Monolithic Casting and Prefabricated Panel Houses

There are significant differences between monolithic casting houses and prefabricated panel houses in terms of structure, performance, and construction methods.

Structure and Performance:

• Monolithic Casting Houses: These houses adopt a cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure. The main load-bearing components, such as walls, beams, columns, and floor slabs, are formed integrally on the construction site through formwork erection, steel bar binding, and concrete pouring. This structure has strong integrity, with tightly connected components that can effectively transfer loads. Under external forces such as earthquakes, they can work together better, exhibiting excellent seismic performance. Additionally, they offer high flexibility, allowing for flexible adjustment of the architectural layout and structural form according to design requirements to meet diverse architectural functional needs.
• Prefabricated Panel Houses: These houses are constructed using prefabricated panels as the main components. Prefabricated panels are factory-made cement components, available in solid and hollow types. The floor slabs are made of prefabricated concrete panels, which are hoisted and assembled on-site. Due to the presence of joints between the prefabricated panels, the overall integrity is relatively poor. Under external forces such as earthquakes, relative displacement can easily occur between the panels, resulting in average seismic performance. In particular, prefabricated panel houses with brick-and-mortar structures have weaker seismic resistance and require reinforcement in high-intensity earthquake zones.

Construction Methods and Durations:

• Monolithic Casting Houses: The construction process is relatively complex, involving multiple steps on the construction site, including formwork installation, steel bar binding, concrete pouring, and curing. Each step requires strict quality control and time for waiting, resulting in a long construction duration.
• Prefabricated Panel Houses: The prefabricated panels are manufactured in advance at the factory, and only hoisting and assembly are required on-site, leading to fast construction speed and significantly shortened construction periods. They are suitable for projects with tight deadlines.

Improvement Plan: There is a combined solution in the industry known as "prefabricated panels + cast-in-place strips," which uses cast-in-place concrete strips to "lock" the scattered prefabricated panels into a whole, saving money and enhancing safety. When selecting prefabricated panels, choose "prestressed hollow panels" with round holes in the middle, ensure they are "national standard qualified products," and carefully inspect for cracks, chipped corners, etc. The cast-in-place strips must be placed directly above the load-bearing walls, and all joints between the prefabricated panels should have them, with a typical width of 15 to 20 centimeters.