Are Prefabricated Panel Houses Good?
**The overall evaluation of prefabricated panel houses is not good, with many issues present, and they are not recommended. **
Prominent safety issues: The earthquake resistance of prefabricated panel houses is almost zero, with poor integrity. During earthquakes, the floor slabs and walls are prone to instant separation and collapse, without crack warnings or deformation buffers. The collapse is severe, and the casualty rate is high. Their connection points are fragile, with simple lap joints between the prefabricated panels and walls, and simple filling between the panels. There are no ring beams or structural columns. When the foundation settles or the walls crack, the panels will shift and loosen. Over time, the connection points weather, and the steel bars rust, reducing strength. In old houses, after living for two or three decades, the floor slabs become precarious and are prone to triggering a chain collapse. Additionally, there are many cases of shoddy workmanship in the materials themselves, with high brittleness and easy fracture. The steel bars in regular prefabricated panels are thin, and small workshops even use thin steel wires instead. The concrete grade does not meet the standards, and the thickness is insufficient. When exceeding the load-bearing capacity, it will fracture instantly without warning.
Serious leakage problems: The leakage performance of prefabricated panels is much worse than that of cast-in-place panels. If prefabricated panels are used in kitchens and bathrooms, leakage is likely to occur. Taking many old residential areas in Chengdu as an example, there are gaps between the floor slabs of prefabricated panel houses, and the waterproofing is not adequate. Water can easily flow horizontally along the panel gaps to adjacent rooms or even downstairs.
Poor living experience: The sound insulation and thermal insulation effects are poor. It is hot in summer and cold in winter, and the voices of neighbors can be clearly heard, seriously affecting the quality of life. At the same time, the internal structure is difficult to adjust, and large-scale modifications are almost not allowed. Every wall may be related to the overall structure, making it difficult for residents to customize the living space according to their personal needs.
Limited service life: The design service life of prefabricated panel houses is about 30 to 50 years. Most of them were built in the 1970s to 1990s, and many have approached or exceeded the predetermined service life, showing signs of aging, which further exacerbates the severity of the above issues.
