Concrete Prefabricated Panel House

A concrete prefabricated panel house is a type of building constructed primarily using prefabricated panels, which are factory-made concrete components with certain advantages and disadvantages and are gradually being replaced.

Origin and Usage

This architectural form originated in the early 20th century and was mainly used for floor slabs and roof insulation layers. In China, residential buildings constructed before 1985 often adopted this type of structure. In rural areas, prefabricated panels are commonly used for the roofs of the first floor, partitions between floors, or as floor slabs and roof panels. When used reasonably in buildings with regular structures and a limited number of floors, they can ensure basic safety performance.

Existing Problems

• Safety hazards: Even a minor earthquake can cause the house to collapse. The quality of prefabricated concrete panels on the market varies greatly, with a majority being of inferior quality and having an extremely short service life. They may trigger house collapse accidents without people even noticing, resulting in casualties.
• Poor sound insulation: Prefabricated panels are usually about 10 centimeters thick and have long circular holes in the middle. The insufficient thickness makes sound highly penetrable, and the structure itself is prone to transmitting sound. Noise from neighboring rooms can be amplified after passing through the holes in the prefabricated panels.
• Water leakage: Prefabricated panels are assembled from individual independent panels, and there are tiny gaps between them. During the rainy season, rainwater flowing down from the roof can easily seep through these gaps into the interior of the prefabricated panels, corroding the steel bars inside.
• Weak earthquake resistance and short service life: They have weak earthquake resistance and a service life of about 30 - 50 years.

Development Trends

With the development of building technology, cast-in-place concrete and prefabricated buildings are gradually replacing traditional prefabricated panel houses. Prefabricated buildings use modular factory-made components. For example, CMC combined modular buildings enhance earthquake resistance through steel-concrete monolithic pouring, and the construction period is 30% shorter than that of traditional methods. Since 2022, China has implemented a policy of renovating old residential areas, focusing on repairing and renovating prefabricated panel houses and only demolishing buildings that meet the criteria for dangerous houses. Some regions have already started the demolition work.