After the end of World War II, the massive construction of residential buildings began. In those years, the construction was to be carried out quickly and cheaply, so it was decided to erect panel houses. The first panel house in Moscow was built in 1948, and since then the mass construction of such high-rise buildings throughout the USSR has begun. Residential buildings are fully consistent with post-war policies. Fairly cheap buildings provided housing for a large number of the population of a huge country. However, such buildings have been erected for a long time, and the life of a panel house is not eternal, therefore, every resident of such buildings needs to know this information.
What is Khrushchev?
Many of us have heard that there is such a
type of house as Khrushchev. When Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev came to power, a resolution was adopted "On eliminating excesses in design and construction." This meant that now the houses should be built very quickly and with a minimum cost due to the deterioration of the layout and reduction of the living space.
This decision was adopted in 1956. Since then, many different house designs have been created that have been erected throughout the Soviet Union. Throughout the reign of Khrushchev, precisely such structures were built, and even after his death, the Khrushchevs continued to be erected.
The construction of such houses in the capital ceased only in 1972. In the Moscow region, budget houses were built before 1981, and in some regions of the country, construction continued until the end of the 80s.
Such houses have a number of specific features: tiny kitchens and hallways, low ceilings - 2.5 meters (for comparison: in Stalin's buildings, ceilings could exceed a height of 4 meters). In many apartments the rooms were adjoining.
Today, most of the five-story buildings in Moscow are planned for demolition, but there are 9-storey panel houses, the perspective of which is not yet clear.
Panel Building Series
The mass construction of such residential premises, as mentioned above, began with the coming to power of Khrushchev, so to this day there is such a name for houses as Khrushchev. They are notable for their rather low quality and small footage. Moreover, the first panel houses were very weak, and the life of the panel house built in the 50s of the last century was very short.
Residential building series 1-480
The houses of this series are typical representatives of their time. Between 1960 and 1970 these buildings were erected throughout the USSR. It is worth noting that this is a panel-brick house. Due to this, it has an extended service life. Ideally, its service life is 95 years - provided that the structure is properly serviced: capital works will be carried out exactly on schedule. Otherwise, it is believed that the house will become unusable in 37 - 72 years.
In practice, unfortunately, a significant part of the buildings is not properly maintained, therefore, in this case, you can’t count on 95 years. A series of houses 1-480 is a classic representative of its time. Inside the apartments there is a fairly small area. Ceiling height is only 2.48 m, there are small kitchens and adjacent rooms.
However, despite all these shortcomings, this house is considered a fairly successful model. On its basis, 9- and 10-story houses began to be designed.
Residential building series 1-467
Another classic representative of the panel Khrushchev. Such buildings are cheap. If the previous model, in addition to panels, implied the use of bricks, then in this case the structure was completely erected using concrete panels. In such houses there are no elevators and garbage chutes. Their construction was carried out in most cities of the USSR.
Initially, it was believed that such houses should last 25 years, and then they should have been demolished, and new ones should be built in their place. However, over time, the life of the panel house was increased to 50 years. To date, this series of houses is being demolished in Moscow and St. Petersburg, however, in most cities of Russia such "panels" are quite common and do not even stand in the line for demolition in the coming years.
Mass construction of the 1-467 series began in 1959 and continued until the early 70s. Such houses have 4-5 floors, the height of their ceilings is 2.5 meters. The outer walls are made of lightweight concrete, the thickness of which is 40 cm. The indoor units are 39 cm thick, and the interior walls are 8 cm thick. Due to the rather thin walls, many residents of such structures complain of very low sound insulation. The advantages of such houses include the fact that there are great opportunities for redevelopment of the premises.
Residential buildings of a series 1-439, 1-439
This series of houses belongs to the economy class. They were built in almost all regions of Russia. These are typical panel houses with ordinary and end sections. In such facilities were 1-, 2- and 3-room apartments. In the basements are all
engineering communications.The construction of such houses ended in 1966. Separately, it is worth noting that the seams in a panel house of this type are not as pronounced as in similar series. The construction was completely carried out using large concrete blocks 40 cm thick. All apartments had balconies or loggias, with the exception of those located on the ground floor.
The layout of the panel house was not entirely successful, all two-bedroom apartments had adjacent rooms. Due to this, the corridor was reduced, in addition, there is a very small kitchen (about 5 square meters), however, as in all Khrushchevs.
As for the term of operation of a panel house, a rather interesting situation has turned out here. The term was originally called 25 years, but then it was decided that these structures could survive for 50 years. Now the service life of this type of building has been extended to 120 years, but with the condition that the house must undergo major repairs every 25 years.
Residential building series 1-335
Another standard panel Khrushchev, most of which was erected in Leningrad, in the eastern part of the city. Also, few such structures were erected in Cherepovets, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd and the cities of Belarus. In Moscow, this series of "panels" was built very little: in several areas of the capital 3-5 buildings.
To date, such houses are being demolished in Moscow; it is planned that at the end of 2017 there will be no more at all. The service life of such a house is 60 years. In St. Petersburg, these buildings are not on the list for priority demolition. They mostly try to make major repairs, and especially dilapidated structures are demolished as necessary.
Unfortunately, this building is considered the most unsuccessful among all the houses of the Khrushchev series. However, despite this unpleasant fact, the 1-335 series is the cheapest building for the entire existence of the homebuilding industry in the Soviet Union. The cost of constructing 1 square meter of the structure cost only 95 rubles (prices until 1961).
Cons of panel houses
Prefabricated houses of 1956-1969 have a very bad reputation among the local population. The main objective of that time was not the construction of quality housing, but speed and cheapness. Despite the fact that some panel houses of the Khrushchev period were extended to 150 years, these are rather fabrications of local managers. All panel Khrushchevs of the 50s-60s were created for 25 years as temporary structures. In Moscow at the moment there are practically no such houses left, which can not be said about other regions of the former USSR. Redevelopment of such residential premises is possible if the partitions inside the apartment are not bearing.
Modern panel houses
Modern series of prefabricated houses that are being built at the present time, have significantly better quality. At the same time, such advantages as cheapness and speed of construction of structures remained. Usually the construction of modern "panels" does not take much time, on average about 10 months. Also, such houses have fairly flat walls, compared to classic brick houses.
The speed of construction of a monolithic or brick house is much lower; houses from these materials have been built for about 3 years. Layouts of panel houses, which are being built at the present time, have become more thoughtful. The rooms in the apartments are separate, and the kitchens have significantly increased in size.
Moreover, modern technologies can solve the problem of thermal insulation. External insulation and air conditioning do their job, now in panel houses it is dry and warm. As for sound insulation, everything is left here, as it was. Unfortunately, the neighbors hear very clearly everything that is happening behind their wall: the crying of a child, a quarrel or just a loud TV. But it is worth paying tribute to modern building materials. Houses that were built no earlier than 2015 still have quite good sound insulation, and although it is inferior to the sound insulation of a brick house, audibility has become much lower.
In the USSR, panel houses did not differ in the variety of exterior decoration. Often it was just concrete slabs, sometimes they could be tiled. Now the panels can be of various colors and shapes, thanks to which modern designers create very unusual and beautiful building facades.
The advantages of prefabricated houses
Despite the large number of disadvantages of panel Khrushchev, several fairly significant advantages can be distinguished. First of all, the speed of construction. During the time of Khrushchev, a lot of people received their living space from the state. All thanks to the fact that the houses were built very quickly and for relatively little money.
As for the price, in this case, panel houses were and are leaders in saving money on construction. Due to the low cost of construction, citizens of the Soviet Union who could not get housing from the state could raise money to join a cooperative and get housing, the price of which was much lower than brick buildings.
Construction price
To date, the price of apartments in panel houses is much lower than the market. For example, the average price of 1 square meter in a Moscow prefabricated house is about 146 thousand rubles, and in a monolithic one - about 158 thousand rubles. At the same time, modern series of prefabricated houses have an extended service life. With proper maintenance, such buildings can last at least 150 years.
Conclusion
Prefabricated houses during the reign of Khrushchev are special buildings that were not intended for long-term operation. According to the architects' projects, the service life of the classical Khrushchev was about 25 years. Then these buildings were to be demolished, and in their place it was planned to build better structures.
In large cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, old panel houses are still demolished. However, in many areas of the country they extend their life and do not even plan to demolish in the near future. Therefore, before buying your own housing in a panel house, you need to ask how old this building is. Otherwise, the buyer may experience significant problems with the house, which has already served its allotted time.