How to build a house quickly and inexpensively
The task of building a house quickly and inexpensively should not be detrimental to quality. This is fundamental. But it cannot be fast, high-quality and at the same time cheap. Only cheap and “inexpensive” are different concepts. The task of this article is to find a solution that will be fast, high-quality and the LEAST expensive of the existing ones.
Note to the article
This article was written in May 2020. In 2021, there was a significant increase in prices for building materials, so some adjustments are possible. But in general, the considered ratios of construction technologies and the principles of their selection remained unchanged.First you need to make a list of available types of prefabricated houses. These are options that allow you to start building at the end of spring, and move in in the fall. I.e. in one construction season.
What does NOT fall into the category of prefabricated houses
Heavy stone houses are excluded immediately, whether they are made of piece or monolithic materials. It is possible to build the box itself at home, but the interior decoration will inevitably go into winter. A stone house requires a strong foundation. And this includes earthworks, and time for its standing. It is also necessary to dry the walls before finishing. It is impossible to reduce technological processes in time without compromising quality. A year is the minimum for such a house. In practice, it turns out 2-3 years.
Therefore, we exclude options for houses:
- With a basement.
- With a strong enough foundation for heavy or fragile walls.
- Made of materials that do not allow you to quickly make the exterior and interior decoration.
The lock is not needed
Houses made of light blocks such as gas, foam and expanded clay concrete are also excluded. Although the walls of them can be erected in a few weeks. But they will still have to cast a sufficiently powerful monolithic tape or plate. And under the ceilings, monolithic armoires will be needed. Otherwise, the structural strength will be violated. And before finishing the walls of the same aerated concrete, it is necessary to let them dry. It’s good if you have time to do the exterior decoration before winter, but you won’t have time to do the interior for sure.
Porous ceramic blocks are excluded due to their high cost. Arbolite — because of the low average quality.
Classic wooden log cabins are also not suitable. You can make a pre-erected foundation for them, they practically do not require finishing and are quickly assembled. But they stand after assembly for at least a year. You can buy an already established log house or even make it out of dead wood. But such options will no longer be inexpensive.
So all these options do not allow you to build a house quickly and inexpensively.
Types of prefabricated houses
The following options remain in alphabetical order:
- Made of glued beams
- Frame (frame-panel)
- Modular
- Panel (SIP panels)
- Thermodome (made of thermal blocks)
- I will not describe the basic design of these types. It is assumed that you already have a minimal understanding of them. More is not required yet.
Almost all of these options have been treated with disdain. Many consider them to be of low quality. But are these inherent properties of the solutions themselves? Or is the reason lies in the materials used and in the construction errors? Not always a bad reputation is deserved by the initial data of the solution itself. It also happens that a “frivolous” approach to a solution entails the use of low-grade, unsuitable materials. As a result, a false negative reputation develops.
The listed types of houses have all the qualities necessary for the task. This is an opportunity to quickly build a foundation, quickly install a house box and finish it. That is, it is possible to build a house quickly and inexpensively on their basis. Let’s now look at the disadvantages of each type, the reasons for their appearance, criticality and the possibility of correction.