Two-Story House with Prefabricated Panels

Two-story houses using prefabricated panels are characterized by their low cost and construction expenses, but they have deficiencies in terms of safety, integrity, and service life. Some rural families still choose them, and there are also renovation cases.

Construction and Installation

Prefabricated panels are pre-made cement components made from crushed stone, cement, sand, and coiled wire (or cold-drawn wire). During installation, they are directly placed on brick walls and are not integrated with the walls, failing to provide tensile and stabilizing effects.

Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages: Prefabricated panels are relatively inexpensive and have low construction costs. For rural families with limited financial resources and building standards determined by personal economic conditions, they are a more economical choice. Using prefabricated panels for floors can save more than half the cost compared to cast-in-place construction.
• Disadvantages:
  • Safety: They have weak earthquake resistance. In the event of a geological disaster, since they are not integrated with the walls, they are highly prone to danger. Their safety factor is lower than that of cast-in-place panels, posing significant safety risks.
  • Integrity: They have poor integrity. Prefabricated panels are pieced together one by one, connected in the middle with concrete or cement mortar, and are not originally a whole. This makes them prone to water leakage. Over time, if the foundation settles, the prefabricated panels above will shift, forming cracks.
  • Service Life: The service life of prefabricated panels is approximately 30-50 years, while the service life of concrete is much longer than that of prefabricated panels.

Application

Most residential buildings constructed in China before 1985 used prefabricated panel structures. In rural self-built houses today, although reinforced concrete has become the mainstream for construction, some families with limited financial resources still choose to build with prefabricated panels. Since 2022, China has implemented a policy of renovating old buildings, focusing on repairing and renovating prefabricated panel houses and only demolishing those that meet the criteria for dangerous buildings.

Renovation Cases

There are cases of renovating two-story prefabricated panel houses, such as increasing space and upgrading the stability of beam-column structures. During the renovation process, craftsmen will construct lateral beams and create a frame structure.