How About Finished Prefabricated Houses

Finished prefabricated houses have multiple characteristics, with both significant advantages and certain drawbacks.

Advantages

• Prominent price advantage: In the European and American markets, the selling price of a finished prefabricated house is only equivalent to 200,000 RMB, including transportation and delivery costs. The labor costs in the local construction industry in Europe and America are extremely high. There is a large shortage of construction workers in the United States, and the housing shortage is severe. Workers have high salary levels and strictly adhere to an 8-hour workday. The total cost of labor and materials for traditional houses after completion can easily reach over one million RMB. In comparison, prefabricated houses offer extremely high cost-effectiveness.
• Fast construction speed: Modules are pre-made in the factory and then assembled on-site like building blocks. Flat modules can be produced and leave the factory in just 7 days, and the skeleton of a flat house can be built in a few days. This is 60-70% faster than traditional house construction, making it very suitable for people who are in a hurry to move in.
• Lower cost: The main structure is about 30% cheaper than a brick house, and an ordinary family can save 40,000 to 50,000 RMB. This is because the factory's unified production results in less material waste, and the later maintenance costs are also 40% lower than those of traditional houses.
• Good environmental performance: 40% of construction waste can be recycled, and carbon emissions are directly reduced by half. Some projects have even obtained international certifications.
• High safety: The prefabrication error in the factory does not exceed 2 millimeters. The houses can withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake in the seismic test, and the overall settlement is less than that of ordinary houses.
• Short construction period, controllable quality, and easy maintenance: Compared with traditional construction techniques, the construction period of modular buildings can be shortened by more than 60%. The quality is controllable, energy-saving and environmentally friendly, and easy to maintain.

Disadvantages

• Quality risks: If the construction is not standardized, there is a 7% probability of foundation settlement or wall cracks within 5 years. Construction in low-temperature environments is more likely to cause problems. In some cases, the maintenance costs after 5 years account for a quarter of the original construction cost.
• Sound insulation and waterproofing issues: The centimeter-thick prefabricated panels have poor sound insulation effects, and the water leakage rate at the joints is nearly twice that of traditional buildings. Regular waterproofing treatments are required.
• Cost changes: After the price of cement increased last year, prefabricated houses are only 5% cheaper than traditional buildings. If transported to remote areas, the freight can account for 5% of the total cost.
• Design limitations: Currently, they can only be built up to two stories. Moreover, the exterior facades are prone to color differences, and there may be a 15% to 20% color difference after 5 years, requiring frequent maintenance.