Sichuan Prefabricated Panel Houses

The following is information about prefabricated panel houses in Sichuan:

Materials and Styles

Prefabricated panel houses in Sichuan are made from a variety of materials, including sandwich panels, rock wool panels, and fireproof panels. These materials have different characteristics. For example, sandwich panels offer good thermal insulation, rock wool panels have excellent fire resistance, and fireproof panels can effectively prevent the spread of fire. In terms of styles, they cover a wide range, such as temporary buildings, fully welded structures, modern minimalist designs, light steel movable houses, simple movable houses, simple assembly types, and modern styles, meeting the needs of different scenarios and requirements.

Policy Handling

Sichuan Province has formulated a graded handling policy for prefabricated panel buildings. Based on the safety level of the houses, they are divided into four grades:

• Grade A or B: The house structure is basically acceptable, and a retention and rectification approach is taken. The government is responsible for the renovation of public areas in the community, while homeowners need to bear the costs of interior decoration or elevator installation.
• Grade C: There are local structural hazards in the house, and seismic reinforcement is given priority. Only when it is technically impossible to reinforce or reinforcement is not practically meaningful can an application for demolition and reconstruction be made.
• Grade D: The house is completely damaged and must be immediately evacuated. It is usually included in urban renewal or demolition projects, with handling methods including demolition and reconstruction, monetary compensation, and provision of resettlement housing. At the same time, for owners of urban commercial housing communities applying for in-situ demolition and reconstruction, the conditions are relatively strict, and most of the financial investment is used for public facilities. Residents of in-situ reconstruction need to bear part of the construction costs. Due to the frequent earthquakes in Sichuan and the poor seismic resistance of prefabricated panel buildings, the renovation must meet the current seismic standards.

Accident Case

At around 12:00 on April 11, 2024, a three-story house in Fengshou Community, Guanba Town, Zhong County, Sichuan, collapsed. The prefabricated panels on the second floor suddenly broke and fell onto the people playing mahjong in the mahjong parlor on the first floor, resulting in a major safety accident with 2 deaths and 3 injuries. After on-site investigation by housing experts, it was initially determined that the cause of the accident was that the temporary load on the second-floor floor was too large, exceeding the load-bearing capacity of the prefabricated panels, leading to brittle fracture and falling of the floor.

Prohibition Date

Since January 1, 2005, Sichuan Province has prohibited the use of prefabricated concrete panels as floor slabs.