Prefabricated Panels for Rural Houses in Zhoukou

The use of prefabricated panels in rural houses in Zhoukou is as follows:

In rural areas of Zhoukou, prefabricated panels were once widely used for roofing houses. Before 20 years ago, prefabricated concrete panels were basically used for roofing self-built rural houses, mainly due to their low cost and fast construction speed. The installation of prefabricated panels for self-built rural houses could be completed in a day or half a day. In rural areas of Zhoukou, Henan, the price of a prefabricated panel ranges from tens to over 100 yuan, showing a significant cost advantage.

However, prefabricated panels have many drawbacks:

• Poor waterproof performance: There are cases showing that houses with prefabricated panel roofs start to leak after just two years. The probability of rain leakage is high during waterproofing work, and the subsequent treatment cost is relatively high, affecting the living experience.
• Low seismic performance: Prefabricated panels cannot be used in earthquake-prone areas because of their low seismic resistance coefficient. They are prone to collapse during earthquakes, posing significant safety hazards.
• Poor thermal insulation performance: Prefabricated panels have poor thermal insulation, resulting in high indoor temperatures in summer and low indoor temperatures in winter. Generally, an additional layer of roofing material needs to be applied on the floor slab to compensate for this drawback, which increases additional costs and construction procedures.

From the perspective of overall cost and user experience: Although prefabricated panels are inexpensive, considering the subsequent treatment costs for waterproofing and other issues, as well as the many problems encountered during use, if economic conditions permit, cast-in-place concrete roofing may be a better choice. Cast-in-place concrete roofing has good integrity and superior waterproof, seismic, and thermal insulation performance compared to prefabricated panels, providing a more stable and comfortable living environment.

In addition, the prefabricated houses popular in rural areas of Henan are different from prefabricated panels. Prefabricated houses are constructed using an industrial production method, with components prefabricated in factories and then transported to construction sites for assembly. They have a full reinforced concrete structure, are sturdy and durable, come with a 70-year warranty, have fast construction speed, and low cost. The cost per square meter is over 300 yuan, and it only costs 70,000 to 80,000 yuan to build a 200-square-meter house.