Prefabricated Walls for Rural Houses

Prefabricated walls for rural houses are a new type of wall form that is mainly produced through standardized factory production and features high efficiency and durability.

I. Production and Characteristics of Prefabricated Walls The prefabricated cement house walls are produced through a standardized factory production process, from steel bar binding and formwork assembly to concrete pouring, steam curing, and finally demolding and hoisting, all completed within the factory. The wall thickness is uniformly 15 centimeters, the floor height can be customized from 3 meters to 3.6 meters, and the maximum length of a single room can reach 10 meters. This production method enables “one-day production and on-site assembly,” significantly shortening the house-building cycle and not being affected by harsh weather conditions. For example, the prefabricated houses in rural areas of Henan are precisely designed and strictly specified. The wall components and other parts are prefabricated in advance and then transported to the site for assembly. They adopt a reinforced concrete structure, which has high strength and stability and can withstand external forces and the test of the natural environment.

II. Types and Applications of Prefabricated Walls Cement fence panels are a common type of prefabricated wall in rural areas. They feature a hollow structural design, with standard panel dimensions of 50 centimeters in width and 1.9 meters in length. They are internally supported by steel bars and have characteristics such as frost resistance and impact resistance. Their construction efficiency is high, with 100 - 150 meters able to be installed per day. The cost is only one-third of that of iron fence walls, and they do not require regular maintenance. In the early days, a mold-layered prefabrication process was used, which supported customization of thicknesses from 5 to 8 centimeters and special sizes. During installation, it was completed through foundation excavation, concrete embedding, and level calibration. Stacking the panels could adjust the height up to 2.5 meters. With technological development, the mechanized pressing process uses raw materials including concrete, perlite, and cold-drawn steel wires, with a service life of up to 50 years. To improve aesthetics, two solutions have been derived: internal plastering with eaves and external painting, which are widely used in scenarios such as livestock farm isolation, grassland fences, and construction sites.

III. Comparison between Prefabricated Walls and Traditional Brick-and-Mortar Walls

1. Quality: The quality of traditional brick-and-mortar walls depends on the craftsmanship of the construction workers and is prone to uneven cracks. Prefabricated walls are produced using molds controlled by computers, with errors measured in millimeters. The seismic fortification intensity can reach magnitude 8, and the seismic performance of steel structures is more than 50% higher than that of brick-and-mortar structures.
2. Cost: The initial construction cost of prefabricated houses is 10% - 30% higher than that of brick-and-mortar houses, but the total life-cycle cost is lower. For example, for a 200-square-meter house, the comprehensive cost of a light-steel house is about 356,000 yuan, while that of a brick-and-mortar house is about 390,000 yuan. The latter has higher additional expenses such as labor costs for extended construction periods and temporary rental housing costs.
3. Customization: The layout of prefabricated houses is fixed, and the water and electricity pipelines are arranged during factory production, making later modifications difficult. Traditional brick-and-mortar houses are more flexible and can adjust the layout and pipelines according to needs.