Prefabricated houses are a stable trend in Ukraine today. However, this term often refers to different technologies, since a house kit can be assembled both from panels manufactured in production and from ready-made modules. What are the features of these technologies and what are the advantages of this? Read more in the section...
In this article you will learn:
- What is the difference between modular and prefabricated panel-frame houses and classic frame construction technology?
- What technology combinations and options are popular today
- Advantages and disadvantages of prefabricated houses
- What is hidden under the name of modular prefabricated houses, what technology did we choose and why?
- What foundations are suitable for modular and prefabricated houses and why are not all manufacturers and installers willing to undertake pouring the foundation?
- How much does a prefabricated modular home cost per m2?
- Order fulfillment terms and staged payment scheme
1. What is the difference between modular and prefabricated panel-frame houses and classic frame construction technology?
Classic frame-houses technology
The frame of the house is assembled from wooden beams and beams on the construction site according to the sketch and necessary sections of the working project, from the building materials, components and accessories specified there. Delivery here can be carried out as needed in stages, which often increases transport costs and there is more manual labor, which increases assembly times.
Prefabricated panel frame-houses
Prefabricated houses are manufactured at a factory and arrive at the site in the form of ready-made modules or panels, which are mounted on a prepared foundation. In this case, both delivery and assembly of the kit are carried out simultaneously, right up until the end of the process of installing the module/s or assembling the house kit. This feature often reduces the total amount of transportation costs…
2. What combinations and options of prefabricated houses are popular today?
Despite the viral popularity of modular homes, real demand depends more on the intended purpose of the building, and the ratio of invested funds to operating costs later. Low cost of modules, and the level of comfort, which is quite enough for light infrastructure, retail and office premises, small architectural forms, coworking, tourist centers, quickly erected hostels, etc. is quite justified, and profitable considering that all of the above are business objects and bring profit. In this niche, modular buildings are beyond competition considering the ease of their movement if necessary.
However, if we consider the long-term prospects of such types of buildings as hotels, cafes, and especially residential buildings, here prefabricated houses made of warm panels, as a technology, look much more promising, because it provides a higher level of comfort, design and options for appearance and finishing, for example in the LUX class.
That is why both technologies remain relevant in Ukraine today and each has its own interested clients. In addition, if necessary, it is possible to create combined solutions where these two technologies intersect. For example, a hostel can have zones of different comfort and regular rooms made of modules, while suites and a restaurant can be prefabricated from frame panels, and one building can also combine panel-frame and modular parts of the building and its extensions.
3. Advantages and disadvantages of prefabricated houses
– The disadvantage of industrial production of a house kit or module is that the strict compliance of the parts with the dimensions and geometry of the project imposes special requirements on the geometry and dimensions of the foundation. German construction technology is almost 100% production of the house in factory conditions, where constant quality control is carried out. Any slightest deviations from the technological process are UNACCEPTABLE!
– The disadvantages of using this technology include the standard nature of the houses. That is, factory kits are usually adjusted to specific parameters of the house. And if you want to build a house according to your individual drawing, the classic frame technology will be a better choice.
Some also note the lack of standardization and mandatory certification of this production in Ukraine, which makes it impossible to check the quality of the manufactured panels. Unfortunately, this factor slows down the development of the technology in Ukraine.
Prospects:
Provided that the conveyor of prefabricated and modular houses is constantly running, production can significantly reduce the cost of house kits, due to their serial production, providing good discounts to customers, developers, and individual clients.
4. What can be called a prefabricated house or a modular house in Ukraine?
It is worth noting that in Ukraine, both modular and prefabricated houses can be called quite different technologies and structures. “Prefabricated house” can be offered to you: a) made of ready-made modules or containers, b) made of SIP panels, c) made of wooden panels insulated with polyurethane foam or mineral wool, and the modules or panels themselves can have different frame materials, for example a) welded, made of square pipe, b) made of LSTC profile, c) wooden frame, d) or not have one at all, as in the case of SIP panels…
It can take a lot of time to study what other companies offer you for the stated price. That's why we will tell you about our option and how it differs from others.
German panel-frame technology is our choice!
German pragmatism puts forward several important requirements for housing:
- The house should please the client! That is, have a modern design, high-quality exterior and interior decoration!
- The house should be built simply and quickly, production and construction should be simplified to automate the process as much as possible...
- The house should be of high quality, energy efficient and warm. The use of low-quality materials or poor execution in any way is not allowed...
- The house needs to be as fast and cheap as possible. It should be accessible to as many people as possible
What do we assemble the house from, what is inside its panels and in the walls of the modules?
German technology also provides for the following schemes of frame insulation of walls, floors, and ceilings:
Walls
External Seam panel + wood lining
1) Ventilated facade,
2) Lattice of ventilated facade,
3) Bar, 4) Hydrobarrier,
5) Wooden frame,
6) Basalt insulation,
7) Vapor barrier, 8) Wood Lattice,
9) OSB construction plate,
10) Wood lining pine grade 1 for painting.
External plastering + Drywall
1) Plastered facade,
2) External insulation EPS graphite, 3) OSB construction plate, 4) Wooden frame,
5) Basalt insulation,
6) Vapor barrier, 7) Lattice of ventilated facade, 8) Basalt insulation, 9) OSB construction plate, 10) Drywall finish + painting
Internal Drywall
1) Drywall finish + painting,
2) OSB construction plate,
3) Wooden frame,
4) Soundproofing mineral wool,
5) OSB construction plate,
6) Drywall finish + painting
Floors, ceilings and roofing
Warm ceiling
1) Laminate class 32 with skirting boards, 2) OSB construction plate, 3) Wooden frame, 4) Soundproofing mineral wool,
5) Vapor barrier, 6) Lattice
7) Drywall finish + painting,
Warm laminate floor
1) Laminate class 32 with skirting boards,
2) OSB construction plate,
3) Vapor barrier, 4) Wooden frame, 5) Basalt insulation, 6) OSB construction plate, 7) Waterproofing mastic
Warm roofing folded panels + Drywall
1) Seam roofing,
2) Lattice, 3) Bar,
4) Hydrobarrier, 5) Wooden frame, 6) Basalt insulation, 7) Vapor barrier,
8) Lattice, 9) Drywall finish + painting,
Modular prefabricated home finishing options
In the photo from left to right: 1) - Clinker tiles, 2) - Porcelain tiles, 3) - Vinyl siding, 4) - Metal siding, 5) - Natural and artificial stone, 6) -Seam panels, 7) - Plaster, 8) - Profiled sheeting, 9) - Wooden planks.
The choice of finishing materials is often appropriate based on the intended purpose of the building. :)
5. What foundations are suitable for modular and prefabricated houses?
If the foundation has not yet been laid for the prefabricated house, then its type is best determined by a design engineer after familiarizing himself with the geological and geodetic features of the site. Let's consider several popular types:
Typical foundation designs
a) Strip foundation consists of a steel reinforced frame filled with concrete. This type of foundation is ideal for level and stable soils.
b) Monolithic slab: This type of foundation is optimal for construction on soft soil or with a high groundwater level. It consists of a homogeneous concrete slab that distributes the load evenly over the soil and ensures the stability of the building in such conditions.
c) Shallow columnar foundation. Involves drilling the ground to create individual vertical columns of reinforced concrete or other rigid material that penetrate the ground to a more stable layer. These columns serve as the foundation for the building, distributing the load evenly over a stable soil layer located at a known depth.
Less commonly used are special types of foundations such as Pile foundation with concrete strapping, which is used on soft, unstable soils. It consists of driven rigid piles that pierce the soil to a stronger layer, ensuring the stability and reliability of the foundation of the house. It is also sometimes advisable to use pile-screw foundations that are screwed into the ground by simple means without requiring the use of special equipment.
Before installing the module or the main components of the building facade, the foundation surface is covered with a thick layer of waterproofing material, which prevents moisture from penetrating into the wall structure.
This approach is convenient for the manufacturer, but does not always satisfy the client, especially since there is a risk of inconsistencies in both technical documentation and organizational issues, especially this often concerns the discrepancy between the sizes of finished modules, house kits and the geometry and sizes of foundations... Therefore, the client often has to resort to the services of several companies specializing in one or another type of construction.
The company Modern Wooden Houses undertakes a full range of services from the production of house kits and modules to their installation, including pouring the foundation. However, the construction of the foundation is a separate labor-intensive and resource-consuming enterprise, and is not included in the price of our kits “House Kit” and “Turnkey”, but is a separate type of work that is paid for separately.
6. How much does a modular and prefabricated house cost per square meter?
The Modern Wooden Houses company offers two main configurations of modular and prefabricated houses: а) “Home kit”, б) “Turnkey”.
The cost of 1m2 of a house kit only is on average 600-700 dollars. This range can be expanded depending on the material consumption and detailed discussion of a specific project. For example, in some large projects the cost of 1m2 can start from 500 dollars, and for small modules up to 30m2 the cost of 1m2 can grow to 800m2 and higher.
This cost includes:
- Insulated panels with a wooden frame 200 mm
- Metal-plastic energy-saving windows (5 chambers prof)
- Installation of a house kit without the cost of delivery and without external and internal finishing
The cost of 1m2 “turnkey” of a prefabricated house up to 100m2 is on average from 700-900 dollars and up, and decreases with increasing area. For example, 1m2 “turnkey” of a prefabricated house of 200m2 will be approximately 600 dollars.
This cost, in addition to the basic house kit, includes:
- Internal and external doors
- Terrace (if included in the project)
- exterior and interior finishing
- internal engineering communications
Special configuration options are also possible! Their approximate cost can be obtained using the online calculator on our website by selecting the type of house "Frame houses". However, the best option is to contact the sales department and clarify all the information you are interested in with the manager, since in this case you will receive the most up-to-date and accurate information.
7) Order fulfillment terms and staged payment scheme
A typical payment schedule is as follows:
- 60% of the total cost, but not less than 100% payment of the cost of all building materials and components
- 40% - after completion of the house kit production before delivery
- 10% - Upon delivery of the object to the customer.
The production of modules takes 1.5-2 months, installation of a module on a finished foundation usually does not exceed 1-2 days
The production of a house kit takes 2-3 months, the assembly of the house on the construction site takes 1-2 weeks
Conclusion: Perhaps our visitor noted not the lowest prices and not the fastest terms that are on the Ukrainian market, but the environmental friendliness and quality that the German technology of prefabricated houses is famous for, exceeding many capital buildings and technologies in terms of operational characteristics, cannot be equal in price to a household construction trailer, right? Our company has tried to make German quality available to as many customers as possible of different target audiences, from private clients to commercial organizations. The possibilities of German technology of prefabricated houses are very wide, and have not been exhausted to the end, so we invite all interested parties to a constructive dialogue, we provide a flexible and individual approach to each of our clients and offer the shortest path to the goal in solving the tasks! If you want to learn more about prefabricated and modular houses, clarify the price, or place an order - contact us through any messenger convenient for you, or call us at the numbers listed on the site!