND YOU DIE BEFORE THE FIRE FIGHTERS SHOW UP……
Interesting product that could be revolutionary. Comparing it to ICF costs at this point is not a fare comparison due to it containing zero insulation or water/vapor barrier. Adding some sort of cost/SF for 4 inches of foam insulation and some barriers would be more realistic. That said, if this becomes more mainstream, it would almost certainly drop in price as volume increased.
@sleze, agreed. This system will require the addition of insulated sheeting material and cladding on the exterior as well as some sort of interior cladding. That will make for a very thick wall. There are other block wall systems that have insulation value built into them (such as hemp blocks) which would only need a skim coat on the outside and inside, making for a thinner wall with less labor. I can see this system being useful in commercial applications as a moveable wall system.
I’m not so sure about lower cost. Yes there may be some economies of scale in production but material cost is unlikely to decrease. Recycled plastics tend to become more expensive than virgin plastics due to collection and reprocessing costs unfortunately. Looks like a nice product but I’d be concerned with fire safety. It’s like building with coal or oil. PP is very flammable.
@@johndervilla Yeah, 327 F melting point isn't very reassuring.
Brittle in cold? Melts in high heat? Burns in a fire? Thermal expansion and contraction through the seasons? Sustainability? Recyclable? Not as good as ceramics for compression? Lack of thermal sink compared to concrete? Cost? Dimensional stability?
@@SoloRenegade No, HDP is not brittle in any liveable temperature. No, it does not melt in any liveable temperature. No, it does not readily burn. No, it does not expand or contract. I don't know what you mean by sustainability. The word can mean all manner of things. The recyclability question was addressed in the video, and the answer is yes. Did you watch the video? Ceramics are not very useful in construction. They are resistant to compression, but they are brittle. Concrete block is not a particularly significant thermal sink. It is always cold and damp and has little R value. The cost question is addressed in the video. HDP is highly dimensionally stable, remarkably so.
Really incredible -- This need to be embraced throughout the world -- This is great product
What they purposely wont tell you upfront is how their products have a large carbon foot print too. Aside from the carbon foot print of the fiber glass and the 50% newly made plastic thats used in this product, watch the videos of the many processes used to sort the plastics and to melt down the used plastics and to then combine that with the 50% new plastic and fiber glass to then make the blocks
I was skeptical of this too. All plastics are melted using heat. The one saving is reusability. They should build a house to stock complexation. Then tare it down, Showing the factor of what is reusable.
@@alsuncat I think you made a very good point
You do have a point. We need to look at the whole picture. However it is always least effort and carbon intensive to build nothing. Now in the real world folks need places to live and work. There just aren't enough caves for all of us anymore. The one time use plastics already exist and we are chosing to continue making more. Our only choices are to recycle them or to dump them in the ground somewhere. This product recycles 50% more of it than any other building material. Definitely compare the impact of this method verses other materials we can use. One of the benefits of these materials is plastic sequestering. A place to store them until we figure out the ecological cost of plastics to the world. If we donot find cost effective ways to reuse or unmake these plastics the world will have them forever. Now compare that to the other possible building materials we can use. Things will get built. Our choices are which materials cause the least damage. The first rule I was taught was Bigger, Better, and Cheaper. You can only pick 2.
The product is put forward as having a smaller carbon footprint than concrete block. It also uses no water in the assembly process. Less skilled labor is required to assemble, etc. It's not offered as an environmentally perfect solution. It has a number of benefits. Add those up.
I agree that the process doesn't reduce new pollution, but it is a good idea for recycling plastic waste that is an existing pollutant.
Bonding and attaching to it would most likely be very difficult. How do you screw to it? Eg, windows and door frames, drywall and other structural and non structural items that need to be attached to it.
Not surprised the US hasn't approved this. In my opinion, lobbying is the biggest hurdle to innovation in the US. Large existing industry groups will try anything to kill small companies with good ideas that hurt their profit margin.
why i moved!
From the time of Tesla
Hi Belinda, you said it is not approved as a building material in the US. but there seems to be a lot of competition building in the sector. What do you think the hold-up could be? Is the concrete block lobby in Washington DC blocking this product?
Interesting to see what the blocks and seam integrity looks like in 30-50 yrs.
Concrete and mortar can last for 50-100+ years. Does this kind of material has the endurance necessary to withstand this kind of time-spans? I don't ask this out of nowhere, I presently live in an apartment that is over 70 years old, and probably more solid than most newer apartment buildings being built nowadays. I would be very bothered by knowing that the place I live have a lifespan lower than mine.
Concrete can last 50 years? Your apartment is 70 years? Are you 100% sure it is safe? I am playing the devil's advocate here.
@@michaelnurse9089 The minimum expected lifespan of structural reinforced concrete is 50 years. The only reason this isn't longer is because of the steel reinforcement corrodes over time eventually damaging the concrete. There are other more expensive ways of reinforcing concrete that will extend the lifespan to hundreds of years. All that famous roman empire architecture is made from concrete.
A great idea which uses plastic waste - I'd like to see interlocking plastic roof tiles too
They don't use plastic waste. They use new polypropylene made from fossil fuel. In theory it can be recycled but no one is doing it because it's too expensive to sort and clean plastic waste. If they used mixed plastic it wouldn't pass safety tests.
How about its strength,where does it stand on this parameter compared to cement blocks in multi storey building? And how about using them in parallel with cemented or brick wall, so outer wall with brick and inner adjacent wall with this block? People need to apply neils and screws on walls, would it be possible with these blocks still being strong?
@GoatZilla has already mentioned its resistance to fire, there may be concrete blocks that carry the building, but it is very important that plastic bricks do not burn during the fire, and if this method holds, the use of plastic may increase, and the residue of this product may appear in plastics.
This was so exciting! I would love to see a structure made of this, and see a price breakdown.
I am concerned that they don't have a single picture or example of the product in use on their site. Not even a model at office location (even if not habitable). If they are being used in Peru or other locations outside the US then show the product in use. Great concept, but as you summarized...just a concept....for now.
I get the impression the project is improperly funded. Like they had $3mil but needed $300mil.
theres a reason y its accepted in S.America only.
Throw in more savings as you don't need pressure treated sill plates. Also what's the R value if you want to fill the non wireways with foam?
If i want to plaster it with cement,will it holds in order not to flake off?
When I eventually go to build a Passive House down in VA, given crawl spaces are a given requirement with the soil and rain conditions, I would be more than happy to use this over cinder blocks. Hope this is approved in the U.S. in the next 5 years.
To be honest, ICF blocks are better for this purpose. You can pour the footers and the walls in one go with them too if you plan it out correctly too.
@@joshnabours9102 Thanks for the info. Will look into it.
I think it would get more momentum if they left it open sourced. Like, post the design online and people can make their own molds. Paper-crete and air-crete is under rated IMO. It could get more people making their own blocks.
I've googled a price for these but can't find it listed anywhere. I'd say that if it cost so much that you can't list the price then no, it will never compete with concrete blocks. Second concern is this is a crude oil by product. What happens to the price as the demand for crude oil falls, as it's starting to do. Can these be made from other oils for the same price?
This stuff looks amazing!
Fire would definitely be a concern. Also, curious what thermal expansion/contraction would be like.
No more concern than wood,really.
Wood is way more healthy! And it would be better to smell and breathe wood burned whole day than breathing burned plastic for only a minute.
@@jeffdunnell6693 ...not sure wood melts at 340-something °F.
@ she said in the video when it burns it only releases co2 and water vapor.
@dinah9463 Maybe some kind of plastic in ideal conditions. Don't believe everything that is advertised.
Lots of potential. Especially in certain, specific, applications. Would like to see a wider interior space for thermal insulation.
Love this idea! Wish I could use it
Thank you for for educating us.
This channel is such a blessing! Thank you for sharing all these amazing innovations with us!
On the timed test, I didn't see the metal rods and the compression done. Shouldn't that be a part of it?
it should
I did. The five rods (three per face) were visible for the entire build, and the very last moment at the end of the timelapse showed them putting on the compression cap. The only thing not demonstrated was tightening a few nuts at the top.
Good product. Worth looking into.
I live on Phoenix AZ and I can only imagine how hot it would be in there on the summer.
what is its insulation value and can insulation be added to it? Doesn't seem like it has much of an advantage compared to wood construction, at least in the US. Wood is cheaper, renewable, and probably easier to fix
and wood shavings arent a pollutant in and of themselves
@@bigmikeobama5314 The good about using plastic and wood in construction is that they trap CO2 for many years.
I was thinking the same thing. How do you insulate this? Considering the channels within the structures are intended for conduit or passing wiring, how do you insulate it? If you have to build a wooden frame on the inside of the structure to insulate it, you might as well just start with wood construction for the entire project.
I'm still leaning towards hempcrete and hemp blocks, but repurposing some of the plastic might have some use.
I have watched several videos about using waste plastic and that sounds infinitely better.
Agreed. What are the thermal values?
why do the weed guys want everything to be weed lmao
@@MemeMan_MEMESQUAD Weed is a wonder plant.
@@VulcanLogic ahahaha
Fascinating-would love to try this
Where should we purchase this product? What is the price?
Hi Belinda, love your channel, I find the information very useful. About this video I ha difficulty believing that the PP blocks resist up to more than 300 °C and the fumes are harmless. I’m a Textile Engineer and I’ve always known that PP melts below 100°C and emits poisonous gasses. I’d like to know what makes the difference. Thanks and best regards
That was 300F not 300C!
This sounds too good to be true. 1 problem that I would like to know is the sourcing pure uncontaminated polypropylene from landfill or other mixed waste
I didn't hear much about insulation rating. Or how to add insulation, and what kind of insulation. Will it work in minus 40 degrees F?
How well does it work for sound proofing compared to CMU?
How does it handle subzero environment?
I'm not sure about the fire resistance claim but otherwise this is amazing. Especially for unbuilding and rebuilding in the lifecycle of housing.
of course this amazing. what a joke.
I would not say they are really fire resistant. She said they would not start to melt until 380 degrees and would not give off harmful gases. I am not sure I would a=want to use these in a house but a garage maybe. And at that low of a melting point unless they are under ground or had a brick varier I would not use them. This week in the south there were temps off refections that came close to the melting point. They need to get the melting point to above 500 degrees.
I never use candles and I am over 60 I don't worry about a fire.
No mention of horizontal strength? And how do you make it water tight for wet area ?
It can be seen that this product has a lot of edges and if this product seeks to addressing the problem of cement usage, then in terms wall smoothening what product will be used to smoothen the wall
Being a mason I love the ease of construction but the appearance is a bit lacking as a final product but I suppose you could drywall over interior walls and add siding. It would be great for storage sheds
Hey buddy I've gotta a good idea. Instead of having to drywall over or stucco over, you could actually use a good product that is sooo perfect in it's application, it's called the concrete block.
buen punto
I see no reason why this can't be used to build prefab walls rather than just blocks. The fire rating is a big worry. 300 degrees is much too low. It would be nice to know how it reacts to fire. Does it melt or combust? Can he develop an exterior cladding that could protect it? The use of fiber enriched plastics could be engineered to many things, like extrude an exterior. See Jacque Fresco's work
Awesome can't wait to see more I hope and pray for better home building methods more simple DIY
Nice video, well done, thank you for sharing it with us :)
Yes it has voids for electric wire and plumbing pipes but it does not look like it would be easy to install electrical boxes or plumbing stub outs making it more difficult for the trades making it way more expensive Take care Ray
The product website says "Greenfield or Romex could be run through this cavity and brought out at any point by simply drilling through the side of the block for access." So don't pay an expensive electrician to drill. Pay someone else to drill the openings. The website doesn't say if a hole saw or jigsaw or other saw is recommended.
@@flinx as a retired electrician of 47 years cutting an electrical box in a plastic block would not be simple and electrical and plumbing cannot be done by unskilled labor and you also need to have a tradesman there the entire time your laying block
@Raymond Peters I agree. I also don't see it working well with plumbing. Plumbing had alot of sanitary ware that is wall mounted this days and we use alot of wall anchors. If anything I wouldn't mind using it for a shed but not for a home.
@@raymondpeters9186 maybe if you want the box done perfect but plenty of homebuilding is only done adequately. Also before blocks are placed, have blueprints specify which need cutouts, and cut holes in individual blocks while they're easy to clamp on a table at comfortable height.
@@flinx how many homes have you built? I've wired thousands
How long does the uv resistance last for?
plastic
You're a good teacher. I love this LOC N BLOC. It could go a long ways in relieving some of the pressures in housing the homeless.
what is the cost per block compared to an 8x8x16 concrete block?
My understanding is that few of the plastics in use can be recycled, and these blocks use only one type of plastic. How about shear and weight bearing?
Also what about cold resistance ie: does it get brittle in the cold what about snow loading or how about hot dry ie: Arizona/New Mexico/Vegas?
As an architect I think this is a wonderful product, although it’s not great for every project, I think this will be revolutionary in many areas of construction
Little concerned about how this would hold up in a fire compared to cement blocks
For sure better then timber and most houses in the USA are made of timber@@user-mp9sg7bb7e
What is the compression strength. And torsion, how mucjh loads it can take. Is it non load baring wall used for, or load baring walls. Cost of this product. Plastic also give harmful CO2 release to us in home if we use this it is also give more CO2 and other harmful gases than cement is it true or not.
Very interesting content. Thanks for sharing this video.
400f just isn't high enough, imo. also no thermal mass, built-in insulation, or continuous air barrier ...like ICF. interesting tho, for sure, & could have some nice use-cases. certainly better than CMU, but most things are these days. btw, we rightfully demonize cement ...but still use it for really dumb things (cast decor, fencing, walkways, etc). if a dwelling made with it is still useful after several hundreds of years, that should be a consideration in debating it's eco-footprint.
Polypropylene is molten by 170°C, but at what temperature does it lose it's ability to bear weight? Injection molding is done at under 200° Cement is much more than "limestone burned in a kiln" it needs iron and alumina along with other elements like magnesium that affect its finished properties. (this is why slag and fly ash are often incorporated) Yes, cement (and products made from it, like concrete) use water to cure and release CO² during manufacture but they also don't lose strength until _all_ that water of hydration is driven off. I'm not here trying to defend cement, just saying that it has its place and advantages.
Yes! Use the materials wisely and reduce the demand for them by introducing other (better?) materials when the eco-unfriendly one is not needed. I say “better” because all of them will end up with issues.
This looks great, shame the regulations are so slow here sometimes
The material used is great. It speaks excellence, with the 10 year patent design, it meant QUALITY that LASTS. Earthquake, soil erosion, geodetic movements protected based on QUALITY and the Resistance test and Vent DESIGN, that makes it as sturdy as CONCRETE, interlocking and Configurable. Congratulations.
Great video. Keep making more videos of similar interesting topics
These are very interesting, and I've been interested in lighter weight building materials. The manufacturing process on these seems bizarre though - that clip of the massive robotic arm lifting two teeny blocks out of the casting area is kind of absurd. That said, it looks like they have only maybe an inch of clearance for insulation, which seems like it just invalidates the whole concept from the bottom up. Maybe in a few decades when we have cheap aerogel insulation with R30 per inch or something, but - you have to insulate walls! It's essential. An uninsulated wall might as well not exist.
True. One of the advantages of plastics is that they (usually) can be easily molded into any shape. The addition of glass fibers might require additional systems, but, after so many iterations, one would expect the robotic systems in the production line to be much simpler and faster.
Dropping blocks is a somewhat disingenuous display of their 'strength' as they are being marketed to build buildings and infrastructure, not landers on mars. A Compression and Shearing comparison would be vastly more useful information As much as I appreciate new technologies and development, there is an odour to this that I can't quite put my finger on, almost like it's a mild attempt at greenwashing the product and being unwilling to be critical of it's potential flaws. To be fair, that may be due to a lack of available information, however still make me feel like I'm being marketed towards rather than informed
Great observation and expression. 💯
Agreed. She seems overly excited for this that she didn't want to probe for potential limitations.
For me they never addressed insulation, whether you can plaster it (plastic is ugly), what exactly will happen in a fire, what you can actually build with it. I get the impression the project is heavily underfunded.
Honest marketing should make all the information available. Sadly, that's not incentivized enough when everyone else just tells you the positives and has tradition on their side.
That clip triggered me as well. After that, I couldn't get the smell out of my brain. It reminded me of an old Volvo 760 TV commercial in 1980s, Volvo drove their car of a bridge/cliff (can't remember) and when it landed, it demonstrated the car's perfect crumble zone and "safe" occupant compartment. Years later, it was proven to be completely rigged with the mule considerably strengthened for the video. Never let the truth get in the way of a good marketing advertisement or, now days, an influencers content.
I would love to use this for long term camping,but I don’t how to put a roof on it! I really like this Idea for creating inter walls also.
can it be painted? what if we needed smooth surface on the wall?
I regard any claims as talk until I see certifications and a post disaster engineering report. They tell us cross laminated timber will survive a wildfire despite entire forests being reduced to ash, concrete block is earthquake resistant, yet entire towns are reduced to rubble and stick frame construction is a good idea for hurricane belts. Best of luck...
I think you are conflating concrete blocks with concrete used in some of the taller buildings. A properly reinforced concrete structure with rebars and the holes completely filled along with a structurally sound foundation would generally survive most earthquakes. The problem is that concrete block structures are weaker when the walls sway back and forth and the anchor system are compromised. In earthquake prone areas, concrete structures are required to be retrofitted with lag bolts that help maintain the wall against the structural support members. This prevents the walls from swaying far enough to separate from the support system to hold the roof, etc. Not every concrete home is built to those standards. As a result, you will continue to see pictures of collapsed building that has standards that will not meet a typical earthquake code. Another thing to be aware is that most structures are built to handle up to a certain level of earthquake shaking. Some of the recent earthquakes such as the 7.8 one in Turkey are so extreme that most buildings other than in high earthquake areas are not built to withstand those level of shaking even if they met code. In some of these areas, the code are less stringent because earthquakes are not common.
@@ahndeux brand new buildings built in Turkiye came down, despite being post tensioned and adhering to the latest earthquake codes. Block used in the Caribbean from Mexico to the islands does not survive hurricanes, yet those are built to code.. If you go to Florida and examine the Surfside collapse, you will see how rebar reinforced concrete high rise buildings perform when undermined. There are a lot of buildings that will be demolished after this last hurricane in Florida that are fairly new also. My point is this. the claims of a block made of plastic and fibreglass not burning is fantastic. Have you never seen a plastic highway traffic barrier block or fiberglass yacht burn? Same materials. I know this because I send building materials and floor wall and ceiling assemblies for destructive testing and have seen how companies pay off or pressure the testers and magically get their ratings. Money and political pressure work. Maybe not in this case, but until I see if this material survives year over decade without failure or experiences a failure, treat claims as claims and don't be so quick to jump on the bandwagon and declare this as a new wonder material that will be the unicorn gamechanger that will solve all problems. I've been around the block in this industry and seen a lot of great things fail and conversely, a lot of failures that bankrupt a lot of consumers.
I would like to know more about multi story construction using lock n block. I couldn't help but notice that all the example homes are slab foundation single floor single family dwellings.
This product might work as a curtain or partition wall, but I can't see it working as a _load-bearing_ component in multistorey construction.
Brittle in cold? Melts in high heat? Burns in a fire? Thermal expansion and contraction through the seasons? Sustainability? Recyclable? Not as good as ceramics for compression? Lack of thermal sink compared to concrete? Cost? Dimensional stability?
@@SoloRenegade well when you put it that way...
@@kurtnelle These are the types of things I think about as an engineer. we've been evaluating using plastic in some of our new products to save weight, where we typically use metal. the thermal expansion of plastic can be a lot, especially over 8ft or more. We have a part that is 8ft, and if made from plastic it will expand and contract almost 3cm with changes in temp. not all plastics are the same. some perform better in some parameters than others. The trick is getting enough parameters to be right all at once. For buildings it might same cost in construction (time/material), but how does it hold up long term? I'm sticking with concrete, wood and metal for my home/shop, as they are proven materials, and my own experience designing plastic parts doesn't give me confidence in them being used for buildings.
@@SoloRenegade I could be wrong but thermal expansion vertically is controlled by the threaded compression rods--I know your concern was not vertical expansion, but I wanted to get that out of the way up front. As for horizontal expansion, when she showed the cross section views top and bottom it looked like each block has about 3mm of expansion take up space on each end or about 6mm per 300mm block. That doesn't include the natural take up form there being no linear length horizontally longer than about 50mm. I am a design engineer, also with experience in plastics, but not having worked with these blocks in person, I am only speculating about the details I see that look a lot like obvious expansion mitigation elements in the design. I would be more concerned about being brittle in cold climates. Glass reinforced would help with this but they didn't mention the glass content. Out-gassing would also be a concern. When a certain plastic is determined to be safe for humans I have to wonder, did they make that determination with a human sitting in a room next to some plastic products? Or did they test with people literally encased in plastic boxes? End of the day it is a petroleum product.
how would you attach siding? and I guess don't use it if your area is tornado proned.
Thanks for sharing!
Fired hazard Lego 😅
Cool. Is it possible to add metric measurements while introducing the items?
The block is approximately 150mm deep, 300mm long and 200mm high. (1 inch = 25.4mm) Edit: 5/8" threaded rod = ~ 16 mm
@@jimurrata6785 thx, what about temperatures?
@@pirnimoos 100C = 212F 200C = 392F, 400C = 752F
How do you recycle them? Fiber glass and plastic??
2 questions- how would this building block perform in places with very hot weather, like the tropical regions and desert regions. Cement blocks are generally used in such regions because they have a cooling effect in the heat. 2- how do u run pipes through it, or run pipes from inside to the outside. Pipes like water pipes