House Built with Cement Prefabricated Panels

Houses built with cement prefabricated panels are structures constructed primarily using prefabricated panels, offering advantages such as low cost and rapid construction. However, they have drawbacks including weak earthquake resistance, poor sound and thermal insulation, limited service life, and prominent waterproofing issues, and are gradually being replaced by cast-in-place concrete and prefabricated buildings.

Houses built with cement prefabricated panels originated in the early 20th century and were widely used in residential construction in China before 1985. Rural self-built houses also commonly used prefabricated panels as roofs 20 years ago. Their advantages are significant. Prefabricated panels are factory-produced cement components with very low prices and extremely fast construction speeds. Rural self-built houses can be hoisted and completed in just one day or half a day.

However, their disadvantages cannot be ignored. Weak earthquake resistance: Prefabricated panels have low earthquake resistance coefficients and cannot be used in earthquake-prone areas. This issue is prevalent in existing prefabricated panel houses, making them prone to collapse. Poor sound and thermal insulation: Prefabricated panels are typically about 10 centimeters thick with long circular holes in the middle. Sound has strong penetrating power and is easily amplified through these holes, resulting in extremely poor sound insulation. Their thermal insulation is also very poor, with high indoor temperatures in summer and low indoor temperatures in winter, generally requiring secondary roofing material coverage on the floor to compensate. Limited service life: Their service life is approximately 30-50 years, and the quality of prefabricated cement panels on the market varies greatly, with many inferior products that may cause house collapses. Prominent waterproofing issues: Prefabricated panels are composed of independent panels joined together, with tiny gaps between them. Rainwater can easily seep through these gaps into the interior, corroding steel bars. Leakage is relatively common in rural houses using prefabricated panels as roofs.

With the development of construction technology, cast-in-place concrete and prefabricated buildings are gradually replacing traditional prefabricated panel houses. Prefabricated buildings use modular factory-produced components, such as CMC combined modular buildings, which enhance earthquake resistance through steel-concrete integral pouring and reduce construction periods by 30% compared to traditional methods. Since 2022, China has implemented renovation policies, focusing on repairing and renovating prefabricated panel houses and only demolishing those that meet the criteria for dangerous buildings.