Prefabricated Wall Panels - Prefab Construction | Prefabricated Homes - Modular building construction, Office Containers and Cabins

Prefabricated Wall Panels

Manufacturers are reinventing the process of home construction using assembly line automation and prefabricated panels made from a wide variety of materials. The installed panels form a structural envelope that eliminates the need for conventional framing, provides integral insulation, and can be assembled swiftly by less skilled laborers. These advantages have spurred production and introduced a thermally efficient structural method of light construction to a broad market.

What's relatively new is the variety of materials being incorporated into panel systems, such as light gauge steel, aluminum concrete and fiberglass components. Different systems may offer advantages for particular building needs or circumstances, but all share the basic design of a building component with inherent structural and insulating capacity. The panels are assembled to form exterior walls or roofs with minimal additional framing. Many panels are lightweight, and can be designed to resist earthquakes, high winds, debris impact, moisture, and insect infestation.

Insulation capacity is an advantage of panel systems. There is general agreement that insulated panels provide better overall air tightness and thermal performance. Conventional wood framing creates a structure where a minor thermal bridge occurs at each vertical stud and gaps can exist between insulation batts and stud surfaces, that allow air leaks. Panel systems offer a dense, uniform and continuous air barrier with few thermal bridges, and little opportunity for internal convection.

Industrialization of the construction process is also an advantage for panel manufacturers. Panels can be produced in an automated factory environment, using computer controlled equipment, that transfers panel-cutting instructions directly from digital CAD (computer aided design) drawings. The resulting components are precisely engineered and easy to inspect for quality control. Once the panels are shipped to the jobsite, they can be quickly assembled, speeding the