Prefabricated Slab Houses in Chengdu

Prefabricated slab houses exist in Chengdu, mainly concentrated in old residential areas, and there are various issues. Some old prefabricated slab houses have not been demolished due to multiple factors.

Distribution and Characteristics of Prefabricated Slab Houses in Chengdu

Prefabricated slab houses can be found in Chengdu, with Huayang Binhe Garden Phase I being a typical example. Many old residential areas in Chengdu, such as Yulin and Zongbei districts, have adopted prefabricated slab拼接 (splicing) for floor slabs due to their early construction years. These houses are mostly early constructions, limited by the technology and conditions at that time, and feature modular building components.

Disadvantages of Prefabricated Slab Houses

• Weak Seismic Performance: The contact points between two prefabricated slabs on the wall are small and not tightly sealed, which can easily loosen after long-term use, weakening the seismic performance of the house. In the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes, the safety of such houses is relatively low.
• Prone to Water Seepage and Leakage: For the floors assembled with prefabricated slabs, once water accumulates on the upper floor or the joints on the roof crack due to wind and sun exposure, water seepage or leakage can easily occur indoors, affecting the living experience and the structure of the house.
• Potential Safety Hazards: It is difficult to keep the prefabricated slabs and manually stacked walls perfectly level. If the force is not evenly distributed, there may be safety hazards such as cracking and disconnection. Moreover, the production process of prefabricated slabs in the past was simple, and many small workshops produced them without necessary quality supervision. The steel bar materials and cement grades used varied, and there were also cases of cutting corners, resulting in unreliable house quality.
• Prominent Waterproofing Issues: In the humid environment of the Chengdu Basin, the joints between prefabricated slab floors are natural "water channels". During the renovation of old residential areas, waterproofing problems in bathrooms with prefabricated slab floors are prone to occur. If the waterproofing is not done properly, water can easily flow horizontally through the slab joints to adjacent rooms or even downstairs.

Reasons for the Non-demolition of Some Prefabricated Slab Houses

Some 50-year-old prefabricated slab houses in Chengdu's Xin'er Village have not been demolished due to multiple factors, including the structural safety of the houses (some steel-concrete prefabricated slab houses have a designed service life of over 50 years, and their main structures remain intact and can still be used safely with regular maintenance), differences in residents' opinions, high demolition costs, and policy restrictions.