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For the first time in Russia, modular houses appeared in the 70s of the last century. Then the Soviet government set before the designers the task of developing a technology that would make it possible to speed up the construction of buildings as much as possible. As a result, a system was developed, called “Module”, which in the shortest possible time allowed the construction of entire villages.
From production, such houses come in the form of separate modules. Moreover, each module is a small ready-made “piece” of a building with engineering networks laid deep into the walls, installed windows and doors.
The walls are a special frame structure filled with insulation and supplemented with the necessary elements of interior and exterior decoration. In this case, the frame is made of wooden beams or metal structures.
Modular houses are distinguished by the following properties:
- High construction speed.
- Construction work can be carried out all year round, even in low temperatures.
- High level of seismic resistance.
Modular buildings can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Among them are the following:
- Wagon house.Such structures are easy to assemble, can be easily moved due to the presence of special wheels and runners. Their main purpose is to accommodate construction and shift teams. Carriage houses can be of several types: for recreation, for living, for storing work clothes, etc. Household appliances and furniture are installed in the house, if necessary.
- Residential buildings.Most often, such buildings are used in suburban construction. Houses are equipped with windows, doors, furniture, bathrooms, showers, household appliances, electrical wiring and heating systems. In addition to suburban construction, modular residential buildings are used where capital construction is impossible or impractical. For example, in areas of natural disasters, in places of mining, in hot spots, etc..
- Office buildings.In terms of convenience and operational characteristics, modular buildings are not inferior to brick ones. Modular offices, as a rule, consist of metal block containers and are equipped with all the necessary wiring, bathrooms, heating system, ventilation, hoods, etc. They are convenient because they are quickly erected, functional and quite cheap..
- Warehouses. Modular structures are great for storing various materials and goods. Such a building appears to be a kind of change house with solid metal doors and bars on the windows. Finishing is as simple as possible.
- Modular sanitary buildings.Such buildings are quite common. These are first-aid posts, bathrooms, saunas, baths, showers and other similar objects. The premises are necessarily equipped with a heating system, so they can be operated at any time of the year. Hardboard or plastic is most often used as interior decoration. For finishing baths and saunas, it is recommended to use a wooden lining covered with a special protective layer.
Features of construction technology
All modern modular buildings can have a variety of configurations and unlimited space. The only limitation in the construction of such houses is the height – modern technologies allow you to build modular buildings no higher than three floors.
Special block containers are used as modules. According to GOST 25957-83, the module is a “volumetric element of full factory readiness”, it can be closed, open and transformable.
Lyubov Popova. Building the Revolution. Soviet Art and Architecture
The module is based on a metal frame, which is sheathed with sandwich panels. In addition, the so-called “sheet-by-sheet” method is often used. External surfaces are covered with galvanized sheet metal, which can then be painted.
The main property of the frame is its bearing capacity. In this case, the configuration and cross-sectional area of workpieces, steel thickness, quality of welded seams, as well as metal treatment with protective compounds that prevent corrosion are of particular importance..
Various materials can be used as insulation to create the necessary microclimatic conditions inside the room, for example: expanded polystyrene, foam insulation, mineral thermal insulation materials, etc. Depending on the region of the building, the thickness of the insulation can be from 50 to 200 mm.
Walls in modular buildings are different – ready-made panels or prefabricated. At first glance, the difference is not big, however, in reality it is colossal.
Finished panels are manufactured at the factory on special machines. They have a durable layer of metal on each side, inside there is a special insulation, which can be specially treated with a protective compound that prevents combustion.
The typesetting sandwich is somewhat reminiscent of plasterboard partitions, only it is made of slightly different materials. This panel is manufactured by the modular building supplier during the assembly process of the building itself..
For the interior decoration of modular buildings, standard and familiar materials are suitable for all: lining, drywall, chipboard, fiberboard, galvanized sheet metal, etc. The choice of material is determined by the purpose of the building and its operating conditions.
House assembly can be done in two ways:
- installation of standard modules by dismantling unnecessary (extra) walls;
- installation of ready-made modules made according to a pre-drawn up project.
After assembly, the modular house is equipped with the necessary systems: plumbing, ventilation, electrical equipment, etc. It is noteworthy that if individual modules will be used as a finished building, then all work on the laying of engineering communications can be carried out during the production of the module directly at the manufacturing plant..
Issue price
Of course, those who are looking at the construction of a modular home are mainly interested in its cost. Manufacturers claim that these are cheap technologies and such a house is relatively cheap..
The cost of a modular building consists of the frame itself, doors, windows and interior decoration. So, let’s calculate the total cost of a typical modular residential building.
As an example, consider standard block containers measuring 2.45×6 m (total area of the room is 14.7 sq. M.)
Kazimir Malevich. Arithmetics. 1913
The cost of one such module as standard is from 70 to 80 thousand rubles. A block container with PVC trim and wooden windows will cost less. Decorating with wooden clapboard and plastic windows will cost more.
Of course, standard equipment is not enough for housing. So you have to spend on new doors and additional windows. Here is the approximate cost of such services:
- additional wooden window 900×1000 mm – from 1500 rubles;
- additional plastic double-glazed window (single-chamber) 900×1100 mm – from 4500 rubles;
- plastic double-glazed window (two-chamber) – from 5700 rubles;
- window grill – from 1,500 rubles;
- wooden door – from 1000 rubles;
- metal door – from 6000 rubles.
In terms of interior decoration, minimum work includes:
- linoleum floor covering – from 250 rubles. per sq.m .;
- insulation – from 3000 rubles;
- electrical installation – from 3500 rubles;
- a bathroom with a shower cabin – from 5000 rubles;
- metal bottom (thickness 0.35 mm.) – from 2000 rubles;
- metal bottom (thickness 1.4 mm.) – from 3000 rubles.
As a result, it turns out that the cost of a finished modular building starts from 8,000 rubles per sq.m. That is, a house with an area of about 50 sq. m. will cost from 400 thousand rubles. In fact, this is the minimum price. If more expensive finishing is planned, then the cost may increase significantly depending on the wishes of the owner.
As for non-residential modular buildings, their cost is somewhat different. For example, a 2.3x4m wooden shed will cost from 25 to 60 thousand rubles. A ready-made so-called “mobile” bath with a total area of about 12 sq. m. costs about 80 – 100 thousand rubles.
Prospects for modular houses in the domestic market
In Europe, modular construction has been actively practiced for more than a dozen years. But for Russia this is a rather unusual and relatively new product. At the moment, this type of construction in our country is not very common, especially for residential modular buildings..
According to statistics, the share of modular buildings in the total number of suburban residential buildings under construction accounts for only about 7-10%.
Despite the fact that over the past 10 years, sales of modular houses have more than doubled, while their construction is quite limited and modular houses are not very popular among Russians.
El Lissitzky. Proun 1 A, Bridge I. 1919
The fact is that people have a rather negative attitude towards both frame and modular construction technologies. Most Russians consider them to be analogous to the infamous panel cottages, which were very cold and, moreover, extremely flammable. In reality, modular houses are distinguished by high thermal insulation due to modern heaters, and also meet all fire safety standards.
In addition, people are rather skeptical about one of the main advantages of modular construction – high installation speed. Unfortunately, Russians associate quick assembly with something unreliable and short-lived, in contrast to the “capital” ones (brick and wood). As a rule, buyers in most cases prefer capital construction.
But here it should be noted that if there were no technological violations during the production of modular blocks, and also if the blocks were produced taking into account the climatic conditions of the area where the building will be operated, then prefabricated houses are in no way inferior to traditional ones, and in some parameters even surpass them.
Despite some difficulties in this market segment, experts are confident that modular technology has a future in Russia. Yes, you still have to fight for a buyer and withstand fierce competition with traditional construction methods. Obviously, it takes time for people to get used to and accept innovations, including alternative types of construction. Experts are confident that gradually people will pay more attention to the benefits of the new technology.
What are the key technological features of modular houses and how do they impact the domestic real estate market? Additionally, what are the potential prospects and advantages of modular houses in comparison to traditional construction methods?
What are the key technological features of modular houses and how do they enhance the domestic real estate market? Additionally, what prospects can be expected for modular houses in the near future?