Steps For Building A Prefab House in Lebanon

The prefabricated house consists in assembling in factory a part of the house which is then assembled on site. The manufacturing of a prefabricated house goes through 4 main steps

Step 1: Manufacture of three-dimensional assemblies in the factory

The construction system is based on the principle of prefabrication in the workshop, which sometimes extends to the finishing touches. The industrial process makes it possible to produce finished houses in the workshop by assembling 2, 3 or 4 three-dimensional modules whose plans are standardized. The modules are often 4 m wide and 3.40 m high. The length depends on the size of the house. The wood and its derivatives represent about 75% of the total weight of the constructions.

Step 2: Setting up the equipment in the workshop

Once a module is assembled, the various trades intervene successively in the workshop to equip it. A wide range of equipment and interior/exterior coverings can be integrated, without modifying the manufacturing process. The production stations make it possible to manufacture all types of modules and to adapt to the specificities of each project. Only a few finishing touches are made on site.

Step 3: Quality control in the workshop

The modules undergo a quality inspection before being sent to the construction site, during which air tightness tests are performed. Thermal certification can be verified in the workshop before transfer to the construction site.

Step 4: Foundations and assembly on site

The foundations are made by a subcontractor mason designated by the client or, if desired and depending on the case, by an approved partner. The modules are transported in 2nd category exceptional transport on adapted trailers. The assembly of the modules as well as the framework and the roofing are entrusted to an approved roofer.

Criterion n°2 : Safety / Construction

Is building a prefabricated house in Lebanon safer than a traditional house? One can indeed imagine that by having less intervening on the building site, one has less risks of defects. Moreover, the duration of construction being shorter, the risk to see the builder going bankrupt would be less. This is unfortunately an illusion. Indeed, the % of builders of prefabricated houses or wood having gone bankrupt is much more important than for traditional builders having a street address.

Why is that? Simply because the industrial tool necessary to the manufacture of prefabricated houses is expensive and requires large investments and thus refunds to the bank. Moreover, whereas a traditional builder has essentially recourse to subcontractors (he calls them only when he needs them and pays them only after they have worked on a site), the prefabricated house builder has employees dealing with the construction that he must pay every month. You will have understood it, its fixed charges are more important and consequently it is in risk if it does not fulfill its objectives of sale.

However, the prefabricated house (just like the wooden house) costs more than a traditional construction so if he wants to sell, the builder of prefabricated houses must work with reduced margin or not sell as much as he would like. This explains the large number of companies in difficulty or that have gone bankrupt in the prefabricated housing industry . The only solution found to escape this tragic fate is to have a part of its turnover realized by public orders of housing… but that is very fragile because of the administrative heaviness and the frequent recourse.