Rural Prefabricated Panel Houses

Rural prefabricated panel houses are structures built primarily with prefabricated panels, characterized by low cost and rapid construction, but they also have deficiencies in waterproofing, earthquake resistance, and thermal insulation, with a service life of approximately 30 to 50 years.

Construction Characteristics

Prefabricated panels are cement components manufactured in factories. During production, a wooden mold is first nailed together, then steel bars are arranged and cement is poured to form the panels, which come in solid and hollow types. The hollow structure achieves lightweighting by reducing the non-load-bearing concrete. In rural self-built houses, the use of prefabricated panels as roofs was very common before 20 years ago due to their low cost and rapid construction speed, with installation typically taking only a day or half a day.

Existing Drawbacks

• Waterproofing Issues: There is a high probability of rain leakage during waterproofing work. In rural areas, most houses with prefabricated panel roofs experience rain leakage, and the waterproofing industry cannot guarantee 100% leak-proofing.
• Poor Earthquake Resistance: Prefabricated panel houses should not be built in earthquake-prone areas due to their low seismic resistance coefficient, which makes them prone to collapse. Existing prefabricated panel houses generally have weak earthquake resistance. Since 2022, China has implemented renovation policies, focusing on repairing and upgrading prefabricated panel houses and only demolishing those that meet the criteria for dangerous buildings.
• Poor Thermal Insulation: The thermal insulation performance of prefabricated panels is very poor. The floor thickness of rural self-built houses is generally around 12 centimeters, and although they are hollow, this does not compensate for the poor thermal insulation. In summer, the indoor temperature is high, failing to provide heat insulation; in winter, the indoor temperature is low, failing to provide thermal insulation. Generally, a secondary roofing material needs to be added on top of the panels to compensate.
• Service Life Issues: The service life of existing prefabricated panel houses is approximately 30 to 50 years.

Development Trends

Most residential buildings constructed in China before 1985 used prefabricated panel structures. With the advancement of construction technology, cast-in-place concrete and prefabricated buildings are gradually replacing traditional prefabricated panel houses. Prefabricated buildings use modular factory-prefabricated components, such as CMC composite modular buildings, which enhance seismic resistance through integrated steel-concrete pouring and reduce construction time by 30% compared to traditional methods.