Why No One Uses Prefabricated Houses
The main reasons why no one uses prefabricated houses include poor earthquake resistance, fragile connection points, shoddy materials, a high likelihood of cracking and leaking, and a poor living experience.
Poor Earthquake Resistance: The overall integrity of the prefabricated panels in prefabricated houses is poor. Their structure is similar to building a house with building blocks, with a lack of effective overall connections between parts and few sturdy steel bars for reinforcement. When subjected to horizontal forces generated by earthquakes and other events, the floor slabs and walls can easily separate instantly and collapse suddenly, without any time for crack warnings or deformation buffering, leaving occupants with few escape opportunities. In past earthquakes, the collapse of prefabricated panel houses has been severe, resulting in high casualty rates.
Fragile Connection Points: There is usually only a simple overlapping method between the prefabricated panels and the walls, and the panels are simply filled with seams between them. There are no structural elements such as ring beams or constructional columns, leaving the entire house lacking a rigid framework. When the foundation settles or the walls crack, the panels can become misaligned and loose. Over time, the connection points can weather, and the steel bars can rust, leading to a reduction in strength. Some old houses may have floor slabs that are on the verge of collapse after two or three decades, unable to withstand the test of time and accidents.
Shoddy Materials: The steel bars in regular prefabricated panels are relatively thin, but some small workshops, in order to make more money, use thin steel wires instead of steel bars. At the same time, the concrete grade does not meet the standards and the thickness is insufficient, making the quality difficult to guarantee. The prefabricated panels themselves are quite brittle, and once they exceed their load-bearing capacity, they can break instantly without any warning. Situations such as stacking heavy objects, hammering the floor during renovation, and aging over time can all lead to the sudden collapse of the prefabricated panels.
High Likelihood of Cracking and Leaking: There are seams between the prefabricated panels, which increases the likelihood of cracking and leaking. Rainwater can easily seep through these seams into the interior of the house, corroding the steel bars and affecting the structural safety and service life of the house.
Poor Living Experience: The sound insulation ability of prefabricated houses is extremely poor. The prefabricated panels are not thick enough and have long circular holes in the middle, allowing sound to penetrate easily. The structure itself is also prone to transmitting sound, amplifying noise from neighbors and affecting the quality of life of the occupants. In addition, leaking is an unavoidable common problem in prefabricated panel houses. Long-term leaking can corrode the steel bars, further exacerbating the safety hazards of the house.
