TOPEKA (KSNT) - When it comes to building a home, you're probably familiar with a long construction process. But what if there was a way that could be exponentially shorter? The answer to that could be 3D-printed homes. "Whether you're printing a piece for a stove or a toy, the general concept is the same, this is just substantially larger," Trident Homes owner, Chris Stemler said. "Print on-site under a big tent, takes a day or two to print all the internal and external walls of the house." According to Stone & Story Real Estate Group CEO, Darin Stephen, Shawnee County has been in a housing crisis since pre-covid. With over 175,000 people living in the county, he says there should be at least 300 to 400 homes available at any given time, and this new vision of home building can do just that. "It gives us the ability to help an entire group of people that we couldn't do and we can't service today in the general market," Stephen said. But how exactly are they made? Made of cement, lime, sand and water, lines of concrete are poured on top of each other just like any other 3D printer, and they eventually form all the walls of the home. "It's basically built on a large trellis for lack of a better term, and it has actuators and motors that move the printer and the trellis up and down based on the size and the height, and it has a telescoping head, again, so that we can control how the print actually goes," Stemler said. Not only are they built fast, but also efficiently. "In a traditional stick-built house, things happen. You've got the damage; you've got things that just wear and tear on the house," Stephen said. "This type of construction gives you that ability to have something that is durable,  that's lasting and going to stand over the test of time." ...read more read less