Prefabrication of Wooden Siheyuan Houses

The prefabrication of wooden Siheyuan houses primarily involves the prefabrication of large wooden structural components, combining traditional and modern construction techniques. The specifics are as follows:

Traditional Prefabrication Process

1. Preparation

   • Material Preparation: Prepare material lists by building unit according to design requirements, considering 'extra allowance' (i.e.,预留加工余量, reserved processing allowances) to ensure material lengths and cross-sectional dimensions meet subsequent processing needs.
   • Material Inspection: Strictly inspect wood quality, excluding defects such as decay, insect damage, splitting, and hollow sections, while controlling knots, cracks, and moisture content. Unqualified materials must not be used.
   • Initial Processing: Process rough materials into standardized dimensions, such as rounding and polishing round components like columns and purlins, and planing square components like beams and rafters straight for subsequent marking and fabrication.
   • Layout of Measuring Sticks: Measuring sticks serve as both measurement tools and construction drawings, divided into general and detailed sticks, marking component lengths, mortise-and-tenon positions, and dimensions. This step must be completed by the most skilled craftsman or technical supervisor and checked by at least two people.

2. Component Fabrication

   • Marking: Use measuring sticks, set squares, ink markers, and other tools to mark key positions such as centerlines, rise lines, and cutting lines with traditional symbols, ensuring precise mortise-and-tenon structures.
   • Fabrication: Use traditional tools such as saws, adzes, planes, and axes to process components by category (e.g., columns, beams, rafters, purlins) to form mortise-and-tenon joints.

3. Finished Product Storage
   Prefabricated wooden components must be protected from sun, rain, and impact damage to ensure quality remains intact before installation.

Modern Off-Site Manufacturing Model

1. Design Detail and Drawing Breakdown: Break down design drawings into individual component units, specifying dimensions, materials, and connection methods to provide a basis for factory production.
2. Factory Prefabrication: Complete cutting, mortising, carving, and polishing processes in the workshop, and mass-produce decorative elements such as antique-style doors, windows, and lattice work to improve efficiency and precision.
3. Pre-assembly and Quality Inspection: Conduct pre-assembly of components before leaving the factory to check mortise-and-tenon fit and surface flatness, ensuring smooth on-site installation.
4. On-site Assembly: Transport prefabricated components to the construction site, assemble them in sequence by professional teams, and perform joint treatment and overall debugging to shorten the construction period.

Material Selection

• Traditional Wood: Such as Korean pine and cedar, suitable for projects seeking an authentic wooden structural effect, but requiring attention to decay and moisture resistance.
• Aluminum Substitute for Wood: Aluminum alloy profiles with a wood-grain finish, featuring strong weather resistance, resistance to deformation and corrosion, and low maintenance costs, especially suitable for humid regions or buildings with fire protection requirements.