Construction Technology

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Residential building construction prefabricated (manufactured housing) is a significant segment of residential and industrial construction, and creates the possibility of buying your own home to anyone who houses, built in the traditional way (site-built), available primarily for financial or other reasons. For example today, 15.4 million Americans, that is 7% of the population lives in the more than 7 million homes, prefabricated. In 2000, sales of modular homes was only 25% of the total sales of new homes.

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The development of this type of housing that is holding many years imperfection of the existing legislation, much of his discriminatory. This contributed to the fact that, for example, in the U.S. there are no mandatory national building codes. No less significant impact on the development of the technology of construction has been the lack of appropriate financial conditions, discriminatory zoning policies, the provision of public services. State support for this technology has played a significant role in accelerating its development. In 1974, the first one was a set of national building standards Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards. Therefore houses erected on technologies relevant requirements of this document, often called the "HUD-code homes". Since then, the term "mobile" (mobile) homes have come to define integrally related to a motor vehicle or permanently remain on the wheeled platform, and a "manufactory or factory-built" (manufactured) - House moved to autoplatforms in place to install them on a permanent foundation. Nor can we forget the very strong in some parts of conservatism as builders and consumers. On the other hand, the invention and rapid development of new construction materials, leading, along with the progress of the technology of prefabricated houses, substantially reduce costs and shift the accessibility down, not only created a new segment of the market (demographics), but expanded the share of this technology on the housing market through the traditional methods of construction of residential buildings.

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If the objective trend always makes its way through all sorts of obstacles, at the end of XX century, we have witnessed the birth of a new trend in construction technology, not only houses, but also to other types of buildings. This trend can largely determine the shape and direction of the construction industry in the XXI century. It is accompanied by intensive development of materials and construction chemicals that are designed to solve a number of technical and technological problems, and necessary for the further development of this technology.

The main difference between the construction of prefabricated houses (off-site, factory-built) and traditional methods (on-site) is the answer to the question where the main stages of the assembly of the house (except for the construction of the foundation, although there are some changes.) It should be emphasized that progress in housing over the past 20 years has blurred the clear distinction between these groups of building technologies. A special role in this process panelize and standardization in manufacturing trusses and other structural elements of buildings.

The most commonly used technology today erection of houses can be roughly classified as follows:

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I. Technology prefabricated

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• The manufacturing ("mobile")
• Modular
• Panel

II. Field technology

• technologies using prefabricated construction elements ready
• masonry technology
• concrete panel technology
• technology monolithic housing
• panel construction technology
• technology of log homes
• technology of frame and panel houses
• steel frame technology tilt-up

Once again, we call attention to the fact that after the adoption of the building standards for the determination of houses being built in accordance with them, to reserve the term "manufactured", instead of the previously consumed "mobile". This has led to confusion of terms. Therefore, for the purposes of this paper we call this technology "manufactory", in contrast to the more general term "prefabricated" (factory-built). Prefabricated house manufactory - is fully assembled and almost ready to move in (complete) at home, delivered to the site on special road platform for installation on the foundation.

I Unlike other technology standards require the installation of manufactured homes on a fixed steel frame, which is then connected to a foundation for the construction relatively site. The history of this technology is rooted n centuries ago. It is believed that the founder of this technology are the tents of nomadic tribes. As mentioned above that has occurred in recent decades, the branching paths of development led to the allocation of mobile (ie, mobile or roaming) homes in a particular group, not related to the technology construction. Mobile home in Russia almost never met, except for the rare tourists in North America are very popular in some social circles form of accommodation. This trend is more and more clearly as in Western Europe. This is facilitated by a developed system of leasing and organizing camps {so-called parks).

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The concept of the module is applicable to construction as tensile, as some kinds of high quality rubber. Compared to the U.S. and Canada, these differences in the interpretation of the term "unit" can be seen in Europe, especially in Germany. Under modular housebuilding {modular housing) in North America understand the technology, in which the house is being built on site of prefabricated modules that represent their core self, ready to use part of the house, that is the room, bath, bathroom, attic and roof . Prepared modules are installed on the prepared foundation (to each other in a high-rise version) and interconnected. Then sealed joints and trim ends of those places that can not be done at the factory (before installation of the house) or practical (damage or partial dismantling of the need). Because it is better to see once than ten thousand words, the whole process of the construction of houses for the technology presented in the relevant photographs. Panel technology is often confused with the module, depending on the interpretation of the term "unit" under which in Germany are often realize large-sized panel. Unlike panel technology of the modular is that the panels, forming a set of elements of, come to the site is not fully assembled {as a module), and separately. Panel technology provides for the construction of the house installation of panels on a building site in the module and then install it. The panels are mounted on the technology, similar to the technique is common panel or frame housing. Panel technology originates from the time when, after the appearance of plywood and particle board, they began to be used as a plating, forming a very strong and resistant to deformation box (envelope) at home. The photos show the most characteristic phases of construction houses by a panel technology. Degree trim panels can be different. Actually panel technology provides the installation of panels fitted with windows and doors.

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Technology "tilt-up" is not as common as the previous two, but more and more popular everywhere can show their obvious advantages. From panel technology it is distinguished two main features - making the panel at the construction site and equipment recovery. When lifting the bottom of the panel rests on the foundation base prepared in advance, and the top lifts up. This is exactly what its name says - the rise of a slope to the acquisition vertical. The technology used mainly in the construction of low-rise buildings (usually two floors plus an attic). Innovation is literally the last few days is the development of technology of round walls.

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What are the comparative advantages of these technologies with respect to those who are called traditional (conventional). This above all:

a considerable reduction of the construction of houses (90% of original equipment);
significant savings (up to 60%) for the construction of similar buildings, but built on other technologies;
top quality installation and finishing works (thanks to a controlled factory environment - humidity, temperature, vibration, etc.);
higher productivity (fewer workers, the application only highly skilled workers in the factory and less qualified for assembly);
the possibility of a parallel installation and finishing operations performed in other cases one by one;
radical reduction of the marriage, the number of construction waste, the possibility of theft, downtime, etc.

The main field of application of technology is a prefabricated housing construction in difficult or extreme weather and / or hydro-geological conditions in which land management activities difficult or impossible, and the time allotted for the construction of a building, defined if not hours, then days. Those who are still willing to persevere on the admissibility of the North American and Western European construction technologies in Russia, even compares the degree of development of Alaska and Chukotka, and the living conditions in these areas. With a number of doubtless construction practices and confirmed the benefits of these technologies are used in other, more favorable to the construction of the territories. In this short review, we have focused on the residential house building factory type. However, the range of application of these technologies is much broader. This - office and administrative buildings, schools, hospitals, kindergartens, and more, right up to our usual "hut."

In Russia there were already the first puffins coming changes. There is, however, still I held view that modern homes, manufactured industrially, are not "soul." Now, what about this specialist said one of the building unions: "... homes are being built as a kind of temporary structure, which over time will either be rebuilt or demolished. It uses new polymer plastic. Abroad, as a rule, these homes build the middle class. precisely such a technology is actively imported to us from abroad. technology is relatively inexpensive, does not require manual individual work, all fairly unified. This is its great advantage. But in the same or a smaller disadvantage, the essence of which not clear to foreigners and is understandable to the Russian people. On our way - not in the whole of the soul. Therefore, I do not usually recommend to my customers to build the house of the currently fashionable sandwich panels with the siding on the outside, inside the dry plaster, plastic stretch ceiling and the floor of carpeting. offices, hospitals, shops, hotels - fine. But your personal home? ... ". That this can be answered? You can work, you can get sick, and can not live? The materials used for decoration of the houses, the question of the choice of the customer, rather than the usual dictates of our products. Also commonly believed that the Russians with their mental attitude to the house as the family nest, building homes closer "to last" from natural materials (stone, brick, wood). It uses technologies that require highly skilled manual labor and, in the end, bearing a unique personality of the house owner.

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Those and other arguments raised against the introduction into the Russian building practice of modern technologies and materials, are generally poorly delivered smokescreen designed to hide from the eyes of the unsophisticated consumers the real state of affairs - over-exploitation of forest resources, low quality wood and other building materials , monopoly producers (especially in regional and local markets), competition with the use of fists and guns. References to the Russian mentality - no more than the worship of Ivan the Fool, to lie on the Russian oven.

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On the individual homeowner can only say that, judging by the ugly "masterpieces" architectural survey near Moscow, a new Russian identity we do not need. Modern construction technologies able to solve the housing problem, not hurting anyone's personality. If the individual is attached to the house by impregnating then each plank and beam, it is not the best way to protect the wood from rotting. On the issue of the alleged "some temporary construction", we remember only the role in economic development, which is the difference between the rate of obsolescence and depreciation of wealth. Who does not understand, he will remain forever live in the stone-brick century. And if the mentality of our grandchildren will be different, they will take down the first thing we built "to last" stone-brick houses. In the era of wooden construction, when it was impossible to take down wooden structures, they are often directly entire cities, burned. By the way, the minimum design life habitability prefabricated houses is 72 years.

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In conclusion, this is a small part of the quote: "In one of the most northern Taimyr settlements - in the village of Sock, home to 1,200 people, recently completed construction of a school for 192 pupils and 15 inpatient hospital beds. Built especially for them autonomous power plant and boiler room, because local sources of heat and power is unstable. Moreover, in addition to modern building materials and imported equipment, and use of a new technology is modular construction. As emphasized in the administration, none of the Taimyr not exist, and even the most well-appointed social facilities of Norilsk industrial region are unlikely to compete with the complex in a sock. " (The newspaper "Yakutia"). Somewhat aloof in the technological and architectural terms in this series are two types of houses that occupy until marginal place in total construction. This so-called geodesic home and home round DELTEC. The ancestor of geodesic homes is revered in the U.S. Richard Buckminster Fuller, architect, engineer, mathematician, philosopher, historian and poet in one. His ideas have been widely used in the construction of various domes, including the construction of the exhibition hall in Moscow's Sokolniki Park in 1959, construction of the first patent for a geodesic home Fuller received in 1951 surveying the form, in contrast to other geometric forms, combines exceptional strength with minimal materials for plating a given volume (in cubic meters). The area of ​​the geodesic shape about 1/3 less than a square with the same volume. Aerodynamic shape of geodesic structures and their resistance to wind loads are one of the criteria for the selection of such form in the design of structures for extreme conditions (eg, radar stations in Antarctica - 25 years of service with wind speeds reaching 200 km / h). Speed ​​construction surveying homes rather large. Assembly of the house 45 feet in diameter and 5/8 ball on a prepared foundation team of 3 people is 5 days. All major structural components are manufactured in the factory and shipped to the construction site in batches. World leader in the construction of geodesic shapes - Canadian firm Triodent Building Products Ltd. is at the same time, the author dedicated the foundation of a system for the construction of a sub-Arctic regions of North America.

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The concept of circular houses DELTEC based on the fact that for centuries lived human slit built round. In support of the examples - the needle, tents of nomads, the mud houses of African tribes. Their distinguishing feature, like surveying houses, is an exceptional resistance to wind loads. Hurricanes "Hugo", "Andrew", "Opal", "Bertha" and "Fran" no harm to any house built on this technology, while at the same time, hundreds of other buildings were demolished.

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Recently, a very intense discussion is another technology, using a time of great hope. It is an application in the residential housing construction designs that use as structural framing steel frame. Topic volume and, therefore, it will leave the discussion for the next issue of our magazine.

The most commonly used technology today erection of houses