Are Prefabricated Panel Houses Safe?

Prefabricated panel houses are unsafe and have multiple hidden dangers.

Extremely poor earthquake resistance: Prefabricated panel houses have poor integrity, similar to building a house with building blocks. During an earthquake, the floor slabs and walls are prone to instant separation, causing the house to suddenly collapse without any warning cracks or deformation buffer time. In many earthquakes, the collapse of prefabricated panel houses has been severe, with a high casualty rate. Nowadays, the earthquake resistance of many old prefabricated panel houses can only withstand minor tremors and is completely unable to bear strong earthquakes.

Vulnerable connection points: There is usually only simple overlapping between the prefabricated panels and the walls, and simple filling between the panels themselves, lacking reinforcing structures such as ring beams and structural columns. When the foundation settles or the walls crack, the panels will become misaligned and loose. Over time, the connection points are prone to weathering, the steel bars rust, and the strength decreases, which may trigger a chain collapse.

Substandard material quality: The materials of prefabricated panels themselves have many problems, such as high brittleness and easy fracture. The steel bars in regular prefabricated panels are relatively thin, while some small workshops even use thin steel wires instead. The concrete grade is not up to standard, and the thickness is insufficient, with characteristics of brittle failure. When the load exceeds the capacity, the prefabricated panels will break instantly without any warning.

Weak joint areas: The prefabricated panels are bonded with cement mortar. Over time, the mortar is prone to cracking and crumbling, causing the panels to become loose. The floor slabs will shake and are prone to water leakage. In addition, the 'skeleton' of prefabricated panel houses is relatively weak, mostly with a hollow structure. The steel bars are thin, few in number, and irregularly distributed. During decoration, placing too many heavy objects may cause cracks.