Frames in modular construction

First of all, let's see what a modular house is.

First terminology:

Modular buildings are buildings made of prefabricated modules assembled from one or more modular units. Modular buildings refer both to temporary buildings that are installed without a foundation (mainly up to three floors) and can be easily dismantled and moved to another place, as well as to capital multi-storey buildings. They are made in different versions for any climatic conditions, meet all fire and sanitary requirements, have a heating and ventilation system, plumbing and electrical equipment.

Volume-modular residential construction is one of the types of prefabricated construction based on the use of prefabricated block modules in the construction of buildings for various purposes.

And now in their own words: modular houses or modular construction is an ordinary construction, which differs from the classic one only in that the elements of the building "modules" are assembled in production, in some cases with 100% complete finishing inside and outside, engineering networks and equipment ready built-in furniture. That is, the rooms of a large house are divided into modules, in production they make rooms fully ready for living, then such rooms are assembled on construction sites in large apartment or separate houses.

The modular method of construction makes it possible to build faster, easier and cheaper. Why faster? Because a number of processes are carried out in parallel: while excavation work is carried out on the site and the foundation is being built, ready-to-live modules are already being produced in production. The production line is a conveyor, the modules move from one workshop (frames) to another (engineering networks, finishing), the processes in production also go in parallel: while the façade is being decorated, engineering networks are already laid, etc., and when the foundation is ready on the site, and in classical technology they are ready to lay the first brick, during modular construction, modules already fully ready for living begin to be assembled into one whole building. Why is it easier? Because 90% of all processes take place in the same place – in production. All specialists work in one place, installers, ITR, designers, VTC, etc. the issue of residence of specialists is solved once. It is much easier to control and organize one large production than, for example, five construction sites in different parts of the country. Why cheaper? Because the cost of maintaining one production is less than the maintenance and administration of five construction sites.

Since the developed modules need to be moved and lifted by a crane, the frame of such modules must withstand such loads. Therefore, for modular construction use frames made of the following materials: wood, metal, reinforced concrete. The most popular are metal, both black and LSTK and wood, is a classic frame technology, or sip panel.

Each type of frame has advantages and disadvantages. Wood: advantages – affordable price, lightweight design; disadvantages – the frame is not rigid enough, there are restrictions on the width of the holes of the walls inside the house, the lack of EU certificates from the Ukrainian bar, sometimes problems with supply. Metal: advantages – rigid design, availability of any certificates, possibility of multi-storey construction, always available; disadvantages – the weight of the structure, the cost.

Looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the frames of modular houses made of wood and metal, we can draw the following conclusions: wooden frames are more suitable for low-rise buildings, individual projects, individual small houses. If you need scale in modular construction, if you want to build an apartment building very quickly, even a skyscraper, then only metal frames. Interestingly, modular skyscrapers already exist, and this method of construction is very popular among Western developers and developers.

In fact, it does not really matter what the frame will be in your house, or what insulation, or window profile. As the end user, it is extremely important for you that the house is strong, warm, environmentally friendly, bright and beautiful. Yes, beautiful is also very important, because you have to enjoy your home, it should bring you a sense of pleasure, comfort, strength and safety.