What Walls Are Used in Prefabricated Panel Houses

Early prefabricated panel houses mostly adopted brick-concrete structures, with the main load-bearing walls being 240mm thick brick walls. Vertical walls commonly used clay bricks or hollow bricks. Due to defects, cement prefabricated panel walls have been banned, and current buildings generally use cast-in-place slabs instead of prefabricated panel wall-related structures.

In the brick-concrete structures of early prefabricated panel houses, the main load-bearing walls are crucial supporting components. Prefabricated panels are usually placed on two load-bearing brick walls. These two walls, as the main load-bearing structures of the house, are mostly 240mm thick, which is the common one-brick wall. At the corners of the house, simple structural columns may be set up to enhance structural stability, although some early buildings did not have them at the corners. These load-bearing walls bear the vertical loads of the house, ensuring the stability of the overall structure.

Vertical walls also have specific functions in early prefabricated panel houses. Vertical walls are generally built with clay bricks or hollow bricks and do not directly support the prefabricated panels. Clay bricks have certain strength and durability, while hollow bricks reduce the self-weight of the walls while ensuring a certain level of strength, which is beneficial for the force balance of the house structure. These vertical walls mainly serve to divide spaces, provide enclosure, and offer insulation.

Cement prefabricated panel walls were once used but had defects. Cement prefabricated panel walls are building wall structures pre-fabricated into panel shapes using Portland cement and steel reinforcement bars as the main materials through molds. They are divided into solid and hollow types. In the early days, they were also used in some buildings. However, these walls had poor thermal insulation performance and were difficult to meet the insulation needs for living in cold regions. At the same time, their structural stability was insufficient. After being subjected to external impacts or long-term use, they were prone to problems such as cracks and deformation, affecting the safety and service life of the house. Therefore, cement prefabricated panel walls have now been banned in the construction field.

Current buildings generally use cast-in-place slabs instead of prefabricated panel wall-related structures. Cast-in-place slabs are floor slabs made on the construction site through processes such as formwork erection, steel bar binding, and concrete pouring. They are more closely connected to the overall structure of the house, having better integrity and seismic performance, and can better meet the requirements of modern buildings for safety and comfort.