Comparative Cost Analysis Of Prefabricated Vs Conventional Method Of House Construction

The Conventional Method has always been the method used in house construction in the Philippines. This method mainly uses concrete hollow blocks for its walls and cement, sand and gravel for its concrete parts. This practice is time consuming, which lasts for several months depending on the size of the house to be constructed. On the other hand, the Prefabricated Method offers a faster way of house construction. This method uses precast panels assembled on site. Considering assembly, it will only take two hours to form the structure of the house. The main objective of this study is to make a comparative cost analysis between the two methods of house construction and to show which method is more cost effective and time efficient. The researcher used surveying, interviewing, and site visits to gather the materials. The plans for the Prefabricated was remodeled into a Conventional house and was estimated. There is a wide difference in terms of cost for a single house unit. The Conventional Method is by far cheaper compared to the Prefabricated Method but is time consuming. After thirty units, results show that the Prefabricated Method starts to be cost effective and highly time efficient. Thus, it can be concluded from these findings that the use of Conventional Method is cost effective for less than thirty units but is time consuming. Prefabricated Method, on the other hand, is cost effective and highly time efficient when considering mass production of thirty or more house units.