NGOENCHUKLIN-THESIS-2014 Prefab Housing

FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING PREFABRICATED U.S.
PRODUCTS AND METHODS FOR RESIDENTIAL
CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND
A Thesis
Presented to
The Academic Faculty
by
Chawin Ngoenchuklin
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Building Construction and
Residential Construction Development in the
College of Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology

August, 2014
COPYRIGHT© 2014 BY CHAWIN NGOENCHUKLIN

FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING PREFABRICATED U.S.
PRODUCTS AND METHODS FOR RESIDENTIAL
CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND
Approved by:
Dr. Daniel Castro, Advisor

School of Building Construction
Dr. Xinyi Song

Professor Rick Porter

Date Approved: June 18, 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge my family, my mother and my wife for supporting
me throughout the process. I want to thank all my professors, Dr. Castro, Dr. Song and
Professor Porter for great advices, helpful information and encouragement.
I also want to thank Mr. Pichet Supakijjanusan, LPN and Mr. Pattarapong
Suparanat, Planning Division, for providing great information in Thailand. I thank my
friends from Kasetsart University for your input on this thesis. I thank Jacquelyn
Strickland for being very helpful since I joined the program.
Finally, I thank Air Vice Marshal Arvuth Ngoenchuklin, beloved father, great
architect, for inspiration, love and passion throughout my life. I wish you rest in peace.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
SUMMARY xi
CHAPTER
1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Objective 2
1.3 Background 2
2 CHAPTER 2: PREFABRICATION IN THE U.S. 5
2.1 Definition & Scope 5
2.2 History of Prefabricated Construction in the U.S. 6
2.3 Types of Prefabricated Construction in the U.S. 13
2.4 Construction Types 28
2.5 Prefabricated Construction Market in the U.S. 31
3 CHAPTER 4: REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND 37
3.1 Overview of Real Estate in Thailand 37
3.2 Construction Methods in Thailand 38
4 CHAPTER 4: PREFABRICATION IN THAILAND 41
4.1 History of Prefabricated Construction in Thailand 41
4.2 Types of Prefabricated Construction in Thailand 43
4.3 Prefabricated Construction Market in Thailand 53
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5 CHAPTER 5: POTENTIAL AMERICAN PRODUCTS & METHODS 57
5.1 Overview 57
5.2 Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) 58
5.3 Metal Stud Concrete Panels 62
5.4 Prefabricated Wood Panels 65
5.5 Multifamily Modular 67
5.6 Product Comparison 70
6 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS 75
6.1 Opinions 75
6.2 Recommendations 77
6.3 Conclusions 78
APPENDIX A: CASE STUDY I 80
APPENDIX B: CASE STUDY II 86
APPENDIX C: STRUCTURE INSULATED PANELS (SIPS): ENERGY

EFICIENTCY RATING 89
APPENDIX D: METAL STUD CONCRETE PANEL: SLENDERWALL 90
APPENDIX E: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 91
REFERENCES 92
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: House Price Index from Bank of Thailand (Base Year: 2008) 54
Table 4.2: Low-Rise Residential Products 56
Table 4.3: Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential 56
Table 5.1: SIPs Finish Materials Comparison 58
Table 5.2: Foam Types Comparison 59
Table 5.3: Low-Rise Residential Products 71
Table 5.4: Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential 71
Table 5.5: Selected products’ scores compared to local products 72
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Level of decrease in project schedule and in project budget. 3
Figure 2.1: House by Mail by Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago 7
Figure 2.2: House of Tomorrow by George Fred Keck 8
Figure 2.3: Lustron home’s construction method 10
Figure 2.4: BIM model 12
Figure 2.5: Degree of Prefabrication 13
Figure 2.6: Fox Island House’s exterior construction 14
Figure 2.7: Steel “Building Skeleton”, Premier Inn 17
Figure 2.8: Metal Stud Framing for Non-Load-Bearing 18
Figure 2.9: Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) 19
Figure 2.10: Standard Structural Precast Section from Hanson Eagle Precast’s Catalog:
From Top Left to Right: Square Column, Rectangular Beam, L-Shaped Beam,
Inverted Tee Beam, and Aashto Beam Single Tee. Bottom Left to Right: Single
Tee, Double Tee, Hollow Core Slab, Flat Plate Slab 20
Figure 2.11: Left: Structural Precast, Right: Architectural Precast 21
Figure 2.12: Wood Panelization 23
Figure 2.13: Section Diagram of Structural Insulated Panels 24
Figure 2.14: Modular Unit’s installation process 26
Figure 2.15: Modular Home’s roof components 28
Figure 2.16: Duplex home’s floor plan 30
Figure 2.17: Lafayette Square Townhomes, Sandy Springs, Georgia 31
Figure 2.18: SHoP Architects’ 32-story modular building in Brooklyn New York 33
Figure 2.19: Impact of Prefabrication on Amount of Construction Site Waste 35
Figure 2.20: Impact of Prefabrication on BIM 35
Figure 2.21: Impact of Prefabrication on Green Projects 36
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Figure 3.1: Land Price Index in Bangkok from 2004-2012. The price is based on the price
of lands which are sold. 38
Figure 3.2: Post and beam with red brick & Foamed concrete block 39
Figure 3.3: Thai Minimum Wage Rate 40
Figure 4.1: Prefabricated Concrete for Single-Family 45
Figure 4.2: Prefabricated Concrete for Multifamily 46
Figure 4.3: Example of Knock-Down Home 47
Figure 4.4: A knock-down home transported by a light-truck 47
Figure 4.5: Example of Bann-La-Suan Modular Home 49
Figure 4.6: LYNN’s details & transport 50
Figure 4.7: HEIM’s wall & window systems 51
Figure 4.8: SCG HEIM, completed 52
Figure 4.9: MYH’s concept & products 53
Figure 5.1: Structure insulated panel with OSB finished 59
Figure 5.2: Metal stud concrete panel 63
Figure 5.3: Modular construction for multifamily residential 68
Figure A.1: Cast in Place Foundation 80
Figure A.2: Steel Plate, embedded to the foundation 81
Figure A.3: Cast in Place Foundation with Precast Concrete Beam 81
Figure A.4: Precast Concrete Beam 82
Figure A.5: Precast Wall Panel, after installation 82
Figure A.6: Mortar Cement Joint 83
Figure A.7: Roof Framing 83
Figure A.8: Roof with roof tiles 84
Figure A.9: Finished Product 84
Figure B.1: Precast Panel’s installation process 86
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Figure B.2: Steel plates’ welding process 87
Figure B.3: Sealant Joint 87
Figure B.4: Precast Panel, after paint 88
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SUMMARY
Prefabricated construction has been a common construction method in U.S.
construction for more than a century. The concept of “build it fast” in the most
economical way has not changed since the beginning; however, new technologies have
been developed to suit the modern world prefabricated construction. New technologies
are not only helping contractors and owners get their buildings faster and more
economically but they also help reduce construction waste and produce high energy
efficiency buildings which results in a long term benefit to projects.
On the other hand, prefabrication for residential construction has been used in
Thailand for only less than two decades, but it has been growing very fast in the past five
years. Recently, there have been many new developers, and contractors who have
switched from traditional construction to prefabrication to keep up with this new trend in
the Thai residential market. Moreover, the new minimum wage policy from the Thai
government has hit the construction business very hard. Labor cost has risen by more
than 40% in some areas (department of labor, 2013) since 2012. Thai developers see
prefabrication as the future and are ready to invest more in this type of construction.
(Krunthep Thurakit, 2013)
Currently, there are many construction products from the U.S. that have been used
in Thai construction. Thai people are familiar with U.S. products, therefore, U.S.
prefabricated products and methods could make a quick transition to Thai prefabricated
construction. The finding in this research will benefit both the Thai construction business
and U.S. investors from the data of the potential prefabricated U.S. products.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 OVERVIEW
Prefabrication plays an important role in the modern world construction of every
building today, it refers to the making of parts in an offsite workshop or factory prior to
the installation at the site. “The primary purpose of prefabrication is to produce building
components in an efficient work environment with accesses to specialized skills and
equipment in order to reduce cost and time expenditures on the site while enhancing
quality and consistency” (Anderson and Anderson 2007). It is clear that most new
construction will have to use more and more prefabrication. From primary structures to
small architectural ornaments, prefabrication has become a major part of building
construction.
Although prefabrication is a common method of construction in the U.S. and in
many European countries, several countries in Asia are still not familiar with this method.
Because those Asian countries have different social and economic systems from the U.S.,
they tend to use more actual manpower for constructions rather than prefabrication
methods. Construction methods that require a lot of physical labor such as masonry, hand
paint or cast-in-place concrete are common in Thailand. Because Thailand is an
agricultural society, the labor wage for agricultural work in Thailand is much lower than
the labor wage for industrial work in the United States. Furthermore, unlike the United
States, a lot of countries in Asia including Thailand may have fewer concerns in many
important aspects of building construction, such as preciseness, on-site safety, energy
saving and waste management during a construction. All these issues can be resolved by
prefabrication methods.
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Thailand has been trying to transform from an agricultural society to an industrial
society. For decades, Thailand has invested a lot of money in education to develop its
people in fields that would make its transition to an industrial nation much easier. As a
result, labor costs have risen exponentially. Similar to other Asian countries, Thailand is
now facing a rising labor cost and a lack of both skilled and un-skilled workers. Many
developers and contractors in Thailand also see this problem and respond by using more
prefabrication; this attracts many investors from all over the world to invest more in the
prefabricated construction business. Currently, there are several residential developers in
Thailand that use prefabrication for their projects. In the near future, prefabrication is
expected to play a major role in Thai construction, especially, in the residential
construction like in many European countries and the United States.
1.2 OBJECTIVE
The intention of this research is to identify prefabricated residential construction
products or methods from the U.S. that can be used for developing new or similar
products that are compatible with the Thai market. There are a lot of strong potential
prefabricated construction products and methods in the U.S. that can be very useful in
Thailand. Those can benefit both U.S. investors and Thai construction. Selected products
or method will be reviewed and investigated in the following categories: performance,
compatibility, availability, price and ability to adapt to the Thai market.
1.3 BACKGROUND
For more than a century, prefabrication has been a solid part of U.S. construction.
Prefabrication is known as a fast and affordable type of construction. After World War II,
prefabricated construction became popular for in the U.S. The need of homes for the U.S.
service men and women who returned to the United States after the war forced builders to
build faster. “Eleven million servicemen and –women were returning home to
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communities where few unoccupied houses were available. By 1947, more than 5 million
families had either doubled up with other families in overcrowded dwellings or were
occupying temporary shelters” (Miles, 2007). To meet the high demand, some builders
experimented new housing market by creating their own designs and specifications to
help build more and faster. Some builders made off-site building components then
delivered them to other builders or home buyers rather than building everything at the
site. Many “House by Mails” were shipped from the factories, and the result of big
benefit has attracted many new investors (Arieff and Burkhart 2002). Since then, many
investors have been interested in the prefabrication concept. New factories were built for
producing building parts which were then shipped to the site, hence the term
“prefabricated construction”. Today, many Americans agree that prefabricated
construction makes significant impact on both time and budget as shown in figure 1.1. A
lot of money, from both the private and public sectors, has been put into research and
production to create better prefabricated construction products.
Figure 1.1: Level of Decrease in Project Schedule and in Project Budget
(Smart Market Reports: McGraw-Hill Construction, 2011)

Prefabricated construction is popular not only in the United States but also in
many other countries. Many developed countries have invested in more research on
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prefabricated construction because their fast-growing economies have forced builders to
build faster and more economically. Developed countries in Asia such as Japan and South
Korea also invest in prefabrication construction research. Just as many developed
Western countries, Japan and Korea invent their own construction techniques and
conduct their own research, which is suitable for their economies, geographies and
populations. Products made in both countries are well distributed locally.
On the other hand, many developing countries in Asia do not have the ability to
do their own research or develop their own construction methods or even produce high-
tech consumer products, such as electronic appliances. These countries often buy
products or use knowledge from developed countries. For example, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia and the Philippines use products from the U.S., Japan and many European
countries. Many Thais are already familiar with U.S. products, so there are a lot of
opportunities for the U.S. companies, especially those in prefabrication construction, to
expand their business in Thailand
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CHAPTER 2
PREFABRICATION IN THE UNITED STATES
2.1 DEFINITION & SCOPE
Factory-constructed homes, manufactured homes, modular homes, prefabricated homes
or prefab homes are common terms used to describe pre-made homes. Today, many
American homes are made through prefabricated construction methods. Prefabricated
construction helps facilitate the American Dream of home ownership by offering
affordable prices to buyers. “The term prefabricated brings to mind a building system in
which the essential pieces of structure are sent to the site on which the finished edifice
will be constructed partially or completely assembled. Once there, it is necessary only to
join and anchor the parts” (Bahamon, 2002). Prefabricated construction does not only
reduce construction costs, but it also produces a more stable and fairly remunerated
construction industry with improved safety and working conditions, greater investment in
research, design creativity, and product development. It also reduces consumption of
energy and material and generally increases the availability of better designed and high-
quality built environments. (Anderson and Anderson 2007)
Even though in the United States the majority of prefabricated construction is
used to build single family homes and residential buildings (multi-family homes such as
condominiums or apartments), many of the commercial projects also use the
prefabricated construction method. For example, commercial franchise companies like
Walgreen, Wal-Mart and McDonalds use prefab methods to build their stores. Because
franchise buildings typically have similar specifications and designs, it is very beneficial
to choose prefabricated construction methods.
This research will focus mainly on prefabricated construction for single-family
residential and multifamily residential buildings in developing Asian countries and more
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specifically in Thailand. The purpose of this research is to find out what the most suitable
products and methods for the Thai residential construction market.
2.2 HISTORY OF PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION IN THE U.S.
The prefabricated building system can be traced as far back as to the seventeenth
century when a panelized wood house was shipped from England to Cape Ann in 1642 to
provide housing for a fishing fleet (Arieff and Burkhart 2002). In the U.S., apart from the
Native American tent known as “Tipi”, which can be referred to as a primitive modular
house, the history of American prefabricated houses has been recorded from the
California gold rush in 1849. The prefabs in the California gold rush can be best
described as “Small building, roughly built, let from twelve to fifteen thousand dollar a
year. Tents were popular, and in more sturdy structures, cloth partitions were
commonplace. Many lived on ships abandoned in the harbor, even though it cost two
dollars to be rowed ashore, lumber at times sold as high as a dollar a square foot and
bricks at a dollar a piece. The ready-made building was a logical answer to the
emergency. Prefabricated structures were brought to San Francisco from all around the
world. Houses were shipped in from as far away as New Zealand, China, and Tasmania.”
(Fetters, 2002)
In 1908, the American modern world prefabricated house idea was influenced by
Henry Ford’s car factory. Henry Ford’s Model T, the first affordable automobile,
successfully demonstrated that mass production could be used to manufacture a high-
quality object as large as a car. Industrialization was brought to prefabrication not long
after Ford’s Model T went into production, and by the late 1910s, a number of companies
had begun to offer high-quality, precut, and prefabricated houses in a great variety of
styles (Arieff and Burkhart 2002).
One of the most popular companies and the pioneer in “House by Mail” was
Sears, Roebuck & Co. The company sold “House by Mail” to nearly 100,000 clients
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during 1908 – 1940. The term “House by Mail” was used to describe the early product of
a prefabricated house as included in the book shown in figure 2.1. A “House by Mail” kit
includes lumber, nails, shingles, windows, doors, hardware, and house paint. Sears,
Roebuck & Co offers a customized “House by Mail” by giving buyers catalogs which
they could use to customize their own specifications (Arieff and Burkhart 2002).
Figure 2.1: House by Mail by Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago
(Arieff and Burkhart 2002)
In the early 1920s, many famous European architects also had the idea of mass-
produced housing. The 1920s was a period when many European countries faced with a
shortage of houses. Germany, for example, faced with a shortage of 800,000 houses in
the mid-‘20s (Fetters, 2002). Le Corbusier, a French architect, developed a number of
mass-produced housing schemes during that time. He also wrote an essay “Mass
Production Houses” in which he referred to the mass-produced houses as “House-
Machine”. Walter Gropius, the founder of Bauhaus, experimented the new mass-
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produced housing by using steel to form the fast-built housing structure. Gropius
developed “Building Blocks”, a system of standardized flat-roofed housing which he
defined as “a new architecture for a new age” (Arieff and Burkhart 2002).
The early American prefabricated construction did not have much impact on
European architects’ ideas in terms of construction, but European ideas influenced a lot
of American architects in the philosophy of modernist architecture.
In 1933, a number of steel-prototype houses were presented at the Chicago
World’s fair. George Fred Keck’s House of Tomorrow (see figure 2.2) and Crystal House
were displayed at the fair. The house exhibition was supported by a steel framework and
steel-deck floor system. Keck’s Crystal House has an innovative prefabricated structural
frame that was erected in just three days, but its bold constructivist aesthetics was too
radical for the average home buyer (Arieff and Burkhart 2002).
Figure 2.2: House of Tomorrow by George Fred Keck
(Haus, 2011)
Other systems like the prefabricated panel developed by Howard T. Fisher also
facilitated functionality and low cost, but most of the houses utilizing these systems
tended to be “boxlike”. Howard T. Fisher is a founder of the General Houses
Corporation. The company produced affordable houses ranging in price from $3,000 to
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$4,500 in 1932. The houses, which were produced by General Houses Corporation, were
made from pressed steel based on standardized parts designed by Fisher (Arieff and
Burkhart 2002). As stated by Arieff and Burkhart (2002) “Approximately 18,000
prefabricated homes had been built by the end of 1941. Several federal agencies had been
contracted for or had built roughly 1.6 million housing units during the war, of which
over 12 percent had been prefabricated”.
In 1947, two years after the end of World War II, Americans faced a shortage of
houses because a lot of service men and women who returned home from the war
significant raised the demand of housing in the U.S. In 1948, Carl Strandlud, the founder
of Luston Corporation, began producing prefabricated all-steel houses (see figure 2.3).
“The Lustron house is made almost entirely of metal; the floors are asphalt… and only
the built-in shelving and cabinets are wood. The house is being manufactured by Lustron
Corporation of Columbus, Ohio will be distributed nationally and is tentatively priced at
about $8000” (Fetters, 2002). His company received a $15.5 million loan from the
government. Approximately 2,500 Lustron houses were built before the company folded
in 1950 (Arieff and Burkhart 2002).
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Figure 2.3: Lustron home’s construction method
(Fetters, 2002)
During the sixties and seventies, many new issues were raised on the development
of prefabricated housing. Rather than focusing only on quick affordable construction,
many architects faced a new challenge on designing prefabricated houses. The new
challenge came from social issues such as traffic, overpopulation, the energy crisis, and
the economy; and the technical issues such as the new system of heating or cooling
systems and the concern of low-maintenance houses. In Britain, architect Sir Richard
Rogers developed the Zip-Up Enclosures in 1968, a series of inexpensive, low-
maintenance shelters that offered a high degree of environmental control and a large
range of design choices. Rogers later developed a concept for an Autonomous House that
would function as an artificial ecosystem, recycling its own water and waste, heating or
10
cooling itself using natural energy, and generating its own power (Arieff and Burkhart
2002).
In the U.S., the new housing system took advantage of advances in science and
technology from solar panels to space station and applied them to shelter. “Ray Kappe’s
Advanced Technology House was commissioned by NASA in the sixties with a primary
goal of demonstrating technology transfer to housing” (Arieff and Burkhart, 2002) Since
then, there have been a lot of exchanges in technology between construction technology
and other products, such as, in construction materials, and building systems.
Prefabrication construction in the late twentieth century was developed on a much
bigger scale. New technology provided more options for mass-production. Factories can
now produce more complicated building components such as sandwich panels, and
precast concrete panels has become a common use in prefabricated construction. Not
only has the advanced technology made great changes on the production side, but also the
development of digital technology has helped reduce the limitation on the design side.
The word, CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) and
CNC (Computer Numeric Control) have become common words for architects,
contractors and manufacturers. This event is affecting not only prefab technology
development, but also the social constructions by which buildings are produced, their
contract structure, and the interface of players. Digital fabrication is potentially a method
by which the promises of prefabrication – complementary increase in design and
production quality – may be realized (Smith, 2010).
Moreover, the new design software for both architects and engineers tries to make
the construction drawing more realistic. The BIM (Building Information Modeling)
software does not only help architects and engineers to see their project clearer but it also
helps on the construction side. The BIM technology allows building designers not only to
produce 2D drawings but also create 3D models. These BIM’s 3D models are very useful
when the building components are produced from a factory. These BIM’s 3D models
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allow the production team from a factory to see any individual building component from
a whole building model. “McGraw-Hill Construction (MHC) found that the use of BIM
model-driven prefabrication on more than one quarter of their projects is expected to
increase from 37% to 73% among practitioners who use BIM for green work. Even those
who are currently not using green BIM expect an increase from 22% to 57%” (Smart
Market Reports: McGraw-Hill Construction, 2011). The result is that in the near future
more and more prefabricated buildings will be built using this method.
Figure 2.4: BIM model
(AMVIC, 2014)
Today, prefabricated construction has become one of the major components of
U.S. construction. As many architects and developers understand that prefabrication
construction could be the future in the construction world, more money is being put into
research by the government and other private enterprises to develop new technologies for
the U.S. prefabricated construction.
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2.3 TYPES OF PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION IN THE U.S.
Prefabrication, typically, can be categorized in types of materials or degree of
prefabrication (see figure 2.5). First, types of material mean any common materials that
are used to build the prefabrication components, such as timber, concrete, steel or
sometimes the combination of different materials, in the factory. Second, degree of
prefabrication is a construction process through which prefabricated elements are
assembled on site, from the small piece to the big piece, for example, prefabricated
column, panels, tilt-up, and modular methods (Smith, 2010).
Figure 2.5: Degree of Prefabrication
(Smith, 2010)
2.3.1 Wood framing
Wood is an extremely versatile and environmentally responsible material. It is
also one of the few renewable structural materials. Under wise and prudent forestry
practices, wood can service building for many years (Smith, 2010). Wood frames or
timber frames are the most common materials for any construction. Wood frames today
can be manufactured with custom joints, many of which now include metal fasteners
(Smith, 2010). Most architects and contractors in the United States are acquainted with
wood frames because wood frames have been the primary method of American
construction, especially residential, since the nineteenth century (Anderson and Anderson
2007).
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The wood panelized building system is also one of the most common types of
wood construction in the United States. The method of panelized building system can be
referred to as the use of a set of prefabricated wood, 2x4 or 2x6, that is framed together to
create a single panel which will be used as a wall or other building components. A
panelized system can often be seen as on-site work. Wall sections are typically laid out
and assembled flat on the ground, then tipped up into place as units, and finally
connected to other sections to form the standing wall of a building (see figure 2.6). This
is the simplest way of defining the term prefabrication (Anderson and Anderson 2007).
Figure 2.6: Fox Island House’s exterior construction
(Anderson and Anderson, 2007)
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However, not all units of panelized construction are assembled on-site; many
panels are assembled off-site. The off-site panels are assembled in a factory by workers
or machines that put together pieces of prefabricated wood to create a wood panel that
will eventually be transported to a construction site. The off-site panels not only make the
construction process faster, because they also are mass-produced, but they have better
quality. Most timber-frame manufactures in the U.S. use advance technology to cut
timber. The new generation of CAD/CAM machine helps to produce more precise pieces
of wood and better quality wood framing. Furthermore, workers in the timber-frame
manufactures do not need to deal with any site constraints, such as slope or limited
working area, or unpredictable weather, which results in better quality control.
Although wood framing is easy to use for most construction, architects and
contractors need to be very careful when designing or using it. On the design side, wood
framing has some design limitations. The simple rectangle wall is ideal for designing
wood framing. Having parallel top and bottom plates, for instance, is far easier to
automate in a factory than producing walls with slope tops or other irregular dimensions,
which may have to be “stick-built” in the factory without gaining the benefits of the
gang-nailing machinery (Anderson and Anderson, 2007). The height limitation is also
another concern when designing wood frame. Some panelizers cannot easily make panels
taller than 9 or 10 feet (Anderson and Anderson, 2007). On the construction side, the
wood panel typically requires a small crane to lift it up then put into place before
connecting it with the other building components, so it will be difficult if the construction
does not have enough space to lay down the panel. Even though the overall length of
panel is more flexible, it can be up to 45 feet or longer, meaning transportation
troublesome. Trucking and transporting the panels can be limited in terms of adding cost
to a project. The oversize trucks, which are bigger than the U.S. federal standard width
limitation, can be very expensive when using them to transport panels (Anderson and
Anderson, 2007).
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Overall, using prefabricated wood frames is benefiting many projects in terms of
cost and speed. Prefabricated wood frames can be used on a wide variety of building
types, including single-family houses, multi-family and mixed-use structures, and
commercial offices because they are among the easiest prefabrication systems to integrate
into the standard process of the construction industry (Anderson and Anderson, 2007).
Wood frames can be easily attached to concrete slab and installed with other elements
such as doors, windows, sidings or trim.
2.3.2 Steel framing
After World War I, a lot of countries that had been damaged during the war
started to reconstruct their communities. There was demand for residential and
commercial buildings all over the world. Many European countries and the United States
were looking for a new construction method that could save time and be cost-effective.
Many famous European architects like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Walter
Gropius did some experiments on using steel for construction. Their idea was to use steel
as a primary structure for the building as well as an integral part of the design aesthetic
(Anderson and Anderson, 2007). Since then, steel construction has become a major part
of construction. Because of the advantages of steel in construction such as allowing
longer span, taller structure and large openings compared to wood or brick construction,
steel has become very popular throughout Europe and the United States and eventually a
commonly used material for modern construction worldwide. As stated by Anderson and
Anderson (2007), “There were many innovative and experimental projects done in the
1920s and 1930s in both Europe and the U.S. that explored the qualities of steel for its
ability to separate structure from enclosure and create open glass-walled building”.
Because steel is a flexible material that can be formed into many different shapes,
it is often used to produce parts of buildings; from the small parts of buildings such as
nails and building hardware to the bigger parts of building such as columns and beams.
Most steel, which is used for construction, is pre-manufactured from an off-site factory.
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These prefabricated steel members come in varieties of sizes and sections. A project
engineer will determine the sizes and sections of these members, which are mostly the
standard sizes from steel manufactures, to accommodate with an architectural design.
Building a steel building can be very quick. The process of steel construction is simple.
Prefabricated steel structures, which are delivered to the site by the manufacture, can be
easily assembled by using bolt or welding methods, which most workers are familiar
with. Most steel buildings use steel for only a primary structure which can be called
“building skeleton” (see figure 2.7); the other parts of the building can be often seen with
other types of materials such as glass, panel or concrete.
Figure 2.7: Steel “Building Skeleton”, Premier Inn
(wikimedia.org, 2008)
Steel is often used not only as a primary structure but also as a light structure like
purlins or sidewall grits. Purlins or grits are cold-formed “C” or “Z” sections that attach
to the primary steel structure. They can be easily attached to either the flange or the web.
This light structure steel is often seen assembled at the construction site or it can be
factory-assembled as well (Smith, 2010). For the interior building, light-gauge-steel
17
framing, which is available in North America since 1930, can be used as structure for
interior walls (Anderson and Anderson, 2007). This steel stud is used for non-load-
bearing wall partitions (see figure 2.8). Similar to grits, the steel stud panel can be either
assembled on-site or off-site. As stated by Smith (2010), “Being manufactured as panels
in factory allows metal panel system to be quickly erected onsite, saving time and
money”. Steel stud, or metal stud, is more reliable than wood stud. It has less deflection
and can be very precise when installed. Moreover, using steel as a cladding material gives
a modern look to a building. Steel cladding is a prefabricated finishing material that
comes in a variety of sizes, surfaces and colors. It can easily be attached to a metal stud
or other material.
Figure 2.8: Metal Stud Framing for Non-Load-Bearing
(Truong, 2010)
There are a lot of advantages to using prefabricated steel for construction, but
sometimes using steel can add more cost to projects. Using steel can be expensive
compared with wood or brick building. This cost can be controlled by either architectural
design or engineering design. The more custom-designed steel is, the more cost is added
to a project.
18
2.3.3 Concrete System
Concrete is one of the most commonly used pieces of materials for construction
worldwide. In the past, concrete was used only by a cast-in-place method. The cast-in-
place concrete comes in a liquid form of mixed-cement which makes it very easy to cast
into a desired shape. To help increase its strength, the liquid cement is frequently mixed
with sand and crushed stone before it is poured into a formwork at a construction site.
Because of its strength and flexibility, concrete is often used as primary material for
building structures such as beams, columns, and floor slabs.
In the history of prefabricated concrete, Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) (see
figure 2.9) is one of the oldest type of prefabricated concrete that is used in the United
States. It has been introduced to the American construction as a replacement of brick
since the early 1900s (Anderson and Anderson, 2007).
Figure 2.9: Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU)
(http://www.conspectusinc.com, 2013)
Since then, the construction technology for prefabricated concrete has been
developing rapidly. Precast construction, one of the most popular prefabricated concrete’s
construction methods, has become a common phase and common method in U.S.
construction. “Precast construction is the casting of concrete components offsite in a
19
plant and shipping to site for assembly” (Smith, 2010). Precast concrete can be used as a
structure, which is called “structural precast” (see figure 2.10), or an architectural
component, which is called “architectural precast” (see figure 2.11). Structural precast
typically refer to a non-finished precast concrete that is left in a standard grey color
exposure. For example, the structural precast elements are solid flat slabs, hollow core
slabs, double tee, single tee, and precast concrete beams or columns. Those elements are
commonly used for both prefabricated buildings and infrastructures such as bridges or
tunnels. Architectural precast refers to either structural or non-structural precast that
comes with an extra layer of a finish or finishes that cover a standard grey color. There
are many finishes available in the market for architects or designers to select, such as
brick facing tiles or textures such as aggregate face, acid wash, and sand blast.
Figure 2.10: Standard Structural Precast Section from Hanson Eagle Precast’s
Catalog: From Top Left to Right: Square Column, Rectangular Beam, L-Shaped Beam,
Inverted Tee Beam, and Aashto Beam Single Tee. Bottom Left to Right: Single Tee,
Double Tee, Hollow Core Slab, Flat Plate Slab (Smith, 2010).
20
Figure 2.11: Left: Structural Precast, Right: Architectural Precast
(http://kerkstra.com, 2014)
Generally, concrete has good compressive strength. Many times, structural-used
concrete, which can be referred to as reinforced concrete, has to be reinforced to increase
tensile strength. Steel bars are often used to add a tensile strength to a reinforced
concrete. These bars are tied together before cement is poured on the top at a construction
site. Similar to the making of reinforced concrete, a precast concrete panel also uses the
same casting method but is only produced in a factory. The welded steel, cross-brace
rods, reinforcing mesh and foam insulation are placed in layers before being poured with
the Portland cement. As stated by Smith (2010), “Because precast concrete is made in a
factory, its process may include adding heat to accelerate the hardening of the concrete
and adding moisture for full hydration of the Portland cement and water. Recasting plants
are able to produce fully cured elements from laying of prestreesing or reinforcing
strands to removal of finished elements from the bed in a 24-hour cycle”. This
development is not only shortening the curing concrete period but also reducing the labor
cost. Therefore, using precast concrete helps reduce construction time and cost.
There are some concerns about weight and transportation when using precast
concrete. Although precast concrete is not as heavy as cast-in-place concrete, it is still
heavier than wood and steel. There could be more structure cost from its load and
transportation cost added to a project. Also, precast weight and size can make it difficult
for transportation. A large structural precast section which is larger than the typical
section such as a double tee size can be complicated when transporting it. Since the
21
weight is one of the most critical concerns when using precast concrete, the new
technology, such as fiber-reinforced concrete, has been developed to reduce the weight
problem. By replacing the labor intensive steel reinforcing bars with short stands of
fiberglass, carbon, or steel fiber suspended in the concrete mixtures, this system makes
lighter precast concrete. As explained by Anderson and Anderson (2007), “This advance
in concrete technology offers potential for much lighter, smaller section panels that can
accommodate far more complex shapes and curves and will allow for more mobile and
less costly offsite concrete construction”. There are a lot of upsides in precast concrete
technology that will help its market grow faster in the near future.
2.3.4 Panel System
The panel system is the most commonly used prefabrication method in U.S.
construction. 43% of all prefabricated homes in the United States use the light panel
system (Smith, 2010). The use of panels system in the United States can be traced back
to the 1930s when Frank Lloyd Wright, designed his Usonian house. The early panel,
designed by Wright, was a non-structural panel which did not have a proper thermal
control (Anderson and Anderson 2007). Since then, the panels system has become very
popular and has been developed with more advance technology. Today, there are many
types of panel in the market. The panels can be customized to use either as a structural
panel or non-structural panel. As concluded by Smith (2010) “Panels are planer elements
used to build structural walls, floors, and roofs, load-bearing or non-load bearing
enclosures, and interior partitions”.
Wood panelization and steel panelization are two names that describe the framing
of light wood or light-gauge-metal-framed walls produced in a factory. The panelization
system is a very popular method when constructing a house or a small commercial
building. Panelization not only makes construction faster because of the easy installation
method (the completed panel is delivered to a site where workers install quickly
compared with onsite framing) but also reduces construction waste from a site. Wood and
22
steel panelization is generally produced in the factory (see figure 2.12) before being
distributed to a construction site. Most contractors and developers like to use panelization
because it is a less complicated method, which saves time, money and energy.
Figure 2.12: Wood Panelization
(http://northcoastpackagedhomes.blogspot.com, 2004).
Another popular panel product is Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). As described
by Smith (2010) “SIPs are a sandwich panel used as structural and enclosure and strictly
infill enclosure for large steel or concrete frame structures. SOPs are manufactured from
varying thicknesses of two layers of oriented strand board (OSB) sandwiching an EPS
(expanded polystyrene) or PUR (polyurethane) core (see figure 2.13). In addition to OSB,
fiber cement, metal, gypsum board and other materials are beginning to be introduced as
sheathing for one side or the other in SIPs”. Most of SIPs’ manufacturers use CAD/CAM
technology to produce the panel. The technology helps SIPs to be very precision-cut
which makes it very easy when installing. The thickness of SIPs depends on the size of
framing. The lengths are based on 2 feet increments (8, 10 or 12 feet) and the widths are
always set to 4 feet because of the standard size of OSB sheet which is used to produce
SIPs. The layers in between either a PUR foam core or a EPS core perform as insulators
and have fire, flame and smoke rating (PUR foam normally has better performance). The
23
panel also has vertical and horizontal cylindrical chases to accommodate electrical
wiring.
Figure 2.13: Section Diagram of Structural Insulated Panels
(http://www.timberframedesign.net, 2013)
When using SIPs, contractors and designers need to know that SIPs are high
flexure objects. To reduce deflection when using the large piece of SIPs, the additional
strength must be added to help support SIPs. Furthermore, SIPs need to be stored dry and
flat at least 6 in. off the ground and should not be stored longer than six weeks. Storing
SIPs requires them to be covered with a breathable, waterproof trap and extreme heat can
also damage SIPs. Lastly, a crane is necessary to set up the panel which may add up cost
to a small project.
Another popular panel system is the curtain wall system. As stated by Smith
(2010) “Glass facades, sometimes referred to as curtain walls, are exterior non-load-
bearing transparent or translucent enclosures”. The curtain wall system has become a
very popular system throughout the world. Because of the modern look of a building
when using curtain wall, it is often seen as a commercial building. Examples include
24
offices and hotels or multifamily residential buildings such as condos and apartments, but
we can also see many single family houses using the curtain wall system. The curtain
wall system is an assembly of glass and aluminum frame. There are differences in the
degree of prefabrication when referring to its systems. The two most common systems for
curtain walls are the stick system and the unit system. The stick system refers to a method
by which the pieces of aluminum are assembled onsite before the prefabricated insulated
glazing unit is installed. The unit system has a higher degree of prefabrication. It comes
in the unit, prefabricated glazing and aluminum frame, and is assembled in the factory. It
is a very precise system and easy to install. The negative side could be that the cost of
curtain wall is very expensive compared to other panels systems.
2.3.5 Modular System
The modular system is the most completed prefabrication system. As stated by
Anderson and Anderson (2007) “The term modules, in the world of architecture and
construction, has often been used to refer to largely completed or whole sections of
buildings built at a factory and trucked to a site for quick deployment”. The modular
system not only provides the whole exterior skin (walls, windows, doors, floors and
sometimes roofs) but it also comes with a mechanical system, interior finishes, and
fixtures such as toilets. It is very common to see the whole completed modules for
residential buildings that have all the rooms, such as the bedroom, the living room, the
kitchen, and the toilet, attached to it, but the individual parts of a house like the toilet and
the kitchen are also available as modular. Generally, the units are built in a factory then
delivered to a construction site. At the construction site, workers use large cranes to lift
the units up (see figure 2.14) then stag them on top of each other.
25
Figure 2.14: Modular Unit’s installation process
(http://www.kodumaja.ee, 2012)
In the past, the modular system was designed to use as a short-term building.
Many contractors used shipping containers as site-offices, but now, since the construction
technology has been rapidly developing, the modular system is a common use for many
types of buildings and larger scale buildings. The life-long building products have
replaced the use of temporary material on a modules building, which makes its life-span
much longer. Many new modular buildings are still used as temporary buildings but the
use of concrete and steel makes the life-span of modular building expanded longer, which
more often, makes those buildings more like permanent buildings.
In the United States, the modular system has been used in both residential and
commercial markets. The majority of modular buildings in the United States are
residential buildings. The modular unit is often used for permanent or temporary homes.
Many times, because temporary modular homes can be easily taken down from one place
and reassembled in other place, they are considered as mobile homes. Since the large
modular units are very difficult to transport, most of the modular home markets target a
small housing market or an affordable housing market. The larger size of a residential
26
modular building tends to be a multifamily residential building. Apartments, hotels and
dormitories, are usually multi-story buildings which often build their primary structures
separate from the modular units. As states by Smith (2010) “The tallest modules project
to date in the United States is the 1968 Hilton on the Riverwalk, in San Antonio, built
from precast modules. The hotel is four lower stories of site-cast reinforced concrete.
Floor 5 through 21 are constructed from precast modules”.
There are varieties of materials which can be used to produce modules units.
During the 1960s, the primal modules units were commonly built in wood. Most of its
components that include floors, wall panels, and roofs, were made of wood. This modular
system is frequently used for a residential building because it usually comes in a smaller
modular comparing with steel modular, and this system is also cheaper. On the other
hand, the steel modular system is primarily used in commercial buildings that are mostly
taller and larger than residential buildings. The steel module usually comes in a bigger
modular system which often requires a bigger crane to assemble. Because most
commercial buildings typically have more budgets compared with residential buildings,
they can absorb additional costs, such as transportation cost and cost from renting a
bigger crane.
Although the modular building is referred to as a completed building which is
shipped from the factory, the oversize modular unit is transported in pieces. Some of the
modular buildings can be separated as big pieces such as building and roof to make the
unit’s size smaller when transporting them (see figure 2.15) but many times modular
buildings are separated into smaller components. As explained by Smith (2010) “Knock-
down methods refer to roofs or panels built in the factory, flat packed and tilted, or
propped up and erected onsite”. In concept, this type of modular system may look similar
to penalization or “House by Mail”, but the difference is that the modular company
performs the fabrication and erection process.
27
Figure 2.15: Modular home roof components
(http://www.nihb.com, 2008)
The modular system is the quickest way to build a building because 90-95% of
the construction process is done at the factory. Using the modular system can save a lot
of time and money. The modular unit is typically built or designed using a standardized
system and dimension which makes it easy to mass produce. In contrast, the modules
system is less flexible in term of design construction. Oftentimes, because buildings are
pre made, they are very difficult to modify or change the design which results in many
repetitive look of buildings.
2.4 CONSTRUCTION TYPES

The prefabrication system is designed to build faster and more economically. The
advantage of using the prefabrication system is that the more repetitive or standardized
the buildings are the more profit they generate for projects. In the United States, every
building is controlled by building codes, terms and regulations, from municipal
restrictions to federal laws. Compared with other buildings in Asian countries, the
buildings in the United States tend to have more restrictions. There are many factors such
as safety both during the construction and after the construction, energy concerns, and
concordance in a neighborhood that affect both the building design and the construction,
28
which results in more standardized buildings. For example, the building’s setback, the
standard wall thickness, the thermal and fire protection, fire stairs, the standard parking
deck or small things like the height of guardrails and handrails are controlled by U.S.
building codes. Although these controls limit the flexibility of the design, they benefit the
prefabrication market.
2.4.1 Single-Family Residential
In the United States, the majority of homes are built by builders, and then those
houses are sold to home buyers while only a small percentage of houses are custom-
designed. Unlike in countries where architects and engineers offer lower design fees,
hiring architects and engineers in the United States can cost a lot of money to future
home owners. Most Americans choose to buy homes from developers’ catalogs or homes
that already exist in the market. Therefore, the U.S. housing trend is influenced by
developer and builder rather than architects and designers. Since the common goal of
every developer and builder is to build faster and more economically, because this
strategy will save them from paying more construction loan’s interest, prefabrication for
the residential market is a perfect choice. “According to Automated Builder, a magazine
that monitors the construction industry’s use of prefabrication in housing, 56 percent of
all residential construction in the United States is manufactured, modular, and panelized
in technology” (Smith, 2010).
Single-family residential typically refers to the two categories of housing types:
single-family detached and single-family attached. Single-family detached homes
generally use less prefabrication method compare to single-family attached homes.
Because single-family detached homes vary in size, area (building square footage), floor
plans (number of bedrooms, bathrooms), whether they are built in a community or in
individual lots, they seem to be more custom built from project to project; many of them
have partial prefabrication. Although single-family detached homes in a community tend
to use a similar specification, they typically have a variety of floor plans.
29
Single-family attached homes include duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes. This type
of residential building generally has the same floor plan (many times, they are mirror
floor plan as shown in figure 2.16) for each unit which receives a lot of advantages when
using prefabrication.
Figure 2.16: Duplex home’s floor plan
(http://www.edesignsplans.ca, 2008)
2.4.2 Multifamily Residential

The multifamily homes can be seen as a low-rise such as townhomes, mid-rise or
high-rise condominiums. Although a townhome has similar concept to a single-family
attached home, it has various floor plans and sometimes, it may has different design on
the exterior such as façade and roof to create more options for the buyer (see figure 2.17).
Still, a townhome benefits from prefabrication since most of its units normally have the
same depth and floor-to-floor height, the floor plans are not much different. The mid-rise
and high-rise residential buildings seem to have the most benefit from prefabrication.
Because these buildings are mostly designed to have many repetitive components such as
30
exterior façade, which typically are precast concrete walls or curtain walls, unit types or
floor to floor height, mid-rise and high-rise developers can easily reduce their
construction cost by using prefabrication.
Figure 2.17: Lafayette Square Townhomes, Sandy Springs, Georgia
(http://equity1team.com, 2012)
2.5 PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION MARKET IN THE U.S.
2.5.1 Existing Market

After World War II, the prefabricated construction market in the United States
grew rapidly. In the beginning, the prefabrication market focused mostly on a single
family home’s market. Today, the market has expanded to other building industries that
include healthcare, education, and commercial buildings. About 85% of respondents are
using these strategies to design and construct those commercial projects at some levels
(Smart Market Reports: McGraw-Hill Construction, 2011). Still, the largest
prefabrication market is the housing market. Most homes in the United States are built as
prefabricated homes. As described by Smith (2010) “Prefabricated housing can be
categorized into modular, mobile (HUD code), production builder, and panelized. “Below
is the market share”
31
- 63 percent of all new housing is being built by builders/dealers.
- 56 percent is panelized.
- 33 percent production is onsite building.
- 7 percent is modular.
- 4 percent is HUD-code mobile.
The panelized system is the largest market for home builders. In 2008, the
estimated 3,500 panelizers collectively built just over a million units while 622,000 units
of production builders and 127,000 of modular homes were sold in the same year. The
production builders use only partial prefabrication such as primary structures for their
projects. Most of them use factory-fabricated roof trusses and many of them use other
components of prefab such as floor trusses and wall panels (Smith, 2010). These three
categories of prefabrication (panelized, production builders, and modular) seem to be the
most popular prefabrication for single family homes these days since the site labor and
construction loan costs are skyrocketing. However, the prefabricated home industry has
been facing the down-turn because of the subprime mortgage crisis that started in 2007.
With the housing prices for traditional on-site constructed homes down, the demand for
prefabricated homes has also declined. Revenue has declined at an annual average rate of
9.2% from 2007 to 2012 (Prefabricated Home Manufacturing in the US: Market Research
Report, 2012). Nevertheless many developers still see prefabricated homes as the future
and since prefabricated system has been a very successful system for residential
construction in the U.S., it also has potential to be very successful in Thailand.
2.5.2 Future Market
The future market of prefabrication can be seen as the development of the existing
market and the new construction trend market. Initially, the prefabrication’s concept was
a method of building faster and more economically. The early prefabrication projects
mostly were affordable projects such as affordable homes because early developers tried
32
to catch up with the high housing demand with a highly efficient way of construction.
Today, prefabrication is not only being seen as a construction method for affordable
projects but it has also expanded into the luxury market. As stated by Furuto (2012)
“Modular design and construction will allow the developer to produce higher quality
housing at more affordable costs. But the project is equally about using technology to
make a more sustainable, more economic, and higher quality product, which can produce
a range of buildings – not only affordable housing, but also soaring office towers and
luxury co-ops and condos”. Producing high quality building components from a factory is
very common these days. Since the technologies of mass production for consumer
products have developed very fast, these technologies can help increase the quality of
building components to a higher standard.
Figure 2.18: SHoP Architects’ 32-story modular building in Brooklyn New York.
(Furuto, 2012)
33
The size of building is also getting larger. While land is getting more and more
expensive, especially in crowded areas like Manhattan, buildings are getting taller.
Although building skyscrapers is not new to prefabrication, it hasn’t been very popular.
However, there are developers who are interested in building luxury prefabricated high-
rise in an expensive land area. One of the good examples is a new 32-story modular
building in Brooklyn, New York, designed by SHoP architect (see figure 2.18). As
explained by Furuto (2012) “Modular construction is in use in various forms around the
world. It is rarely used however for high rise development, even though it is perfectly
suited for conditions where space is tight and land values are high — which is what
makes its use on this project unique and particularly relevant to New York”. Since many
developers are interested in using prefabrication for high-rise buildings, there should be
more prefabricated high-rise buildings in the near future.
The new construction market trend also impacts the future of prefabrication.
These new construction trends, Lean Construction, BIM, and Green Building, are
influenced by the development of construction in different aspects. Lean construction has
become popular for many contractors these days. The concept of lean construction is to
reduce construction waste from both ends. As stated by Koskela (2002) "Lean
construction is a way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time,
and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount" of value”. Although lean
construction is not a new invention, its fashion has impacted the use of prefabrication.
Producing building components from the factory has always reduced more waste when
compared with on-site construction (see figure 2.19). This concept has forced more
contractors to use more prefabrication.
34
Figure 2.19: Impact of Prefabrication on Amount of Construction Site Waste.
The use of BIM has become more and more common in the United States (see
figure 2.20). There is a greater demand of BIM by owners as they work on their projects.
As described in the McGraw-Hill Construction’s report (2011) "McGraw-Hill
Construction (MHC) found that the use of BIM model-driven prefabrication on more than
one quarter of their projects is expected to increase from 37% to 73% among practitioners
who use BIM for green work". BIMs and prefabrications are a perfect match. While the
BIM model helps a lot on the production side, BIM helps designers to see more clearly
before constructing.
Figure 2.20: Impact of Prefabrication on BIM
35
Green Building has played a big role in American construction for decades. In
1998, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced the LEED system that affects
overall construction in the U.S. The LEED system established the rating system for
design and construction. Using prefabrication can help contractors or designers to
calculate the LEED’s rating system easily because those building components that come
from a factory typically show the rating calculation, and they are very precise. Not only
do many prefabrication building components would make it easy to earn the LEED’s
credits, but they are also designed to be green materials as shown in figure 2.21. For
example, the panelized system is designed as an energy saving system
Figure 2.21: Impact of Prefabrication on Green Projects
By researching the existing market and the future market in the U.S., people now
can compare them with the existing market and future market in Thailand. The existing
market in the U.S. proves that prefabrication has been very successful in the U.S, the
country that can produce a high standard construction with less labor expense, and the
future market helps projecting the potential of future Thai market in the current
construction trends, such as lean construction, BIM technology, and sustainable.
36
CHAPTER 3
REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND
3.1 OVERVIEW OF REAL ESTATE IN THAILAND
From the 90s, Thai society has been transformed from agriculture society to white
collar profession society. People from the suburb and country side have moved to big
cities such as Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. Many farm workers have
transformed into small business owners. Although big cities in Thailand like Bangkok
haven’t had the demand for office buildings in the past ten years, the demand for
multifamily residences in Bangkok have grown significantly in the past five years.
Besides the booming economy in Asia, another reason why the condo market in Bangkok
has been very successful is that Thai government started to invest in a mass transit
system. In 2001, the first Sky-Train (monorail) started its service in Bangkok. Since then,
there have been many expansions of the Sky-Train’s lines and subways in Bangkok. The
introduction of the mass transit system in Bangkok has had a big impact on the Thai
construction business especially on the residential side. In the past five years, hundreds of
condos have been built in Bangkok along the Sky-Train’s lines and its stations. The
empty lots in the suburb area, which are projected to be the place where the new train
lines will be constructed, were bought and are planned to be new residential
communities. In the country side, the Thai government is trying to reduce the high
population density in Bangkok by distributing the budget to the major cities in the
provincial part of the country. Many airports and infrastructures were built in the
countryside area, plus the Chinese government has announced a mega project, the China-
ASEAN high speed train project, that may change the overall image of Asian business
(Menz, 2012). The train line is planned to be constructed from the southern part of China
37
through Singapore which will cross seven ASEAN countries including Thailand,
Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Today, the price of land in Thailand has increased more than 30% from two years
ago in many areas. In some areas in Bangkok, the investor can see the price jumped to as
much as 100-200% which most of them are the areas where the sky-train stations are
built. The Thai government has projected a high volume of construction during the
construction of the rail and after its completion. There will be a high demand of housing
and construction in the country side of Thailand in the near future, as seen in figure 3.1.
Land Price Index in Bangkok (Bath per Square Wah*)

1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
Land Price in Bangkok (Bath
600,000 per Square Wah)
400,000
200,000
0
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Figure 3.1: Land Price Index in Bangkok from 2004-2012. The price is based on
the price of lands which are sold. (Bath = Thai Currency, Square Wah = Thai
Measurement)
(CB Richard Ellis, 2012)
3.2 CONSTRUCTION METHODS IN THAILAND
The residential sector is the largest construction sector in Thailand, just as it is in
the U.S. Although contemporary Thai houses look more like western houses, the Thai
construction method for housing is different. Approximately ten to fifteen years ago, the
labor cost in Thailand was a lot cheaper than it is today. At that time, the Thai
construction method depended on cheap labor cost. “Post and beam” is a typical method
38
for building houses in Thailand. The typical process starts from drilling holes to install
concrete piles then pouring concrete footing on the top. The next step is to create
structural beams and floors which are normally cast in place concrete. The exterior and
interior walls are made from red bricks or foamed concrete block (see figure 3.2) (foamed
concrete block is lighter and larger than normal red brick) then covered with finished
cement. Roof structures are also made from concrete. The roof beams and rafters are
typically seen using cast in place concrete with clay or cement roof tiles for roofing
material. It may take up to 18 months to build a small size house (2 stories with
approximately 150-200 square meters) through this process, which also requires a lot of
workers.
Figure 3.2: Post and beam with red brick & Foamed concrete block
(http://www.websales.torhome.com, 2013)
Although Thailand has a hot climate throughout the year, it has four months of
rainy seasons. The rainy seasons always slow down construction especially the cast in
place process; pouring concrete is often stopped during storms. The rain also impacts the
quality of concrete such as concrete beams and rafters, and it also increases the moisture
level of cement inside brick walls. Problems such as cracks between the connection of
rafters and beams mold inside brick walls are often seen in this type of construction.
From past recent years, the labor cost in Thailand has been rising. From 20111 to
2013, the Thai minimum wage has doubled (see figure 3.3). Many developers and
39
contractors have tried to reduce the labor cost by researching new technology. The early
stages consist in replacing cast in place concrete structure or, skeleton structure, with
prefabricated steel for roofing structures, using prefabricated concrete columns and
beams, installing steel framing and dry-wall for interior walls rather than using red-brick
walls. The next generation is the beamless skeleton structure. This method will replace
the use of cast in place concrete beam by placing pre-stressed concrete floor on the
structural concrete columns. These methods are very effective and can quickly be spread
from the city to the country side.
Thai Minimum Wage Rate (Bath per Day)

350
300
250
200
150 Minimum Wage (Bath per
100 Day)
50
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Figure 3.3: Thai Minimum Wage Rate (Bath = Thai Currency)
(Thai Ministry of Labor, 2014)
40
CHAPTER 4
PREFABRICATION IN THAILAND
4.1 HISTORY OF PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND
Although prefabrication has been used for construction in Thailand for more than
twenty years, it was not very popular until the past five years. Back in the 80s,
prefabricated concrete and steel were used only for large construction such as bridges and
highways. The late 80s, was a time when western architectures had influenced the
architectural style in Thailand, it also was the time of the booming of white collar jobs.
Many office buildings were built using prefabricated curtain wall systems. Later on
during the early 90s, the housing development market in Thailand rose because of the
high demand from white collar people. They were thousands of communities and
hundred thousands of new houses that were built inside metro Bangkok. Most houses
were built using the post-beam and red-brick construction while only few of those houses
were built using prefabricated walls. The early prefabrication types that were used during
the 90s in Thailand were gypsum board on stud walls, prefabricated window wall
systems. Those prefab walls and windows were not successful because most of the
contractors did not have enough knowledge in prefabrication methods and had difficult
times adjusting to the system, plus the other factor such as the preciseness of construction
in Thailand was very limited. The onsite installation caused a lot of problems to both
contractors and developers which resulted in project delay that cause more money.
The Asian financial crisis in 1997 impacted the construction business all over
Asia. The crisis, which started from Thailand, pushed the construction business in
Thailand to the bottom line. There were a lot of abandoned communities and many mid-
rise and high-rise building all over Bangkok. After the crisis, the construction business in
Thailand slowly grew. Since 2000, there has been significant increase in volume of
41
construction in many sectors such as residential, commercial, health care and hospitality.
To absorb the growing market, Thai developers had to build more and faster. Some
residential developers looked at prefabrication. During years 2003-2005, the return of
prefabrication construction targeted affordable housing and small units such as
townhomes. There were a number of new affordable homes that were built from
prefabricated methods. Pruksa, a community home builder company, was the first
company that started to focus on using prefabrication. At the beginning, Pruska started
using prefabricated concrete for its townhomes. At that time, Pruksa’s homes received a
lot of negative criticism from competitors because prefabrication was not very successful
in Thailand 20 years ago. However, it was a jump start on the building business for
Pruksa. The sale of Prukas’s townhomes was significantly increased and Pruksa has
become one of the very successful in the precast business. Although the early
prefabricated townhomes by Pruksa were not fully prefabricated, they were very
successful in term of budget control and construction schedule.
Since then, many housing development companies have tried to use more
prefabrication in their new projects. Prefabrication gives a new perspective to home
buyers because they can see the finished houses before they commit to buying them,
while in the old market, home buyers always had a difficult time imagining how home
looked from an architect’s rendering. Although the cost of prefabricated homes is a little
higher than typically skeleton structures, approximately 3% for 100 square meter home,
they can be done faster approximately by 35% of the total times (Limthongtang, 2005).
Currently, big construction markets in Thailand that use significant prefabrication are
such single family homes, from affordable home to mid-range prices, townhomes, low-
rise, mid-rise and high- rise condominiums.
42
4.2 TYPES OF PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND
Prefabricated construction in Thailand, especially residential construction,
has a very long history. Briefly, the traditional Thai house is considered as an early type
of prefabricated house. Without nails or screws, tradition Thai houses are constructed by
using the “interlocking system”, a technique that holds primary structures such as
columns, beams, rafters and secondary structures such floor joists, walls, and roofs by
interlocking them together. Today, traditional Thai houses are available for sale such that
a buyer can order them from the catalog. The seller will deliver the components of the
house to a construction site and most of the time the seller will also assemble them.
However, traditional Thai houses are more like a pavilion. These houses do not have
other housing systems such as electricity or plumbing that come with them. The owner
will need to install those systems after the houses are completed or during construction.
The next generation of housing in Thailand came after the colonization period.
Houses in Thailand have been transformed from pure wooden houses into brick and glass
houses because of Western influences. Those Thai houses also looked different from the
traditional Thai house which was often seen as a wooden house with a high pitch gable
style roof to have more western looking. This Western-style house makes it easier for
western construction technique is applied such as prefabrication.
Although Western-style prefabrication has been used in Thailand for more than
fifteen years, many Thai contractors still have limited knowledge on the different types of
prefabrication. When Thai contractors refer to the term precast, they refer to a precast
concrete panel. Currently, there are some different types of prefabrication in Thailand
that can be seen on the market.
4.2.1 Prefabricated Concrete
The early prefabricated concrete construction in Thailand was only used for heavy
construction such as bridges and highways, but when the housing market in Thailand
raised many Thai developers and contractors started to see more potential from using
43
prefabrication. The prefabricated concrete systems for residential buildings in Thailand
can be categorized into two systems: 1) Prefabricated Concrete for Single-Family Homes
2) Prefabricated Concrete for Multifamily Homes.
4.2.1.1 Prefabricated Concrete for Single-Family Homes
Prefabricated concrete systems have become increasingly popular for a mid-size
home market. This system requires a lot of input on design process to arrange the pieces
of the panel into an architectural design. Developers must make a decision that they want
to use this system before the design process begins. The concrete panels that are used in
this system are designed to match building elevations. Those concrete panels are
produced inside the factory. They come with window opening, electrical and plumbing
pipe inside the panels. This system is designed to be a wall bearing system. Because the
concrete wall of the prefabricated concrete system is a main structure, the thickness of the
panels is 15-20 cm which is thicker than the typical brick wall. The height is between 3-
3.5 m. which is the height of one floor (see figure 4.1). This system can reduce
construction time onsite for mid-size home (approximately 150-200 square meters) from
12 months to as few as 4-5 months (not including the production time of each panel in the
factory). Today, most large residential developing companies have used the prefabricated
concrete structure rather than the skeleton structure. Construction method and photos can
be seen in appendix A.
44
Figure 4.1: Prefabricated Concrete for Single-Family
(Author’s photo, 2013)
4.2.1.2 Prefabricated Concrete for Multifamily Homes
This type of prefabrication is normally used in mid-rise and high-rise residential
towers. Unlike the single-family home system in which the panel works as the main
structure or wall-bearing system, the multifamily home system is used as building façade
that does not help transform the load, instead the concrete panel is attached to the
skeleton structure (post and beam) which is the main building structure. The panels are
designed by architects or structural engineers to match the building elevations. The size
of the panel is generally equal to the height of a floor to floor (3-4 m.) and the width is
equal to the span of the building (5-6 m.). The thickness of this panel is approximately
15-18 cm. depending on the size of the panel (some projects use panels as thick as
25cm.). This panel also comes with openings and embedded steel plates (see figure 4.2).
Similar to the single-family system, the concrete panel for multi-family home is
produced from the factory then delivered to the construction site. The precast factory
claims that each mold can produce up to thirty panels which is a breakeven point before it
45
is destroyed, so it might not be worth to build a small building (less than eight stories)
with this type of panel because the cost of each panel could go up significantly.
Construction method and photos can be seen in appendix B.
Figure 4.2: Prefabricated Concrete for Multifamily
4.2.2 Modular System

The modular home in Thailand had never been as popular as it has been in recent
years. There are several products of modular home available in Thailand, from a small
container to a 400 square meter home.
4.2.2.1 Knock-Down House
Some small builders in Thailand have come up with a very cheap way to build
and sell modular houses. The knock-down house is known by Thai people as an
affordable small-size house that is either assembled from the factory before being
transported to a site or factory-prefabricated housing components that are transported to a
site before being assembled (see figure 4.3 and 4.4).
46
Figure 4.3: Example of Knock-Down Home
(www. http://thaimobileunit.com, 2013)
Figure 4.4: A knock-down home transported by a light-truck
(www. http://thaimobileunit.com, 2013)
A knock-down house is built from cheap materials such as wood or metal studs
with cellulose-cement plank on the exterior finish and wood or light steel structure for the
floor and roof system. The average sale price of the house is between $250-300 per
square meter ($23-28 per square foot) with an average size between 30-100 square
meters. Most people use knock-down houses as temporary habitats in the garden or a
47
small coffee shop; however, the knock-down house is also used as a permanent home for
low-income people. However, these types of house do not have a building code to control
them, so most of them are informal houses. There is no guarantee on the quality or the
safety of this product.
4.2.2.2 Steel Frame Modular
The upscale modular product that is currently available on the Thai market is the
steel frame modular home. There are several mid-size builder companies that offer this
type of modular home. The two leading companies in steel frame modular are Bann-Lae-
Suan and LYNN.
Baan-Lae-Suan is a leading publishing company which specializes in home and
garden. In 2011, the company launched a new project called “Baan-Lae-Suan Modular”.
Baan-Lae-Suan Modular is a factory-built home that is built from available materials that
already exist on the market such as steel frame, drywall and concrete panel. Most of its
components are provided by the company’s partners. Baan-Lae-Suan Modular uses steel
frame as its primary structure. The floor is made from a prefabricated concrete panel.
Buyers can select the exterior finish from materials available on the market. The finished
materials, for example, are fiber-cement plank, concrete panel or any other finished
products that can be attached to the steel frame. The interior walls are made from drywall
and stud systems. The house also comes with sanitary, water and electric systems that are
assembled with the house in a factory. The onsite assembly can be done in approximately
one hundred days after the foundation is finished.
Baan-Lae-Suan Modular offers a wide range of houses from a small size, 16
square meters (this small house normally uses in an expansion project), to a large size
two-story, 180 square meters. The price range is between $700-950 per square meter
($65-90 per square foot). The greatest advantage of Baan-Lae-Suan Modular is the
flexibility of the floor plan. Baan-Lae-Suan Modular has a design team to help buyers
modify a floor plan to fit their needs (see figure 4.5).
48
Figure 4.5: Example of Bann-La-Suan Modular Home
(http://www.baanlaesuan.com, 2013)
Just like Bann-Lae-Suan Modular, LYNN offers a similar product called “LYNN
Cabin”. LYNN is a part of Repro House of Thammasorn Group, a company that provides
the solution for architectural engineering and produces door & window products. The
difference between the two is that LYNN Cabin is available only in three different sizes,
60 sqm, 75 sqm, and 120 sqm (two stories). The house can have a variety of finishes but
the floor plans are fixed; in contrast Bann-Lae-Suan Modular has more selection on floor
plans and sizes. Because LYNN originally started as a Window & Door Company,
LYNN Cabin tends to have more glass façade than Bann-Lae-Suan Modular (see figure
4.6). This will bump up the price of LYNN Cabin up to 15% more than the price of
Bann-Lae-Suan Modular.
49
Figure 4.6: LYNN’s details & transport
(http://www.lynn.co.th, 2013)
4.2.2.3 SCG Heim
SCG (Siam Cement Group) is the largest cement company in Thailand. SCG not
only produce cement but also provides varieties of construction products and services. In
2010, SCG launched a new product called SCG Heim. SCG Heim is a smart modular
home whose technology is imported from Japan. However, Heim’s technology originated
from Germany (Heim means home in German), but it was modified by Sekisui, a
Japanese company, to suit the Asian environment.
SCG Heim is a factory-built home. Approximately 80 percent of its components
are built at the factory. The big advantage of SCG Heim, compared with a traditionally
built home, is the speed by which it is built. Buyers can expect to move into their SCG
Heim as early as four months from the day that they sign a contract. The four-month
process is a building process which happens mostly in a factory. It only takes two to three
days to assemble the house on site, depending on the size of the house and the location.
Figure 4.8 shows an example of SCG Heim.
The strength of SCG Heim is both the speed in which it gets built and the good
thermal and sound resistances it has. Thailand is a very hot and humid country. The
average temperature during the summer is between 30-40°C (86-104°F). The thermal
control for a Thai house has become a big concern for any new development. SCG Heim
50
uses a double-wall system (see figure 4.7) which is generally two layers of smart boards
(drywall) with a gap filled with insulation in between the walls. With the double-wall
system, SCG claims that the system can help reduce the use of air conditioning for up to
25 percent. Although the double-wall system seems to be a common system in the U.S., it
is still new and not widespread in Thailand.
Figure 4.7: HEIM’s wall & window systems
(http://www.scgheim.com, 2013)
The big drawback of the Heim is that the price per unit is a lot higher than that of
a typical brick home. The sell price per square meter is between $900-1,200 ($85-110 per
square foot) which is approximately 30-40 percent more expensive than a traditional
brick home and 20-30 percent more expensive than the prefabricated concrete home.
51
Figure 4.8: SCG HEIM, completed
(http://www.scgheim.com, 2013)
4.2.2.4 Other Products
Some modular home products, such as MYH from Aidol, have unique designs
that are only advertised for a smaller market (see figure 4.9). MYH, modular home, has a
very slick modern looking design, unlike any other modular products on the market.
MYH is designed to be very flexible and easy to transport. MYH is available in many
different sizes. MYH uses the same concept as a “LEGO” toy. Buyers can choose to buy
MYH as a single unit or a combine unit. MYH’s units can be easily added or removed.
52
The MYH’s developing team claims that MYH’s unit can be placed in any surface
without installing a foundation or support. MYH’s units are not only popular for
residential areas, but many buyers use MYH’s units in commercial areas as well, as
shops, or small resort hotels.
Figure 4.9: MYH’s concept & products

(http://www.aidolmyh.com, 2013)
4.3 PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION MARKET IN THAILAND
4.3.1 Existing Market
The real estate business in Thailand has grown rapidly in the past 10 years. The
major components that have pushed the business to grow are immigration policies, and
foreign investments. Those factors have forced the Thai government to invest more in hi-
53
tech infrastructures such as sky-trains and subways in Bangkok, and basic infrastructures
such as roads, electricity and water lines in the country side. The total value of
construction in Thailand in 2011 was approximately $25,000 million, which was an
increase of 9.1% from 2010 (www.buildernews.in.th, 2013). Prefabricated construction
still does not grow much in the overall construction, although, prefab market has grown
more in the residential sector.
4.3.2 Market Research
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plans to launch the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) agreement in 2015 to help strengthen the economy of
South East Asian countries. Thailand is projected to be the business hub for ASEAN. The
new immigration plan allows people to travel freely between the member countries. This
new policy has created more and more demand for housing and has raised home prices in
Thailand. According to the Bank of Thailand, the country’s central bank, the home price
in Thailand has skyrocketed in the past five years. Since 2008, the single-detached home
price index has increased by 11.5% while the townhouse price index has increased by
21.3%, and by 41.7% for the condominium price index (see table 4.1). This event will
attract more foreign investors because the higher home price can absorb more cost from
foreign technologies and could see a faster return in investment.
Table 4.1.House Price Index from Bank of Thailand (Base Year: 2008)
Type 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Single- Detached House 111.5 105.8 104.5 101.4 100.4 100
Townhouse 121.3 112.9 109.8 103.7 100.5 100
Condominium 141.7 134.5 127.1 115.9 113.7 100
(Bank of Thailand, 2014)
However, the prefabricated home has not been a major part of the Thai residential
market yet. The current market share of the prefabricated home is less than 30%, but the
54
new minimum wage has gone up to 40% more than it was a few years ago. This has
impacted the overall labor market and construction business. In November 2013,
Krungthep Thurakit Newspaper reported that many big Thai developing companies felt
that prefabrication could help absorb the big labor cost increase from the new minimum
wage policy (Krungthep Thurakit, 2013). Mr. Rutt Phanijphand, chairman and executive
director of Quality House, one of the largest developing companies in Thailand, told
Krungthep Thurakit that the company planned to expand its prefabrication market in the
single family (both detached and attached) at low price levels (lower than $100,000) and
medium price levels (from $100,000 to 250,000), from 30% to 100% prefabrication in
2015. Mr.Atip Bijanonda, Director and Managing Director at Supalai, thinks the same.
Supalai plans to use prefabrication for at least 50% of its overall single family homes this
year and plan to expand it to 100% in 2015.
Based on the data collected from this research, the existing prefabricated products
in Thailand have different strengths and weaknesses in the construction method, the
length of time in construction, the process, size, price range and energy saving. Table 4.2
and 4.3 show differences and similarities between the existing prefabricated products in
Thailand.
55
Table 4.2.Low-Rise Residential Product
Type Construction Process Size (sqm) Construction Energy Building
Time for Cost per Saving** System
100 sqm. sqm
Concrete 5 MOs+ Wet 100-200 $550-850 Medium Include
Panel Process
Knock- 3 MOs Dry 30-100 $200-300 Low Exclude
Down /Ready of Process*
House Delivery
Steel Frame 4 MOs+ Dry 16-180 $600-850 Medium Include
Modular Process*
SCG Heim 4 MOs Dry 150-250 $800-1,000 High Include
Process*
MYH Ready for Dry 13.2-100 $150-200 High Include
Delivery Process*
* Dry process except foundation
Table 4.3.Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential Product
Type Construction Process Size Construction Energy Building

Time (sqm) Cost per Saving** System
sqm
Concrete NA Wet + NA $350-500 Medium NA
Panel Dry
Process
** Energy Saving is based on the type of insulation
- Low = no insulation
- Medium = wall & roof insulation
- High = wall & roof insulation plus sealing of the whole building
From the data collected from Thai prefabricated products, we can narrow down
the choices of American prefabricated products that are compatible with the Thai market.
The selected products in the chapter 5 are chosen based on these criteria discussed in the
next chapters.
56
CHAPTER 5
POTENTIAL AMERICAN PRODUCTS & METHODS
5.1 OVERVIEW
There are many prefabricated products in the U.S. that have the potential to be
successful in Thailand. In the screening process, there are several criteria that are used to
decide whether a product has potential for the Thai market. These criteria are based on
opinions from participants from the Thai construction industry. Participants include
architects, contractors, developers, construction products manufactures, and research
papers (the list of participants can be found on appendix E). The criteria that are used to
help select the appropriate products in this research are listed below.
- The product does not exist in Thailand
- The product can help save time in construction compared with local products
- The product has potential to replace or brace existing products or methods
- The product has easy methods that local workers can easily operate
- The product is sustainable
- The product has the potential to develop on the local market
Base on the above criteria and data that are collected from both the U.S. and Thai
prefabrication, the choices of the American prefabricated products have been narrowed
down to four products.
1) Structure Insulated Panels (SIPs)
2) Metal Stud Concrete Panel
3) Prefabricated Wood Wall Panel
4) Modular System
57
5.2 STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS (SIPS)
5.2.1 Description
As previously described in chapter 2, structural insulated panels (SIPs) are a high
performance building system that consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between
two structural facings which are sometimes known as sandwich panels or stressed-skin
panels. The panel is mainly used as a main structure of a building. It is used as a load-
bearing wall for a typical residential construction. It can also be used as a floor structure,
a roof structure or an interior panel. The panel is factory-built. The building process
consists in injecting polyurethane foam between two siding materials in a tightly enclosed
cavity (Eco-panels, 2014). The finished material (see table 5.1) that is commonly used for
siding is oriented strand board (OSB) (see figure 5.1). Oriented strand board, also known
as sterling board, is an engineered wood particle board. It can take high compressive
strength which makes it a good choice for SIPs. The other materials are also used as
sheathing depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
Table 5.1.SIPs Finish Materials Comparison
Sheathing Type Strengths Weaknesses

Oriented Strand Board Load bearing; readily available; Subject to mold and a reduction in
(OSB) tested; large panel size up to 8' x 24' structural capacity if exposed to moisture;
not fire resistant; must be treated for
termites; difficult substrate for most
common joint tapes
Sheet Metal Resistant to mold; can be load- Must be galvanized or stainless steel; not
bearing; very light; unlimited load bearing
lengths when made from coil stock
Plywood Lateral strength Availability; price; limited panel size;
subject to mold and reduced structural
capacity if exposed to moisture for a
prolonged period of time; not fire
resistant; must be treated for termites
Fiber Cement Siding Resistant to mold, termites, and fire Availability; weight; testing; limited panel
size
Magnesium Board Resistant to mold, termites, and fire Availability; testing; limited panel size
Fiberglass Mat Resistant to termites and fire Not structural; limited panel size
Gypsum Sheathing
Composite Structural Resistant to mold and termites; pre- Not fire resistant
Siding Panels primed materials available
(National Institute of Building Science, 2013)
58
Figure 5.1: Structure insulated panel with OSB finished
(Eco-panels, 2013)
Another main component of SIPs are the form in between sheathings. There are
three types of forms: expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), and
polyurethane foam (PUR), all of which are commonly used in filling the sheathing. As
described by Simon (2013) “With EPS and XPS foam, the assembly is pressure laminated
together. With PUR and PIR, the liquid foam is injected and cured under high pressure”.
The strengths and weaknesses of these three types of forms can be seen in table 5.2.
Table 5.2.Foam Types Comparison
Sheathing Type Strengths Weaknesses

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Least expensive; thickness Produced with HBCD*
options are only limited by the
foam manufacturer; availability;
fastest to modify in field; most
benign blowing agent
Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Strength; water resistant Availability; produced with
HBCD*
Polyurethane Foam (PUR) Highest R-value/inch; strength, Most expensive; harder to modify
water resistant thickness limitations; creep;
availability; produced with
chlorinated phosphate flame
retardants**
*HBCD: hexabromocyclododecane - a brominated fire retardant classified by the
European Union (REACH program) as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).
(National Institute of Building Science, 2013)
59
5.2.2 Construction Method & Advantage
One of the biggest advantages of using SIPs is that SIPs is very easy to install.
The installation method is similar to that of a wood frame construction. SIPs come to the
construction site with a varity of pieces depending on the complication of the building.
Two workers can easily lift the panels up and put them together without a crane, because
the panels are light. The panels generally sit on the sill plate and are framed together with
the head jamb. Some companies, such as Eco-Panels, have an advanced way of
installation. Eco-Panels use “a quick-connect cam-lock joining solution”, a system
designed to connect two panels together by using a steel lock. With the cam-lock joining
solution, the panels are tightly connected and can absorb more shear load. The building
that is built from SIPs can be finished in approximately 130 hrs (depending on the
complexity of the design and the size). Because of the easy installation step, SIPs should
gain attention when entering the Thai market. Unskilled workers can easily understand
the installation process without spending a lot of time on training.
Another big advantage of using SIPs is energy saving. The in filled form has a
very high R-value (Resistance Value) compared with the typical batt insulation on wood
frame construction. The nominated R-value of the form varies from 3 to 6 per inch
depending on the type of form. A wood frame generally has its R-value at 1 per 1 inch,
and if put together with the wood frame construction wall system (with stud and
insulation), its R-value can be up to R13 while SIPs has a nominated R-value at R26 (See
Appendix A for energy comparison)
5.2.3 Local Market
The target market for SIPs in Thailand could be at the low to mid level house with
an estimated sale price around $150,000 per unit or between $800-950 per sqm. SIPs can
easily compete with most of the existing prefabricated products in Thailand. Knock-
Down Houses and Steel Frame Modulars are the two products that are most similar to
60
SIPs’ houses in terms of size, price and quality, but SIPs’ houses have a big advantage
over them in terms of energy saving and construction speed.
Thailand is a very hot and humid country. The average temperature in Thailand is
between 30°C to 35°C (86°F to 95°F), which is very hot; the temperature can be as high
as 40°C (104°F). However, most houses in Thailand do not have proper insulation. Most
houses in Thailand have AC units installed, but with those very high temperatures many
AC units are not capable of cooling buildings properly, or the cooling could result in a
very expensive electrical bill. SIPs can defiantly help reduce AC load because it has a
high R-value which can help in a long term saving.
Moreover, SIP is easy to install. Unskilled workers in Thailand can easily pick up
the installation method. This can help attract more contractors and developers because the
construction method is simpler than the existing brick and mortar that is widely used in
Thailand. On the production side, Thailand has a lot of high standard prefabrication
factories that can handle the basic need of producing SIPs. With more and more
prefabrication factories built to absorb the growth of prefabrication market and the labor
cost crisis, establishing a SIPs factory in Thailand should benefit both the housing market
and American investors.
5.2.4 Conclusion & Problems

Due to the labor cost crisis in Thailand, prefabrication homes, such as SIP homes,
could make an impact on the whole construction industry. Today, according to real estate
news in Thailand, many large developers and contractors are willing to shift from brick &
mortar homes to prefabricated homes. This is a great opportunity for SIPs to become one
of the best choices for Thai prefabricated homes.
However, in the past, the panelized construction for single family homes in
Thailand was not very successful for many reasons. First, home owners, developers and
contractors were used to brick & mortar homes, which they were not ready to substitute
for a new system yet. However, prefabrication is now becoming a common method in
61
Thailand, so now is the right time to push for it. Second, Thai people are sensitive about
panelizing. They feel that panelized homes are more like temporary homes. The reason is
that the finished material, such as, plywood or OSB, does not look as strong as brick or
concrete. This problem can be solved from a design stand point. Finished materials, such
as, fiber cement siding (which has been very popular in Thailand for the past 10 years),
magnesium or gypsum board and composite structural siding panels can help achieve the
aesthetic goal. The word “foam” can also be sensitive. Developers may need to avoid
using this word.
A drawback for SIPs could be the impact of high humidity in Thailand. There are
several reports about moisture damage and mold on SIP which could be more
troublesome when using them in a tropical area. However, there are several countries in
tropical areas, such as Brazil and Ghana, which currently use SIPs (Eco-panel, 2013).
This requires long term research and product improvement for those special areas.
5.3 METAL STUD CONCRETE PANEL
5.3.1 Description
A metal stud concrete panel, also known as “stud cast” or “Carboncast®”, is a
hybrid panel. It is a combination of a precast concrete panel and metal stud. The panel
has approximately two-inch thick concrete on the exterior and standard light-gauge steel
framing on the interior (see figure 5.2). It comes with a variety of finishes attached to a
concrete panel. Concrete surface finish, brick and stone are good examples of this. The
exterior finish is attached to the concrete panel in a very thin layer, or it is mixed with the
concrete panel. This panel can be used as a load-bearing wall or as a cladding wall.
The production process is also similar to the process of other panel systems.
Workers a lay set of metal studs on the flat surface, and then pour concrete on top of it,
let it dry (can be as fast as 24 hours) before lifting it up and storing it. The concrete layer
is connected with the metal studs by stainless steel anchor that is attached to the metal
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stud. The anchor is flexible and can rotate easily, which helps reduce cracks in the thin
layer of the concrete. (See Appendix B for product information)
Figure 5.2: Metal stud concrete panel
(Highconcrete, 2013)
The construction method is similar to the typical prefabricated light weight
concrete panel. A metal stud concrete panel is a factory-built panel, so it is delivered
from a factory to a construction site as a unit (some of them can be built at the
construction site depending on the site’s constraints). At the site, contractors need to
provide a crane to help lift the panel in to the point of connection where workers can
connect the panel to the floor system.
The big advantage of metal stud concrete panel is that the panel’s weight is much
lighter (28 lbs. per square foot) than the typical precast concrete. Owners can save up to
30% from less structure steel and less foundation, and the panel is also good with a
cantilever design. The panel comes with a self-drainage system to get water out between
the joints, so it can help reduce mold and moisture to the façade and the building.
Insulation is also installed with the panel from a factory, so the panel meets most of the
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energy codes and LEED credits. It can also reduce construction time like other precast
panels by up to 50%.
5.3.3 Local Market
The metal stud concrete panel can definitely compete with the precast concrete
panel in Thailand. The metal stud concrete panel not only helps save construction time,
but it also requires less structure and foundation because it is lighter. Another big
advantage of the metal stud concrete panel is that it has several finished materials.
Currently, the precast concrete panel in Thailand can only be painted. Workers need to go
outside of a building (for multi-story buildings) to paint the panel after it is installed.
Many times, the painting process can slow down a construction schedule because
Thailand has a rainy season of approximately 4-5 months. The rain not only slows down
the construction, but sometimes, it results in a poor building surface and bad painting,
which always costs long-term maintenance. Because the metal stud concrete panel
comes with various finished materials that the precast concrete panel in Thailand does not
have, it can give more design freedom to architects and owners.
Compared to a similar product, the prefabricated wood frame panel on drywall,
the metal stud concrete panel should gain more attention in the Thai market. The
prefabricated wood frame panel does not do well on the Thai market because owners and
developers see wood stud as temporary material. They have the negative perception that
wood structure is only for cheap construction and that dry wall, should not be used as
exterior material.
One of the advantages of the metal stud concrete panel is that it can be used on all
types of buildings, such as multi-family residential, commercial or factory. However, the
overall construction cost is not cheap if used for a low-rise construction. It can be cheaper
from the reduction of steel used and foundation in the mid to high-rise buildings. Using
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the metal stud concrete panel for single family houses may not be a good idea, unless it is
a prototype project which could happen in Thailand.
Another drawback is that Thai workers and contractors are not yet familiar with
installing drywall and drywall details. The metal stud concrete panel has an interior side
that generally needs to be finished on site. Currently, even for multifamily residential
projects, most contractors still use red-brick and mortar for interior walls. There could be
some struggling in the installation at the beginning, but there should not be a problem in
the long term. Metal stud concrete should be a good candidate for prefabricated
construction in Thailand.
5.4 PREFABRICATED WOOD PANEL
5.4.1 Description
Prefabricated wood panel or wood panelization has been in the American
prefabricated industry for more than half a century. It is the most common prefabricated
construction type in the U.S. and is known by to most American contractors. The panels
are simply made from a set of wood studs which is similar to the stick-built construction
method. A set of wood studs is laid down horizontally in the factory before workers
connect them together by nails and lumber similar to stick framing. The openings are
provided according to the design, but most window units are assembled onsite. After the
framing is assembled, the exterior sheets (can be plywood or OSB) are attached to the
prefabricated framing while interior wall panels can often be seen as open frames. The
exterior panels can come with a variety of finishes, such as, stucco finish, siding or brick
veneer and it can be done either on a construction site or from a factory.
The panels can be either a load-bearing panel or a non-load-bearing panel. They
are often used for both single-family construction and mid-rise multifamily construction
(generally two- to four-story). The prefabricated wood panels can also be used as floor
and roof units.
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The construction method for prefabricated wood panels is very simple. The
prefabricated wood panels are delivered to a construction site before being assembled.
Prefabricated wood panel can easily attached to both wood floor structures and concrete
floor structures depend on the detail and construction type.
The advantage of using prefabricated wood panel is that wood panel is cost-
effective compare to gauge steel panels. Prefabricated wood panel is a light weight
material which can help owner save more upfront cost from using lighter structure and
smaller foundation. Moreover, wood is a renewable material. It is environmental friendly
and life cycle assessment studies consistently show that wood offers environmental
advantages in terms of embodied energy, air and water pollution, and other impact
indicators (Architectural Record, 2014).
5.4.3 Local Market
The strength of prefabricated wood panel is that it is cheaper than other types of
prefabrication. In Thai suburb and country side, a three- to five-story brick building is a
standard type of affordable apartment home. This type of building generally uses the
most common type of construction, red-brick & mortar, and uses the cheapest and lowest
quality of finish, paint on masonry wall. Red brick & mortar is the most common type of
construction in Thailand; however, it can cause a lot of problems if contractors do not
understand the whole process or do not carefully build. For example, using wrong type of
concrete, mortar or paint, or rush to pour concrete will result in crack, peel or collapse.
There are many cases that Thai contractors, especially in the suburb area, build a low
quality building which many times result in lawsuit. Prefabricated wood panel can be a
good candidate for this type of building in Thailand because the affordable apartment is
considered a small size multifamily. The building is generally built not taller than five-
story height which suits with prefabricated wood panel.
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Prefabricated wood panel has a potential to be successful in Thailand but it may
be suited only for few types of building (affordable apartment). The affordable apartment
in Thailand is normally a three- to five-story height which is a normal height for a
prefabricated wood panel building. Unlike condominiums, affordable apartments in
Thailand are built from the cheapest available method. The low-income tenants do not
care much on how the building is built. On the other hand, condo buyers are fastidious
buyers. Many of them have a red flag on wood frame construction for mid-rise building
(more than three-story). Their perception for wood frame construction is that wood frame
construction might not last long and is not strong enough to survive natural disaster.
Prefabricated wood panel and wood frame construction are considered as cheaper
choices for mid-rise building in the U.S.; however, the cost of using wood construction in
Thailand is not much difference compare to cost of typical red brick & mortar
construction. Moreover, wood is considered a precious material in Thailand. The
common wood species, which are commonly used in construction, for example, teak
(Mai Sak), and iron wood (Mai Dang) are very expensive. The cheaper species, for
example, keruing wood (Mai Yarng), and pine wood, are available for a cheaper cost but
the quality of those wood are not as good as the quality in the United States. The major
problem of wood construction in Thailand is that the qualities of woods are low. Many
times, the low quality woods, which are used in a cheap type construction, are not
completely dry which result in a long term damage to a building. The better quality wood
is expensive and not often used for large constructions. This could be a major drawback
for prefabricated wood panels in Thailand.
5.5 MULTIFAMILY MODULAR
5.5.1 Description
The modular system has been a common method in the U.S construction for
years. The technology has been developed from a small scale modular like a single
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family home modular to a large scale modular like the 32 story-apartment in Brooklyn,
New York. In general, modular building is the same type of traditional construction
building. A modular building is built in the same way as other on site construction
buildings; the same material, structure, and code are used in both types of buildings. The
only difference is that modular building is built in a controlled environment.
The installation process in the modular system is very simple. For low-rise and
mid-rise buildings (generally, between 2-5 stories), the construction process is very easy.
The modular units are transported to a construction site by a large truck and lifted up to
the place by a crane; then workers stack them on top of each other, seal and finish (see
figure 5.3). This easy process can help save time for construction from 30-50% (Modular
Building Institute, 2013). The modular system also offers a safer construction site
environment and reduces waste from the construction site, so the process can be
considered as “lean construction”.
Figure 5.3: Modular construction for multifamily residential
(http:// www.modularhomeassociation.org, 2013)
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For high-rise buildings, the process can be slower because the phase of installing
the modular system depends on the phase of constructing the main structure. However,
after the main structure is built the installation process can be very fast. The limitation
could be that most high-rise buildings are located inside the city area, which can make it
difficult to use a large truck.
5.5.3 Local Market
There are only 3-4 manufacturers in Thailand that produce modular products, and
all of them focus only at a small scale. Today, the market of the multifamily modular in
Thailand is very small, but it has the potential to grow very fast in the near future.
Building types such as low-rise and mid-rise apartments or private dormitories could be
good targets. These types of buildings can be very compatible with the modular system
because they need the shortest schedule as possible, and most of them are located outside
busy business areas where large trucks can be used.
Currently, these types of buildings are built using the red-brick and mortar
methods. The average construction time for a three-story building with approximately 30-
40 units can take about one year to build. Another problem is that many contractors who
do tow or mid rise buildings are small size companies which often do not build buildings
that meet the standards. Modular construction could have a big impact on these types of
building because it offers higher standards, factory-built buildings; this reduces the risk
of low quality building to owners.
Multifamily modular should do well in Thailand. The country has the ability to
produce such high quality building materials, so producing multifamily modular units
should be fine. At the beginning, the product may be appropriate only for a rental market
because renters have less concern about how buildings are built, while buyers are
concerned more about the structure; they are more likely to choose buildings that are
made from red-bricks or concrete panels than by the metal stud modular unit. However,
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in the long run, people should get used to this type of construction and with advanced
products and competitive prices, multifamily modular building should be able to compete
nationally.
The drawback is not only that multifamily modular has not yet gained buyers’
trust but that it also has some limitations when it is transported. Most of the roads and
high ways in Thailand are smaller than those in the United States. Moreover, the truck
size in Thailand is a lot smaller than the truck size in the United States. Transporting
modular units to a construction site could be challenging. As a result, the typical module
of multifamily units (room dimension) in Thailand is smaller than the module in the
United States. This requires a more detailed study for the appropriate dimension that
would work with both the unit and the transportation, but since there are several modular
homes that are currently sold on the Thai market; this may not be an issue.
5.6 PRODUCT COMPARISON
After collecting data from the four selected products, we can now compare those
four selected products with the existing local products. First, the four selected products
can do as well as the current local Thai prefabricated products, or even better. The easy
installation process should gain a lot attention from developers and contractors. One of
the biggest advantages of the four selected products is that all four products can produce
high energy saving building. Most Thai prefabricated products produce none or low
energy saving buildings, so this could be the big advantage for the U.S. products over the
local products.
The drawback for the U.S. products for the international market could be the
price. Currently, the prices of these four selected products are higher compared with the
prices of local competitors. However, the labor cost in Thailand is significantly lower
compared with the American labor cost. The lowest minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25
per hour (Department of labor), while the minimum wage in Thailand is $9.00 per day (8-
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10 hours). This lower wage in Thailand could help reduce the upfront cost for American
prefabrication if the factory is established in Thailand.
Table 5.3 and table 5.4 show the comparison between the existing Thai
prefabricated products and the selected American prefabricated products.
Table 5.3.Low-Rise Residential Products

Existing Products
Type Construction Process Size (sqm) Construction Energy Building
Time for Cost per sqm Saving System
100 sqm.
Concrete 5 MOs+ Wet 100-200 $550-850 Medium Include
Panel Process
Knock-Down 3 MOs Dry 30-100 $200-300 Low Exclude
House /Ready of Process
Delivery
Steel Frame 4 MOs+ Dry 16-180 $600-850 Medium Include
Modular Process
SCG Heim 4 MOs Dry 150-250 $800-1,000 High Include
Process
MYH Ready for Dry 13.2-100 $150-200 High Include
Delivery Process
Selected Products
SIPs 1 MOs+ Dry 100-300 700-800*** High Include
Process
Prefabricated 1 MOs+ Dry 100-300 400-500*** High Include
Wood Panel Process
Metal Stud 1 MOs+ Dry 100-300 800-900*** High Include
Concrete Process
Modular Less than Dry 100-300 800- High Include
1 MOs Process 1,000***
Table 5.4.Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential
Type Construction Process Size Construction Energy Building

Time (sqm) Cost per Saving** System
sqm
Concrete NA Wet + Dry NA 350-500 Medium NA
Panel Process
Selected Products
Prefabricated NA Dry Process NA 250-300*** High Include
Wood Panel
Metal Stud NA Dry Process NA 550-800*** High Include
Concrete
Modular NA Dry Process NA 500-650*** High Include
*** Construction cost in the U.S.
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According to the tables (tables 5.3 & 5.4), the four selected products can save
construction time significantly. This also means saving money for a lot of owners from
construction loans, and construction costs; and the project can open sooner.
In the single family home sector, SIPs can easily compete with knock-down
houses and steel frames, but it may be very difficult to compete with SCG Heim because
SCG Heim is built in such a higher quality and with better equipment. The precast
concrete panel for single family, mid-rise and high-rise sector can be replaced by metal
stud concrete or prefabricated wood panels (for mid-rise construction), which offers less
weight and faster construction time. Moreover, instead of painting a precast concrete
panel on site, metal stud concrete and prefabricated wood panels offer a variety of
finishes that give more options to architects and owners. Workers do not need to do
anymore work to the exterior panels after the panels are installed.
Multifamily modular units can have real challenge in the current Thai market.
Since there is no similar product for this type of product yet, opening a new market for
multifamily modular will require a lot of efforts. However, for the reasons provided in
previous chapters, this product can become very popular in the near future.
Tables 5.5 shows the selection criteria, from page 58, and four selected products
compared with the existing prefabricated products in a scoring system.
Table 5.5: Selected products’ scores compared to local products

Does not Saves time Potential to Competitive Easy to Sustainable
exist in compared compete Price assemble
Thailand with local with local
method products
SIPs xxx xx xx x xxx xxx
Metal Stud xx xx xxx x x xxx
Concrete
Panel
Prefabricated xx xx xx x x xxx
Wood Panel
Modular xxx xxx xx x xx xxx
System
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According to table 5.5, the table shows the strength of the four selected products
compared with the existing local products. The scoring system, X = worse or equal, XX =
better, XXX = excellent, is based on the comparison to Thai products. The list below
explains the scoring system criteria in categories.
“Does not exist in Thailand”: The four selected products are new in Thailand.
However, metal stud concrete panels and prefabricated wood panels are similar products
to the concrete panels, so they all get minus X from full XXX credits. SIPs and modular
systems have never been used in Thailand, so these two get full XXX credits.
“Saves time compared with local method”: As previously shown in table 5.3, the
four selected products have shorter construction time compared to the four existing
prefabricated products (on MYH home is faster because it is pre-made and ready to
deliver). SIPs, metal stud concrete panels and prefabricated wood panels get XX for
faster construction time, while the modular system gets XXX because its construction
time is the fastest.
“Potential to compete with local products”: All four selected products are
definitely able to compete with those existing prefabricated in Thailand. However, SIPs,
prefabricated wood panels and modular systems have never been tested in the market.
There are some risks associated with bringing in the new products, so they all get minus
X from full XXX credits. On the other hands, metal stud concrete panels are similar
products with the concrete panel system in Thailand, but they are better in quality, have
various finishes, and are more sustainable than local concrete panels, so they earned
XXX credits.
“Competitive Price”: According to table 5.3, the four selected products are
expensive products compared with local prefabricated products, so all products get one X
credit. However, the prices are based on the U.S. market, so they could reduce when the
products are sold in the Thai market.
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“Easy to assemble”: Although the construction time for the four selected products
are faster than the local prefabricated products, the assembly processes are different.
Metal stud concrete panels and prefabricated wood panels are similar products with
concrete panels, so the assemblies processes are no difference than the concrete panels’
process which make them earn only one X credit. The modular systems’ assemble
process is simple, but it require some large machines for assembly, so it gets minus one X
credit. SIPs’ assembly process is the easiest process compared with local prefabrication’s
processes and other selected products. Workers can easily pick the panels up and install
them to the site because they are light.
“Sustainable”: All four selected products have high efficiency energy saving rates
which are greater than those of all the local products. This is one of the key strength the
selected products have when competing with the local products.
In conclusion, all four selected products received scores between 11 to 14 credits.
- SIPs = 14 credits
- Metal stud concrete panels = 12 credits
- Prefabricated wood panels = 11 credits
- Modular system = 14 credits
The category in which the selected products received the least credits is
“competitive price”. Therefore, the price could be the key improvement for those four
selected products for the Thai market. On the other hands, the category in which they
received the most score is “sustainable”, so sustainability could be the big selling point
for all those selected products in the Thai market.
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS
6.1 OPINIONS
After interviewing construction specialists and manufacturers from both Thais
and Americans, it was clear that they all had different opinions on the U.S. prefabrication
in Thailand.
6.1.1 Thai Specialists
Thai participants in this research were architects, owners, developers, and
manufacturers. Thai architects think that, sooner or later, prefabrication will play a big
role in Thai construction. The world is more connected now than ever before, so the new
products or methods from Western countries will come and compete or join with local
manufacturers. As architects, they need to improve their knowledge to be able to work
with any type of construction that is available on the market.
Second, Thai developers think prefabrication can help them save more cost from
both labor and schedule. However, they are not willing to try the whole new project with
one type of construction. The coming project will be a hybrid between the traditional
construction method with partial prefabrication. Thai contractors think preconstruction
can help them on faster schedule and reduce risk from a construction site. They feel that
they have a limited knowledge of prefabrication, but many of them are willing to try.
Lastly, Thai manufacturers and distributors feel that they are capable of producing the
selected products. They feel that those three products have potential in the Thai market if
they can compete in price. The list of participants can be found in appendix E.
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6.1.2 American Manufacturers
On the U.S. side, the groups of participants came from the manufacturers of the
selected products, SIPs, metal stud concrete panels, prefabricated wood panels and the
modular system. First, the SIPs “manufacturers think their product has a big advantage in
a hot climate area like Thailand. In order to be competitive with local products, the
factory needs to be in Thailand to cut transportation costs. However, SIPs manufacturers
worry about the volume and marketing. They doubt that the product can get enough
market shares to offset factory costs. Moreover, they worry about the copy right in
Thailand.
Second, the concrete panel manufacturers think that they should be able to
compete with the similar type of product. Just like SIPs manufacturers, they also worry
about the volume, marketing, and local suppliers. They feel that the product needs to be
developed more to suit with the local standards. Next, wood panel manufacturers have an
interest in sending their product overseas, however, because of the location they feel
somewhat disadvantaged over similar companies located closer to the major shipping
points in the U.S. As far as pricing goes wood wall panel business is volatile due to base
pricing on lumber which fluctuates greatly from week to week. The wood frame can also
be substituted for metal frame, if wood is not available or if it is difficult to access it
overseas.
Finally, the modular manufacturers think that if they can expand their product to
more countries, it would be great. Currently, they have tried to expand their market to
Asian countries, such as India, so they think that expanding to Thailand could be a good
opportunity. Some companies have already established their offices in India. However,
they worry about the sale volume because Thailand doesn’t have as many people as
India. The list of participants can be found in appendix E.
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6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.2.1 Recommendations for owners

Prefabrication gives a lot of benefits to projects. It can help save times and money
for most projects. There are several prefabricated products that are currently available in
Thailand and many U.S. prefabricated products that have high potentials to be used in
Thailand. Owners need to make sure they clearly understand the products before
selecting the process. Some products can be useful only if used as a whole system, some
of them can be used with other construction methods.
Most products that are imported from must be developed to suit with the local
geography and climate before using. Untested products may be significantly costly to
projects. Moreover, some products suit only with some types of projects. Using
inappropriate products may result in more cost or future problems.
6.2.2 Recommendations for contractors
A prefabricated product is designed to be an easy installation product. However,
contractors and workers must make sure they understand all the processes and
construction drawings before starting a project. There were many cases where Thai
contractors did not follow instructions properly, and which resulted in loss both in time
and money. Following instructions properly can also help reduce risk at construction site.
Preciseness is also a critical thing when using prefabrication. Deflection in
construction may result in a delay and failure of a prefabrication system. Transportation
and storage can also be critical issues with prefabricated construction.
6.2.3 Recommendations for distributors and manufacturers
Prefabricated products and methods are not new in Thailand. However, many
people who are not involved in a construction business still don’t know the difference
between the traditional constructions and prefabrications. Distributors must provide all
the necessary information to buyers, so they don’t misunderstand the concept and method
of prefabrication.
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Preciseness from a factory side is also as important as preciseness from a
construction side. Low-standard products can cause significant loss to projects. Unlike in
traditional construction with prefabrication, workers do not need to adjust prefabricated
products much at a construction site. Good products from good manufacturers will
shorten construction time as much as 50% from a traditional construction method.
6.3 CONCLUSIONS
American prefabrication should do well in many developing Asian countries,
including Thailand. The key to success for American prefabricated products in Thailand
is that most of them have strengths over most of the existing Thai prefabricated products
in the market. Energy saving and easy assembly are two main key which make American
prefabricated products interesting and competitive with the local products. However,
there are other factors which American investors must understand before investing in
developing Asia countries. Good products or high quality products are not always the
most desired products. American prefabricated products absolutely have better standards
than many local prefabricated products. However, not all the high standards are required
or attract local buyers. Moreover, products which are really compatible with the
American environment may not always compatible with Asian environment. American
manufacturers need to develop their products to suit with the local climate, geography as
well as local desires.
In addition, the sale price in the U.S. won’t make the products sell well in
Thailand. American manufacturers need to establish their plants locally or join with large
local distributors and manufacturers, in order to be competitive with the price; this can
also help protect their copyrights. The four selected products have high potential to be
very successful in Thailand because they do not need much upfront costs that special
machine may cause, for example. Those products can easily be produced from local
factories which can help reduce the risk of putting a lot of high upfront cost.
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Currently, real estate in Thailand is booming; it has been booming for the past
three years. This year, the overall sale has slowed down a bit due to the unstability of the
government. However, the launching of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015
should attract many investors. Because Thailand is the center of business for many South
East Asian countries around, such as, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia,
investing or establishing plants in Thailand has an advantage of distributing the products
to many countries. Thailand is a great place to invest, and investing in Thailand will
benefit both American companies and Thai people.
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APPENDIX A
CASE STUDY I
Case Study: Habitia Watcharapol
Location: Saimai, Bangkok, Thailand
Company: Sansiri
Sansiri, one of the largest residential developing companies in Thailand, has
produced the mid-size prefabricated homes on the market by using the close system
prefabricated concrete method. In 2011, Sansiri produced more than 8,000 residential
units which approximately 4,800 units are mid-size homes. More than 50% of its mid-
size homes used the close system while the larger units are still being built as skeleton
method. Although Sansiri’s homes are not fully prefabricated buildings, 70% of the
construction material is prefabrication. The construction process can be divided in to five
steps as described below.
Step One: Foundation: Contractor uses the same method as the foundation for
skeleton structure. The methods consist in hammering the concreted piles and pouring the
foundation. These foundations have steel plates that, later, will be used to connect the
first floor beams (see figure A.1 & A.2). This method cannot use the prefabricated
foundation because of the variation of the site and soil, so it is the slowest process.
Figure A.1: Cast in Place Foundation
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Figure A.2: Steel Plate, embedded to the foundation
Step Two: First Floor Beam: After pouring the concrete foundation and letting the
concrete set, workers install prefabricated beams (see figure A.3 & A.4). The concrete
beams are casted from a factory before being transportd to the site construction. The
beams will be connected to the foundation by welding the steel plates together before
pouring concrete on top of the connector.
Figure A.3: Cast in Place Foundation with Precast Concrete Beam
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Figure A.4: Precast Concrete Beam
Step Three: Floor and Wall: After the first floor beams are installed, worker will
install floor concrete slabs and wall panels (see figure A.5). Floors and walls are
prefabricated concrete which are delivered from the factory. Worker will work with small
cranes to lift up walls and floors to the place where they can weld them together. After
installing prefabricated walls, workers need to close the gap between two walls by using
mortar cement (see figure A.6). The stair is also a prefabricated concrete stair that can be
installed by a small crane.
Figure A.5: Precast Wall Panel, after installed
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Figure A.6: Mortar Cement Joint
Step Four: Roofing: Roofing structures are made from prefabricated steel, but
those steels require onsite installation (see figure A.7). Although those steel require onsite
installation, the process is a lot faster than the old concrete method. The installation of the
prefabricated steel is a dry process. Workers only need to connect the steels by bolt, so
there is no waiting time like these is in the concrete roof structure process. After finishing
the roof frame, workers will install the roof tiles (see figure A.8). This process can take a
little longer than the framing process.
Figure A.7: Roof Framing
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Figure A.8: Roof, after roof tiles are installed
Step Five: Finishing: This is the last process of Sansiri’s prefabricated homes.
This process also takes the majority of the time in the onsite construction. Typically,
Sansiri’s prefabricated homes take from 4 to 6 months to build, but the finishing process
may take up to 2 to 3 months depending on the size of the homes. This process includes
the installation of windows and doors (windows are also prefabricated units that are
delivered from a sub-contractor’s factory), the painting of the exterior and interior, the
installation of the floor finishing and sanitary units (see figure A.9).
Figure A.9: Finished Product
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Comment: This year, Sansiri opened a new 42-acre precast factory in the suburb
of Bangkok to increase the volume of their prefabricated homes. The technology and
machines are imported from Germany. Currently, the 2013 Sansiri’s prefabricated home
is still not fully prefabrication, yet it is a good start. With the new technology, Sansiri
believes that it can solve the problems of the concrete panel and expand the product line.
The problems of the panel are such as the preciseness and the quality. More than fifty
percent of the panels that were delivered to the construction site need to be carved to
remove the surplus concrete out from their surface. This problem occurs because of the
low quality of the mold. Spots are frequently seen the surplus in the opening areas such
as doors and windows. This carving process requires a lot of manpower and time which
may delay the installation process. Transportation and onsite management have also
become a factor for Sansiri’s homes. Both methods cost the loss of the concrete panels
for more than 15% for each project. Good constructions management and good logistics
will help reduce this loss.
85
APPENDIX B
CASE STUDY II
Case Study: LPN Bang Na
Location: Bang Na, Bangkok, Thailand
Company: LPN
LPN (Lumpini) has been in the market of affordable condominium for more than
ten years. The concepts of the affordable are such as small units, less expensive material
which can reduce the construction cost. However, the prefabricated concrete panel
system costs more than the typical masonry wall (it is as much as 200% more expensive
than masonry wall), but it helps save time during a construction which gives more benefit
to the overall project in term of cost. The installation process is not complicated many
contractors can adapt to it and use it easily. The processes can be defined as follows:
Step One: Lift the panel: The panel, which is delivered to the construction site,
will be lifted by a large crane to the spot where workers can hold it (see figure B.1).
Figure B.1: Precast Panel is being lifted
Step Two: Install the panel: After the panel is in place, workers connect the panel
with the main structure by welding the steel plate together (see figure B.2).
86
Figure B.2: Worker is welding the steel plates together.
Step Three: Sealing: Workers put sealant and backer rod in between the panels
before sealing them together (see figure B.3).
Figure B.3: Sealant Joint
87
Step Four: Finishing: The last process is cleaning and painting (see figure B.4).
Figure B.4: Precast Panel, after painted
Comment: The prefabricated concrete panel for multifamily home is only the
beginning of prefabrication in high-rise construction. The other components of the
building are not prefabrication, for example, floors, columns and beams are cast in place
concrete. These building components have potential to be made as prefabrication.
Currently, contractor claims that using cast in place concrete floors, columns and beams
are faster than prefabricated floors and columns and beams by 15-20% of the
construction time for each floor. This happens because most of contractors in Thailand
still do not have enough knowledge of prefabrication in a high-rise building. However,
Thai developers see the potential of using more prefabrication for this type of building, so
the next generation of affordable condominium in Thailand can be seen in more
prefabrication.
88
APPENDIX C
STRUCTURE INSULATED PANELS (SIPS): ENERGY
EFICIENTCY RATING
89
APPENDIX D
METAL STUD CONCRETE PANEL: SLENDERWALL
90
APPENDIX E
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Thai experts
- Trisingi Studio Co.,Ltd. (Architect)
- MekaDSGN (Architect)
- L.P.N. Development Public Co., Ltd. (Developer/Contractor)
- Sansiri PCL (Developer/Contractor)
- Pruksa Real Estate (Developer/Contractor)
- Mice Management Co.,Ltd (Contractor)
- SCG Experience (Manufacture)
American manufactures
- Eco-Panel
- Georgia Panel
- Slenderwall
- Edgewood Company
- Modular Institute
91
REFERENCES
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and construction” CRC Press LLC. Boca Raton, FL
Anderson, Mark and Anderson, Peter (Mark S. T.). (2007). “Prefab prototypes: site-
specific design for offsite construction” Princeton Architectural Press. New York, NY
Architecture Record, March 2014. “Continuing Education Center: Multi-Story Wood
Construction” Accessed May 24, 2014.
http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=285&C=883
Arieff, Allison and Burkhart, Bryan.(2002). “Prefab” Gibbs Smith. Layton, UT
Bahamón, Alejandro; English translation, Bill Bain. (2002). “Prefab : adaptable,
modualar, dismountable, light, mobile archiltecture” LOFT and HBI. New York, NY
Bank of Thailand. “House Price Index”. Accessed March 20, 2014.
http://www2.bot.or.th/statistics/BOTWEBSTAT.aspx?reportID=680&language=ENG
CB Richard Ellis, Thailand (2012). “Podduang Report” Accessed April 24, 2013.
http://podduangreport.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/silom-property-for-sale/
Eco-Panel. Accessed March 3, 2014. http://www.eco-panels.com/about-eco-panels.html
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Fetters, Thomas T. (2002). “Lustron home : the history of a postwar prefabricated
housing experiment” McFarland & Company. Jefferson, NC
Furuto , Alison. “Modular Residential Tower To Be Built at Atlantic Yards” 29 Nov
2012. ArchDaily. Accessed December 11, 2012. http://www.archdaily.com/299896.
Haus, Liska. 23 Nov 2011. Accessed July 24, 2013. http://www.liska.com/blog/liskahaus
Highconcrete. “Architectural Precast: CarbonCast and C-GRID: A Dynamic
Architectural Concrete Combination”. Accessed January 13, 2014.
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Miles, Mike E. (2007). “Real Estate Development: Principles and Process” Urban Land
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(SIPs)” Accessed March 12, 2014. http://www.wbdg.org/resources/sips.php
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March 20, 2013. http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=397
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_706243.jpg
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FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING PREFABRICATED U.S.

PRODUCTS AND METHODS FOR RESIDENTIAL

Georgia Institute of Technology

COPYRIGHT© 2014 BY CHAWIN NGOENCHUKLIN

PRODUCTS AND METHODS FOR RESIDENTIAL

Dr. Daniel Castro, Advisor

Dr. Xinyi Song

Professor Rick Porter

Date Approved: June 18, 2014

I would like to acknowledge my family, my mother and my wife for supporting

Professor Porter for great advices, helpful information and encouragement.

Suparanat, Planning Division, for providing great information in Thailand. I thank my

Strickland for being very helpful since I joined the program.

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

2 CHAPTER 2: PREFABRICATION IN THE U.S. 5

2.1 Definition & Scope 5

2.2 History of Prefabricated Construction in the U.S. 6

2.3 Types of Prefabricated Construction in the U.S. 13

2.4 Construction Types 28

2.5 Prefabricated Construction Market in the U.S. 31

3 CHAPTER 4: REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION IN THAILAND 37

3.1 Overview of Real Estate in Thailand 37

3.2 Construction Methods in Thailand 38

4 CHAPTER 4: PREFABRICATION IN THAILAND 41

4.1 History of Prefabricated Construction in Thailand 41

4.2 Types of Prefabricated Construction in Thailand 43

4.3 Prefabricated Construction Market in Thailand 53

5.2 Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) 58

5.3 Metal Stud Concrete Panels 62

5.4 Prefabricated Wood Panels 65

5.5 Multifamily Modular 67

5.6 Product Comparison 70

APPENDIX A: CASE STUDY I 80

APPENDIX B: CASE STUDY II 86

APPENDIX C: STRUCTURE INSULATED PANELS (SIPS): ENERGY

APPENDIX D: METAL STUD CONCRETE PANEL: SLENDERWALL 90

APPENDIX E: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 91

Table 4.2: Low-Rise Residential Products 56

Table 4.3: Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential 56

Table 5.1: SIPs Finish Materials Comparison 58

Table 5.2: Foam Types Comparison 59

Table 5.3: Low-Rise Residential Products 71

Table 5.4: Mid-Rise & High-Rise Residential 71

Table 5.5: Selected products’ scores compared to local products 72

Figure 1.1: Level of decrease in project schedule and in project budget. 3

Figure 2.1: House by Mail by Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago 7

Figure 2.2: House of Tomorrow by George Fred Keck 8

Figure 2.3: Lustron home’s construction method 10

Figure 2.4: BIM model 12

Figure 2.5: Degree of Prefabrication 13

Figure 2.6: Fox Island House’s exterior construction 14

Figure 2.7: Steel “Building Skeleton”, Premier Inn 17

Figure 2.8: Metal Stud Framing for Non-Load-Bearing 18

Figure 2.9: Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) 19

Figure 2.11: Left: Structural Precast, Right: Architectural Precast 21

Figure 2.12: Wood Panelization 23

Figure 2.13: Section Diagram of Structural Insulated Panels 24

Figure 2.14: Modular Unit’s installation process 26