To begin, prefabrication is an umbrella term used for everything from bathroom units to entire houses constructed on a single steel chassis system (aka: mobile homes). Prefab housing, in general, is the construction of a design in segments (usually restricted by shipping constraints) and joined in the field. This option allows for uniform designs and an assembly line-type of production. Panelized housing, on the contrary, is the construction of a design in panels that are joined in the field. More customization is generally allowable for this choice, but, consequently, tends to increase the cost. For brevity's sake, I will assume that any of my designs will be placed on a pre-formed foundation and will not consider this factor in my materials research...for now....
Stick Built Construction:
Most prefabricated housing uses off-site stick built framing. This traditional building style has been around for a long time and has the most availability of materials. As far as DIY remodeling, this style of construction is the easiest to undertake.
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Here is a basic wall section detail for stick-built framing methods. There are many options for materials used here and this style is easily adapted to any manufacturing process. Local to my hometown is Dickinson Homes. They specialize in stick-built premanufactured homes in the Midwest region of the United States. 
At the bottom of their homepage is a great video that shows the manufacturing process of a typical stick-built prefab house.
Below is a combination of technologies:
An alternative construction method that may, or may not, be adaptable to prefabricated housing is poured concrete housing. Here, the entire form of the house is built out of wooden forms and then is filled with, you guessed it, poured concrete. Foundation, walls, roof...you name is. It's is a seldom used construction method for anything other than foundations, but could it be adapted to benefit prefabrication? You would have to pour on-site, but could everything else be done off-site? Just a consideration....
Poured concrete homes are a good choice for coastal "high danger" areas.
Lightweight (and recyclable) aluminum is popular building material option. This material is used in siding (see below), window construction, roofing and even framing. It is a durable, light weight, low cost building alternative.
Our old friend, glass, has been around for centuries. Only recently has glass gone from being used as simple windows or doors, but to the application of glass as the entire facade. Not only for commercial skyscrapers anymore, glass (panels or curtainwalls) are finding their way into our homes.
Composites are becoming a popular choice as a building material. Wood-plastic composites are finding their way into siding and decking.
Shipping containers have been the focus of some housing designers. Care in design and their use should be taken...for you can get a variety of outcomes, including:
Either way, they are a smart alternative since they are already shippable and the supply is in excess. How could something be reused in prefabricated manufacturing?
very good roundup of prefab material choices. Maybe if you dig in deeper you can break the house down into structure: how far different materials span, cladding: embodied energy & cladding decisions, insulation, ...
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea. I was trying to get a game-plan for breaking down the subject, thought I'd start broad. Deep breath....ok....I will start with breaking down the materials in basic wood-frame construction, then steel and so on. I will try to get to some unique materials if I have time....all suggestions are welcome!
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