Advantages and disadvantages of prefab homes

Prefab homes, or modular homes, are extremely energy efficient and help to
save on electricity, water usage, etc. Additionally, one can customise or modify
it anytime.
“Maintaining prefab construction doesn’t require much investment. While
certain cities, like Bengaluru, have accepted the concept of prefab, other places
in India still face hurdles, owing to issues like government permissions and
availability of suitable land for construction,” says Harjith D Bubber, managing
director and CEO, Rivali Park and CCI Park.
In prefab constructions, the wall panels are made inside a factory. This reduces
the construction period, as compared to structures that are constructed
traditionally. “Compared to traditional constructions, prefab structures can
effectively reduce structural deviations, such as leakage issues, cracking of walls
and other quality issues,” asserts Bubber.
However, the disadvantages of such construction techniques, include finding the
land for such constructions, inspection of the site, upfront payment to the
manufacturer and transportation and assembly issues.
 

Cost of prefab homes

A prefab structure reduces construction cost, manpower cost, material cost,
water consumption and labour cost significantly, hence, making it cost effective.
“Offsite construction cuts project costs by up to 30% and delivery times by up to
50%, as compared to conventional construction techniques, while producing
high-quality and custom-built buildings and facilities,” says Sachar.
Today, India’s construction industry suffers from a shortage of skilled labour,
long gestation periods, increasing prices of raw materials and wastage.
Developers can derive cost benefits from offsite construction technologies,
through timely completion of their projects. “Prefab technologies are cost
effective, if there is greater usage of the system. In other words, the system
proves economical, wherever mass clusters of building or campuses need to be
constructed,” concludes Oberoi.