What is a Prefabricated Panel House

A prefabricated panel house is a type of dwelling constructed primarily using prefabricated panels. These panels are cement components prefabricated in factories, formed by nailing wooden models, laying out steel bars, and pouring cement. They come in two types: solid and hollow.

Construction Background and Purpose

Prefabricated panel houses mainly emerged in the 1970s to 1980s, built rapidly to address the housing needs of employees. At that time, state-owned enterprises or units took the lead in construction, serving as an important form of welfare housing distribution. The core objective was to quickly increase housing supply. These houses often adopted standardized designs, had short construction periods, and low costs, meeting the demands of large-scale housing construction at the time.

Structural Characteristics and Defects

The typical feature of prefabricated panel houses is the use of prefabricated cement panels as the main load-bearing components for floors and walls. Their design lifespan is generally 30-50 years, but due to limitations in early technical standards, they have significant defects:

• Structural safety hazards: Over time, issues such as wall cracking, foundation settlement (e.g., exceeding 5 centimeters), and cracks in load-bearing walls (e.g., exceeding 1 millimeter) frequently occur. Some houses are identified as Grade D dangerous buildings and require immediate demolition.
• Insufficient disaster resistance: Their earthquake resistance is generally 70% lower than current standards, and they have poor flood resistance, making it difficult to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.
• Poor living experience: They have weak sound insulation and heat insulation effects, inadequate waterproofing, and some unit designs are unreasonable (e.g., poor lighting and low space utilization). Aging pipelines can also easily trigger secondary disasters such as fires.

Demolition Policy in 2025

According to the latest policy, three types of prefabricated panel houses will be prioritized for demolition:

1. Dangerous buildings with damaged main structures: Houses identified as Grade D dangerous buildings by professional institutions must be immediately vacated and demolished.
2. Buildings unable to withstand natural disasters: Houses with substandard earthquake and flood resistance, or those located in earthquake zones or flood-prone areas.
3. Buildings affecting urban planning: Houses located in planned areas for municipal projects (e.g., subways, viaducts) or commercial development areas in urban cores.

The demolition and renovation of prefabricated panel houses aim to eliminate safety hazards, improve living quality, and adapt to urban development needs.