Are Rural Prefabricated Houses Reliable?
On the whole, rural prefabricated houses are not very reliable and have many problems, mainly reflected in aspects such as price, quality, user experience, and market norms.
Price
The price of regular prefabricated houses is 10 - 30% higher than that of brick-and-concrete houses, so they do not have a price advantage. Moreover, some low-price quotes are often just for the bare walls. Each item such as foundation, transportation, hoisting, waterproofing, and decoration requires separate charges, so the overall cost is not low.
Quality and User Experience
- Weak structure: Prefabricated houses are not as sturdy and durable as houses built brick by brick. Cracks and water seepage are prone to occur at the module connections.
- Limited spatial layout: Their spatial layout has limited personalization and is difficult to meet diverse living needs.
- Poor sound insulation and thermal insulation: The walls are relatively thin, resulting in poor sound insulation and thermal insulation performance. In extremely cold regions, separate thermal insulation treatment is required.
- High construction requirements: The grout joints used for connections have high requirements for the construction team. Small construction teams in villages often have difficulty solving related problems.
- Poor connection fixity: Low-rise buildings are relatively okay, but buildings of three floors or more are more dangerous. There will definitely be gaps during the assembly process, and cracks will inevitably appear at the joints of the prefabricated panels.
- Poor earthquake resistance: They have poor integrity and are prone to collapse in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes. For example, 90% of the collapsed houses in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake were of this structure.
- Short design life: The design life is only about three to four decades. If used beyond this period, the cracks will become larger and larger, posing safety hazards.
Market Norms
The market is a mixed bag. Many small workshops use inferior cement and under-equipped steel bars for open-air pouring to reduce costs. Within two years of assembly, problems such as wall cracks, water seepage, and wall peeling may occur. Moreover, the merchants may run away, making it difficult for consumers to safeguard their rights.
