Prefabricated houses have a number of advantages. However, along with advantages, experts note significant disadvantages. What unpleasant moments can face potential buyer of such a structure?
Prefabricated houses were built in Russia recently. And this is a certain insidiousness of the situation. Indeed, while there is virtually no good examples of buildings that were built at least several decades ago, and nobody can accurately say how they pass the test of time.
The idea is that the steel and materials that comprise a house, have a fairly short lifespan, in contrast to the standard brick or wooden buildings, says the head of Department of sales of the company Optiland Alex Odnoral. The next important disadvantage is poor sound insulation: for example, the sound of heavy rain on walls can be heard inside the house. In addition, the prefabricated houses are more flammable and, when burned, emit toxic volatile gases that are extremely harmful to human health. “If the house is built of SIP panels, it is here at stake is the health of the people and without fire. Improper installation of the house or the dark painting of facades in very hot summer weather, these panels become very hot, whereby the emission of toxic gases not only to the environment but also inside your home,” says the expert.
However, the Director of Department of elite real estate “Metrium Groups” Ilya Mogunov thinks otherwise. The popular belief that all wooden buildings, including a frame, at least smoke is a myth, he says. “Today, these structures are processed in fire-fighting compositions, so in the case of fire, the frame house will burn slightly faster than stone or brick. Besides, oddly enough, in the fire, the owner of such buildings is in a more advantageous position: on the ashes it is the Foundation upon which he almost immediately can build a new house, while from the brick house after the fire will remain a “box”. To use it again will not work, since the burnt brick or concrete become very fragile”, shares the supervision of the Manager.
However, the disadvantages of pre-fabricated houses on this do not end there. According to General Director GK “Unisto Petrostal” Arseny Vasilyev, the speed of construction is affected, and not for the better, for a variety of architectural objects. In the end, the settlement of prefabricated panel houses the model is a series of equal “birdhouses”.
Prefabricated houses are often attacked by pests. If an infestation of termites in Russia is not true, then the mouse pressing problem. Therefore, more and more cheapest foam replaced with the ecowool, where rodents will not be able to live.
In the “Metrium Groups” tell that prefabricated technology associated with buyers of luxury homes with cheap substandard homes. And prejudice against such property in some way formed by the producers themselves, promising to build a house of 200 square metres for one and a half million rubles. However, people building a house for his own residence, know that this amount is not even enough to fill the Foundation.
At the same time on the market of high-budget housing were examples of frame housing technology “Fachwerk”, which apply only the most expensive and high quality materials. Visually these objects are easy to distinguish: the configuration includes the rectangular section with inclined struts. In addition, the facades have a maximum glazing at the floor. The Russians (unlike the Europeans) want the house looked like a reliable fortress with high fences and curtained Windows. Neat European glass houses do not correspond to the representation of buyers about the ideal housing, so such projects are not of great interest among the bulk of customers.
Another disadvantage low strength, according to “Metrium Groups”. Any strong storm in USA leads to disastrous consequences, numerous casualties and mass destruction of houses, built on frame technology. “Yes, we live in a temperate continental climate, however, may 2017 showed that in our latitudes the possible hurricanes. So buyers still prefer a more robust design,” according to the company.
However, for all the shortcomings of the level of demand for prefabricated houses remains stable, because the developers are constantly improving technology. For example, the problem of poor internal sound insulation is solved in houses built in the style of “Fachwerk”, thanks to solid floors. So, in cottage settlement “the English channel”, where the choice of the buyer presents several construction techniques, the structure of the transactions 2017, the share of prefabricated homes reaches almost 50%, says the Executive Director of the “Sapsan” Dmitry Ivanov.
The prospects for such houses is quite good, agrees Arseny Vasilyev, but also has its peculiarities. Still, pre-fabricated housing is associated with something fragile, temporary, impermanent. However, about prefabricated houses of reinforced concrete say this is impossible, because the solidity and reliability are the hallmarks of this building material.
In GK “the Dawn” reminds that a new wave of low-rise construction began with the implementation of the state program “Housing”. According to it the proportion of “stunted” residential buildings in Russia to 2018 should reach 50%. In the Moscow region in 2017 showed some reduction in input of low-rise buildings, but in the whole country, this segment is already today in some regions reaches 80% of the total volume of new buildings. “In this connection we assess the prospects for demand for housing, the rapid construction of high, especially in the Moscow region”, concluded the head of marketing and advertising Andrei Gaidukov.
If we talk about the luxury segment in the next five years, prefabricated timber frame houses will not be able to occupy a larger market share due to low development activity of developers, according to “Metrium Groups”. The market of elite housing is now in a difficult situation: demand is concentrated in some locations, new projects, almost did not come. A conclusion to the market of the village with houses built on frame technology, will be a bold experiment, to which today’s developers are unlikely to have determination. “However, in the perspective of 10-15 years, I believe, the technology of “framing” will increase its share. Still the last ten years, Russian buyers gradually adopt European trends of suburban housing”, said Ilya Mogunov.
Thus, new technology of construction of prefabricated houses have a number of disadvantages. The main disadvantages is the low architectural diversity, a relatively small lifespan, low strength and poor soundproofing. However, technology does not stand still, so that part of the problem is the developers cannot fix. Therefore, experts have expressed cautious optimism about the future of such innovation.
