Prefabricated House Main Structure Construction

Prefabricated houses are a form of construction where building components are industrially produced and assembled on-site. Taking rural South Korea and Chinese prefabricated houses as examples, their construction processes and characteristics are as follows:

Construction Process of the Main Structure of Rural South Korean Prefabricated Houses:

• Foundation Treatment: The foundation is leveled and a bedding layer is poured. After clearing away weeds, foundation pits are excavated. Surveyors ensure that the excavation depth and ground height meet design requirements. After excavating about 60 centimeters, a white plastic sheet is laid, and a foundation without steel reinforcement is poured using a concrete pump truck. The white plastic sheet prevents moisture loss and enhances the strength and durability of the concrete.
• Installation of Foundation Piles and Assembly of Beams: After the concrete sets, anchor plates are installed. Holes are drilled using a drill and fixed with expansion screws to secure the foundation piles to the bedding layer. Mobile cranes are used to install the prefabricated foundation piles, followed by the installation of beams. After horizontal measurement and adjustment, they are fixed with nuts. The gaps are filled with expanding foam to secure the supports, and the nut-fixed areas are sealed with cement.
• Subsequent Construction: After backfilling with soil, the second floor is constructed. Load-bearing columns and beams are prefabricated in the factory and assembled on-site. The second-floor frame is formed in less than half a day. Then, the floor slab is laid, the gaps are sealed with expanding foam, secondary grouting is performed at the connections of the load-bearing columns, and finally, a steel mesh is laid and poured with concrete to form a whole.

Characteristics of Chinese Prefabricated Houses:

• Advantages of Modular Construction: Modular construction is a more integrated model within prefabricated and assembled buildings. Buildings are disassembled into independent modules manufactured in the factory and then transported to the construction site for assembly. For example, the China State Construction Haolong Intelligent Construction Industrial Park in Shenzhen, Guangdong, can deliver 20,000 to 30,000 modules annually. It has advantages such as short construction periods, controllable quality, energy efficiency, environmental protection, and ease of maintenance, with construction periods reduced by more than 60%.
• Development History: China's prefabricated concrete technology began in the 1950s and was initially applied to factory and residential construction. In the 1970s, technical systems such as large-panel structures and box structures were formed. It stagnated in the mid-1980s and recovered in the 21st century. Companies like Vanke Group developed prefabricated shear wall residential structural systems and applied prefabricated frame technology in engineering projects.
• Overseas Sales: Chinese-made prefabricated houses are popular overseas. According to customs data, in the first four months of 2026, the Guangzhou Customs district exported movable houses worth 1.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.