The difference between a block and panel house

Pros and cons of panel structures

Panel structures are characterized by the following advantages:

1. The time spent on construction is reduced several times. The implementation of a construction project may take from 3 to 12 months, which is much less than when constructing brick and monolithic dwellings.
2. The cost of finished housing is reduced due to the availability of materials and minimal labor costs.
3. The declared service life of the building is 40-50 years. However, in practice it reaches 70-90 years.
4. When performing initial repair work, you do not need to put in much effort. The surface of the panel is quite smooth and even, so you can putty it yourself.

However, in addition to the advantages, panel buildings also have disadvantages:

• Once the layout of the future home is completed, it cannot be changed. This is explained by the fact that most wall structures are load-bearing.
• The level of sound insulation is low, since the panels are not very thick. This also affects the thermal insulation properties: they are not good enough, which forces one to resort to the use of expensive thermal insulators.

Panel-type buildings that have been erected in recent years are better than Soviet ones in the following respects:

1. More advanced layout.
2. Possibility of purchasing housing with a glassed-in balcony and two bathrooms.
3. Wide selection of facades.
4. Improved sound and heat insulation performance.

What is the situation with audibility in monolithic houses?

Sound insulation is one of the most important factors that you should pay attention to when buying a new apartment. If we compare audibility in monolithic houses and panel houses, then in the latter it is many times worse. In order not to hear every rustle of your neighbors, you will have to spend a lot of money. Considering the cost of soundproofing an apartment in a panel high-rise building, saving on its cost does not seem entirely reasonable.

The sound insulation of an apartment in a monolithic high-rise building is much better. You won’t hear your neighbor’s TV behind the wall or an evening showdown. However, many are trying to improve the sound insulation of their apartment, especially if the developer decided to save on materials and bypassed the required standards.

Very often, a poor level of sound insulation occurs due to incorrect design or architectural decisions of the apartment owner himself. This especially applies to apartments with an open plan.

The developer’s task is to deliver the “box” with communications, and the owner himself erects the partitions. Noise may be caused by poor quality materials or poor planning. For example, if the bathroom borders the bedroom, then the sound of water through the pipes will become a common occurrence.

Having considered the advantages and disadvantages, you can find the right answer to the question of which house is better, monolithic or panel. The positive properties of the monolith are obvious, and the problem of audibility can be easily solved with the help of soundproofing materials. Buying an apartment is an extremely important decision. Try to find the advantages and disadvantages specifically in your case, and only after that make a deal.

The current panel-type houses have been significantly improved. They are built faster and among their advantages is that apartments, as a rule, are cheaper. Monolithic houses on a deep pile foundation are the most resistant to ground movements and floods; they have no seams or joints; in essence, these are single rigid structures

How does the type of house affect the liquidity and quality of an apartment, what do developers offer today, what technologies are used and, finally, what kind of house will be warm, durable and comfortable to live in?

Panel
house
The technology of a panel house is the construction of ready-made blocks produced at house-building factories. In the 70s of the last century, panel microdistricts could be found in all cities, as this housing was built quickly. However, the quality suffered: a significant drawback of panel housing construction was poor thermal insulation of interpanel seams. The current panel-type houses have been significantly improved. They are built faster and among their advantages is that apartments, as a rule, cost less. But the layout of the housing is always known in advance: if the buyer is focused on a standard layout, then a panel house will give him the necessary “predictability”. But for someone who wants to show their imagination in arranging their apartment, a panel house with its clear layout is unlikely to be suitable.

"Panel" today. In the primary market, panel houses today account for up to 20%, although back in 2001-2003. This type of construction was very popular.

Opinion. According to construction director Viktor Korshenbaum, panel housing construction has exhausted its usefulness. This is primarily due to the fact that the buyer has become more demanding, and the quality of panel houses no longer suits him. Although such houses undoubtedly have a margin of safety, the future lies with more durable and reliable technologies.

Brick
house
A material that has been tested for centuries. Housing in brick houses is high quality and comfortable. Brick houses “breathe” better and are much more environmentally friendly; They are heat-intensive and have a high degree of fire protection. Brick is not susceptible to the appearance of fungi and microorganisms.

Opinion. According to Alexander Perevyazkin, General Director of Petrotrest-Monolit CJSC, brick house-building technology is one of the most conservative. In Soviet times, attempts were made repeatedly to mechanize the bricklaying procedure, but they all ended in nothing. The idea of ​​brick panels and brick blocks was not realized either.

"Brick" and the housing market today. Brick houses are usually classified as luxury housing, but there are currently very few offers for brick construction on the housing construction market. This is due to the fact that brick construction technology requires long construction times and increased labor intensity. Therefore, housing in brick houses is quite expensive, and offers for the sale of apartments in new brick buildings are quite rare.

Brick-monolithic
house
Leaders of technology. Apartments in monolithic buildings, according to experts, are the most liquid type of real estate and they are the ones that are bought up first. The basic principle of monolithic construction is that the load-bearing skeleton of the building is made of concrete: during construction, a rigid frame is created with various types of enclosing structures. External walls are brick with a layer of thermal insulation material or panel.

Opinion. Monolithic housing construction, according to construction director Victor Korshenbaum, is the most advanced construction technology that is becoming increasingly popular.

Experts say that the actual lifespan of the “monolith” is more than 100 years. However, this statement can be questioned if, due to the crisis, the developer switched to cheaper materials. In this case, even building a house using monolithic technology is not a guarantee of quality. A guarantee of the high quality of a house can be the reputation of the developer and the quality control system he has created, which gives confidence that only high-quality materials and technologies that have undergone special testing are used in construction.

What is good about the “monolith”? Monolithic housing construction has become the optimal solution for St. Petersburg. As you know, St. Petersburg is located on marshy, weak soil, so even long piles of strong houses cannot save the foundation from destruction. And monolithic houses on a deep pile foundation are the most resistant to ground movements and floods; they have no seams or joints; in essence, these are single rigid structures.

Example. Leading developers such as use this technology in construction primarily because monolithic brick buildings are durable, have increased thermal insulation properties and are environmentally friendly.

The use of this technology avoids sedimentary cracks. In addition, the safety of such houses has been confirmed by experts: a monolithic brick building does not have any harmful effects on the health of the people living in it - all the embankments in the city, by the way, are made of the same granite from which the crushed stone used in the construction of monolithic buildings is made.

Individual project and layout. Another advantage of monolithic houses is their individuality. Each house has its own design, it is original and unique. Monolithic houses are exclusive, so they are usually built in especially attractive places in the city. An important feature is that in most rented houses the apartments have only load-bearing walls, and the size and configuration of the premises and how many there will be is decided by the buyer. In these houses you can create an open layout and embody your ideas and vision of housing.

Completely monolithic new buildings are quite rare; most often these are brick-monolithic or panel-monolithic new buildings. When creating facades, architects and builders have great freedom in choosing shapes and materials. As a rule, external walls are faced with brick or wall blocks with several layers of special insulation. As a result, the level of thermal insulation and noise protection increases by 20-40%.

Opinion. As construction director Victor Korshenbaum emphasizes, it is very important from the point of view of the energy efficiency of the building that walls made using monolithic technology have practically no seams. Accordingly, there are no problems with joints and their sealing, and the problem of air exchange is solved by installing special valves in metal-plastic windows.

What's the result?

1. Panel housing construction is popular due to its low price and high speed of construction of houses. However, the quality of panel construction is still inferior to brick and monolithic. 2. Brick housing - comfortable, reliable, environmentally friendly and convenient. But along with the advantages, there are also disadvantages - high cost and length of the construction cycle. Today, there are practically no offers for brick housing on the housing construction market. 3. Monolithic

Having bought housing in a panel house, will you regret the purchase? After all, having paid extra and purchased an apartment in a monolithic building, you can not hear the screams of your neighbors behind the wall day after day, and not complain about the cold. And you can redesign your own living space quite easily. What to choose - panel or monolith?

Until now, thousands of Russians live in apartments. Technological progress has also affected the technology of building residential buildings. It became possible to build taller houses with a qualitatively new level of comfort. Panel houses built using outdated technologies have a standard appearance and do not differ in variety.

Houses of the P-44T, KOPE, P-3M, GSM-1 series combine all the advantages and benefits of panel houses, and thanks to the use of modern technologies in their design and construction, they can be serious competitors. Panel houses are characterized by small apartment areas, low prices and fairly functional layouts. It is also important that the apartment is almost ready for renovation, which cannot be said about monolithic houses. Unlike panel houses, monolithic houses have a more attractive appearance, since they are built according to “individual” projects. Apartments in monolithic buildings have a large area. Due to the absence of interior partitions, the owner can design his own apartment. But this increases the cost of repairs.

Construction technology

The specifics of construction work on the construction of panel houses are quite simple and understandable: the buildings are assembled like a construction set. For this purpose, ready-made concrete slabs are used, which are joined to each other and sealed with cement mortar.

Modern builders often replace concrete panels with sandwich structures with a core of noise and heat insulation materials. Such products have increased dimensions, so the ceiling height and the distance between load-bearing walls increase.

Panel houses

Panel houses predominated in the Soviet Union. Now their share is sharply decreasing. The material is considered not prestigious. However, everything is not as clear as it may seem. The advantages of the material include:

• high speed of construction;
• low cost if you make simple panels in the economy segment. If the panel is made with high quality, from good materials, high thickness and a thermal insulation layer, then the cost of the panel house will increase sharply. In some cases, it may even be higher than the price of a brick house;
• short shrinkage time after construction.

Thus, we note that the panels are different. Therefore, before purchasing, study the project declaration, visit the construction site, and consult with professionals.

Disadvantages of panel houses:

• standard architecture;
• difficulties may arise during repairs and reconstruction;
• poor sound insulation. This factor depends on the specific house.

It is worth considering the quality of the panel and the presence of other materials that muffle noise. Thermal insulation of a panel house depends on the type of panels and on additional thermal insulation materials that can be used in the construction of the house. Panel or brick, which is better? As you can see, both of these materials have their advantages and disadvantages. If your budget is limited, then you should give preference to a panel house.

Pros and cons of brick

The use of brick in the construction of apartment buildings has ceased to be very popular. This is due to the high cost of materials and increased completion time. Construction of a brick building can take 1.5-2 years, which is 30% more than the construction of monolithic structures and 50% more than the construction of a panel house. Brick housing is expensive and belongs to the premium segment.

The advantages of the material include the following points:

• Using brick blocks, you can implement any architectural projects with non-standard shapes and sizes.
• Builders are not limited to classic layouts.
• The material is characterized by improved noise and heat insulation properties, can absorb and release moisture, and is protected from the problem of the development of fungal microorganisms due to high humidity.
• The stated service life is 150 years.
• Brick buildings always have a comfortable microclimate, since it is quite warm in winter and cool in summer.

The disadvantages of the material include:

1. The high cost of housing.
2. Long construction period.
3. Ability to transmit household noise.

Construction technology

Brick houses are characterized by maximum habitability, especially if a ceramic type of material was used during the construction process. This solution is characterized by environmental safety, provision of a comfortable microclimate and excellent thermal insulation properties, which reduces heating costs during the cold period.

When constructing multi-storey buildings, sand-lime brick is often used. But due to low thermal insulation rates, load-bearing wall structures require additional insulation.

In modern construction, the use of bricks is rare. Construction companies choose combined monolithic-brick solutions, which demonstrate an increased service life and allow one to expand architectural boundaries.

Pros and cons of monolithic houses

A monolithic brick house, the pros and cons of which deserve careful attention, began to be in demand back in the 90s of the 20th century.

The technology has the following advantages:

1. Possibility of implementing the project at any time of the year. In winter, the concrete mixture is heated, which eliminates the need to stop work.
2. The use of monolithic technology does not limit builders in the number of floors of the house.
3. In the event of a pipeline leak, the problem of flooding the neighbors below is eliminated, since the structure is made in one piece.
4. Even in the absence of a full finishing layer, the surface of the walls remains even and smooth. This reduces the time and costs of repair work.
5. The declared service life of a monolithic building reaches 150 years.
6. The client is provided with a wide range of services for changing the layout of the apartment, taking into account personal preferences and desires.
7. The technology demonstrates high resistance to cracks.
8. Relatively good soundproofing properties. This point is both a plus and a minus, since household sounds are well isolated from neighbors, and impact noise on the wall is transmitted throughout the house.

The disadvantages of a monolithic house include:

• Increased construction term.
• Expensiveness of the project.
• Thermal conductivity is quite high.
• When using permanent formwork made of foam blocks, the building will be exposed to high temperatures. To eliminate the negative influence of temperature, it is necessary to carry out a number of plastering works or sheathe the building with non-combustible materials.
• Since the frame of the house has reinforced concrete parts, you will need to take care of good grounding.
• To erect a monolithic building, you need to use professional special equipment, including cranes, mortar pumps, industrial concrete mixers and others.

And yet what is better?

The best option is to live in a brick or monolithic house. It is comfortable to live in such houses, and the buildings themselves are reliable and durable. The worst choice, but the most affordable: an apartment in a panel house. The layout is worse, and the noise and heat insulation leaves much to be desired.

Today the question is often discussed: what is better - a panel or a monolith? Monolithic houses are credited with almost magical properties of energy efficiency and durability, while the technology of panel or, as it should be called, industrial housing construction is considered outdated and a thing of the past. Konstantin Kuznetsov, vice president for industry and construction of the PIK group of companies, spoke to RBC Real Estate about the confrontation between two construction technologies, their pros and cons.

— What, in your opinion, is better: panel and monolithic housing?

In fact, the opposition “panel versus monolith” is far-fetched; these are two different ways of constructing buildings, with different design features. There are high-quality and low-quality, both panel and monolithic houses, it all depends on who and how the building is built.

Industrial housing construction in our country is perhaps the only real way to solve the housing problem, since today only industrial technologies allow building quickly, efficiently and in large volumes.

— Why has there been a negative attitude towards industrial housing construction in our country?

The negative perception of panel housing construction in our country has developed historically. Mass construction of residential buildings using reinforced concrete structures began in the Soviet Union in the 60s of the last century. At that time, priority was given to high rates of construction and cost savings, because let us remember that apartments were issued free of charge, and therefore should have cost the state as little as possible. Thus, due to the limited number of reinforced concrete products, their simplicity and high repeatability, the house was assembled very quickly, and its cost was low. One cannot ignore the fact that in mass-produced houses, as a rule, the areas of rooms, kitchens and bathrooms were smaller than in monolithic or brick houses.

— Why are modern “sockets” better?

— Significant changes have taken place in modern industrial houses; panel houses being built today are technologically completely different buildings that meet all modern safety and energy efficiency requirements. First of all, their service life has changed, the warranty service life of a modern panel house is more than 100 years, the design of the external wall has fundamentally changed, today it is a three-layer wall panel made according to the sandwich principle: reinforced concrete structures outside and inside, with highly efficient insulation between them. For example, to insulate external panels in houses of the P-3MK “Flagman” series, produced by a house-building plant, part of the PIK group of companies, high-tech thermal insulation material is used. In addition, in modern panel houses, window units are installed immediately at the factory in accordance with GOST requirements, where strict control is carried out at the joints, which ensures no heat loss and no wind. PIK Group uses German PVC profiles and energy-efficient double-glazed windows coated with silver in its window blocks, which reflects up to 90% of heat waves, which allows residents to significantly save heat. Such windows also have valves for ventilation.

Another important detail: in the production of modern panel houses, constructive solutions have been developed that protect the house from the progressive collapse of the building in emergency situations - these are special welded joints of structures that ensure high reliability.

I would like to note that modern industrial construction technologies are now actively used not only in the territory of the former USSR, but also in other countries of Europe and Asia.

— What are the main differences between the industrial technology of building houses and the monolithic one?

— The main differences are in the method of creating load-bearing and enclosing structures. In industrial housing construction, all house structures are manufactured in a factory; reinforced concrete elements gain strength in special heat treatment chambers under strict control in accordance with GOST requirements, which guarantees their quality. All structures arrive at the construction site in a completely finished form, for example, with already installed window units and ready-made channels for electrical wiring. At the construction site, workers simply assemble the finished elements of the house.

With the monolithic method of building a house, all the supporting structures of the house are concreted directly at the construction site, where it is necessary to carry out particularly strict quality control of the work, because the likelihood of disruption of the construction process due to human factors or unfavorable weather conditions is much higher here.

— What difference is there in the construction time of buildings?

The speed of construction of a 17-story panel house takes on average 4-6 months and does not depend on weather conditions and time of year, because At a construction site, only the assembly of the house takes place. A monolithic house is built over a longer period - from one to two years. This is due to the slower hardening process of concrete and climatic conditions. Concrete gains strength less well at temperatures below zero degrees or at too high a temperature. After the supporting structure is ready, window blocks are mounted into the monolithic frame, and channels for communications are cut into the walls. All this takes extra time.

— Is the cost of construction different, given the difference in technology?

- Without a doubt. The cost of constructing a panel house in terms of direct costs is 20 - 40% lower than similar monolithic objects. There is also a difference in cost for the buyer; in a monolithic house, the buyer often must independently erect internal partitions between rooms and do the electrical wiring; in a panel house, the walls are handed over for finishing. This significantly saves the cost of final finishing.

— What are the advantages of monolithic housing construction?

One of the characteristic differences of monolithic technologies is the ability to give almost any arbitrary shape to buildings and apartments. In a monolith it is much easier to realize the fantasies of the designer and architect, both in terms of the appearance of the entire house, the plasticity of the facade, and the internal layout of the apartments.

In panel houses, the layouts in most cases are already determined: usually the buyer is offered several layout options to choose from. At the same time, modern series of houses have a fairly large selection in terms of area and apartment layout. Consumer complaints about the appearance of the facades of industrial houses are also taken into account today, and house-building factories are developing new facade solutions that give houses a modern aesthetic appearance. By the way, this is one of the key areas of modernization carried out by our company over the past few years.

In addition, the PIK group of companies has done a lot of work to improve the apartment layout in their houses, for example, in the KOPE “Parus” and KOPE “Tower” series produced by the group alone, about 20 apartment layouts are offered, and in the near future it is planned to produce industrial series with free layouts. Taking into account changing requirements, the design and development of low-rise buildings is underway, which will make it possible to more harmoniously develop new territories in Moscow and the region.

We do not stand still, we develop new design and technological solutions that allow us to build quickly, beautifully and with high quality.

The differences between these multi-storey buildings are insignificant. The main point lies in the methods of pouring concrete. If ready-made elements for a panel house arrive at the construction site, then the walls of the monolith are poured directly on site. With this method, it is not always possible to control the quality of work, and some adjustments can be made by weather conditions.

Construction technology

Monolithic technology involves the floor-by-floor construction of formwork around the perimeter of a reinforced frame, into which a concrete mixture is placed. Due to the ability to quickly dismantle and assemble formwork, developers fill structures with any number of floors and architectural properties, which allows them to create unusual room designs.

There are several ways to build monolithic houses:

1. Monolithic - provides for the arrangement of a solid foundation.
2. Monolithic frame - reinforced concrete columns and floors are used as frame parts. The role of filling is performed by both concrete and brick.

To determine the cost of construction, a number of factors must be taken into account. Among them:

• The number of floors in the building and rooms in the apartment.
• The place where the house will be built.
• The authority of the developer company.
• Infrastructure level.
• And a number of other features.

To get a detailed description of your upcoming financial investments, it is better to consult an expert.

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FAQ

Owners of apartments in monolithic buildings often have various questions related to repairs.

Is it possible to demolish walls in a monolithic house?

Redevelopment in residential and non-residential premises is carried out in accordance with established standards. It is prohibited to demolish walls on your own without coordinating the basic points with the relevant services.

Is it possible to ditch the ceiling in a monolithic house?

To perform many repair work, it is not necessary to have professional skills and equipment. However, replacing electrical wiring is quite difficult, especially if the implementation of the task involves the procedure of gating the ceiling in a monolithic building.

When figuring out whether it is possible to ditch the ceiling in a monolithic house, it is necessary to take into account some nuances and circumstances. For an accurate answer, you should contact specialists and obtain regulatory documents.

Reviews from residents of monolithic houses

Alina, 40 years old, Krasnoyarsk: “Two years ago my husband and I bought a two-room apartment in a monolithic high-rise building (before that we lived in a panel building). Among the main advantages that pleased us, I can highlight a comfortable microclimate even during periods of severe frost and heat. However, the sound insulation is not good enough, so if you have noisy neighbors nearby, you will have a hard time.”

Igor, 34 years old, Saratov: “We have been living in an apartment in a monolithic brick building for more than 10 years. The pluses include the attractive appearance of the house, good cladding and finishing, as well as an increased degree of heat and sound insulation.”

Monolithic brick houses

They are very popular. Advantages:

• shrinkage after construction is practically absent;
• high construction speed;
• attractive appearance due to natural brick finishing;
• good thermal insulation of external walls due to the three-layer structure.

Disadvantages of monolithic houses:

• supporting columns break the projections of the walls. The solution to this issue is to install a built-in wardrobe;
• poor sound insulation on supporting columns, but good on inter-apartment walls.

Buyers of monolithic apartments believe that the main disadvantage is that it is impossible to remodel them. However, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between panel houses and monolithic frame houses. Secondly, separate columns are provided, making it very easy to change the redevelopment. But in panel houses this is almost impossible. There is an opinion that brick houses are the warmest. Is it so? Experts say there is no clear answer to this question. Because nowadays there are many different materials whose thermal characteristics are several times better than those of brick. Houses that are made from modern materials are not always produced with high quality; the technology of work and operation is disrupted, and problems arise with maintaining the microclimate. In general, any enclosing structure must meet the requirements of the regulations. Let's look at some questions that people often have.

Monolith or brick, which is better? Brick is very popular, and accordingly the quality of this material is better: sound insulation, thermal insulation, environmental friendliness. However, despite the fact that brick is valued higher, people prefer to buy a monolith, because the cost of building a monolithic house is much lower than a brick or panel one. Is a brick or monolith cheaper at cost? Brick is the most expensive material, we have already talked about this. Therefore, the construction of a monolithic house will cost the client less. Where is better sound insulation in a panel or monolithic house? Due to their solid construction, thick monolithic walls practically do not allow noise to pass through. But panel houses, unfortunately, do not have this advantage. In most cases, their sound insulation is very poor. And yet, what is better: panel or brick? Most people prefer brick houses. When using them, traditional technology is used. They provide high-quality sound insulation, which is especially important in apartment buildings.

What is better: a modern panel or a brick monolith? An apartment in a panel house is cheaper. Another advantage of this material is that apartments in panel houses are usually rented fully furnished. However, the big disadvantage of panel houses is low noise insulation. The owner of a brick house has freedom of action if he plans to remodel. This is due to the fact that in a brick house not all walls are load-bearing, whereas in a panel house almost all walls are load-bearing. The temperature in houses depends not only on the operation of the heating system, but also on the material from which the house is built. Let's draw a small conclusion and answer the main question: brick, monolith or panel - which material should be preferred? As you noticed, each material has a number of advantages and disadvantages. However, if it is made with high quality, then the difference in the result will not be so noticeable. Before purchasing, study the project declaration on the developer’s website. If necessary, you can contact the developer’s sales department, an experienced realtor or a real estate expert.

It is known that when choosing an apartment, it is important to consider what material the house is built from. This is reflected both in the cost of apartments and in the comfort of living in them. Modern multi-storey complexes are brick, panel or monolithic structures.