Background of Russian Housing

 

During the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the priority of building was mostly on cultural facilities, manufacturing plants, and hospitals. The construction of housing units had a low priority until the late 1940’s when mainly "Stalin Era" housing complexes consisting of five storied apartment units were constructed. Another spurt of concentrated residential construction units occurred in the late 60’s under the leadership of Soviet Premier Khrushchev. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992, the Russian government has been experiencing a difficult time of stabilization and reform as it shifts to a free market economy.

In 1996 the Russian government initiated the Our Home federal housing program. This program backed by $13.4 billion was a four-year program that encouraged the use of affordable materials such as wood for residential construction. One of the plan’s primary goals is to reduce the completed cost of residences 20 to 25 percent by converting from masonry construction to wood frame construction. The completed cost is not to exceed about two months average per capita income per square meter. A secondary goal is the development of a method of financing the purchase of housing units. The program also allowed 5 percent of the funds to be utilized by individuals constructing their own homes. (Lukianov, 1996) The program did not address the ownership of land which still must belong to either a regional or local government, a joint stock company or condominium association.

The Our Home Program had limited success. The goal of 80 percent of the homes being built with wood frame construction by 2000 was not achieved. High rise masonry and concrete construction maintained its dominance of the Russian housing sector.

Since 1996 over 57 legislative initiatives have been enacted to encourage housing and home ownership. The basis of this legislation included topics from privatization of housing, creation of a home mortgage system, and energy savings policies (Ogorodnikov, 1999). This legislation has helped produce some new home construction, but most individuals live in units produced before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Recent agreements have expanded the 1995 Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission that promoted Canadian wood frame housing technology as well as work force development and training. Recent Russian legislation, Construction Norms and Regulations 31 will take effect January 1, 2002. This legislation adopts a new residential building code based on the Canadian residential construction code. The new code includes an energy conservation section and incorporates the use of current technology such as engineered lumber, structural insulating panels, and insulating concrete forms. An additional target of the legislation is the construction of 10,000 homes based on the code in the next five years. (Munro, 2001)

Increased energy efficiency of living units is a key element of the legislation. Most apartments built during Soviet times were solid masonry or precast concrete panels with little or no insulation. Additionally, tenants were previously furnished heat and electricity almost free. Privatization of the utility companies will have consumers paying the entire cost of their electricity and heating cost by 2005. Since 2000 the federal government has reduced the subsidy to the utility companies forcing the charges to the consumer to increase. The subsidy will be reduced by 20 percent until it is withdrawn in 2005. This increase in utility costs is making more builders conscious of the energy efficiency of the buildings being constructed.

Several Canadian firms are actively participating in several joint ventures to reach this target. Model homes in Moscow, Tver, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Nakhodka were constructed in 2001 generating interest and contracts for wood frame homes. Typically these models were two story, 150 square meter homes with a completed cost ranging from $300 to $450 per square meter. This cost is approximately the same as units of similar size in high-rise condominium projects but much more comfortable and desirable. This method also utilized the vast forest product resources of Russia. (Munro, 2001).

In Rostov-on-Don Nascor of Alberta, Canada has built a plant to construct structural insulating panels, engineered lumber floor joints, and trusses. This facility is an investment of almost $2 million dollars into the wood frame light construction industry. Nascor is planning on developing other facilities in other parts of Russia.

Most individuals in Russia live in highly concentrated housing units clustered together. The multi-storied units vary from five to 12 or 16 stories. The lower storied units can contain sixty or more independent units with the taller buildings up to three hundred units (NAHBRC, 1997). The units consist of a kitchen, bath, and several other rooms that can serve multiple purposes. A room can be used as a living area, be converted to a dining room, and then used for sleeping the same day. The size of the units can be from 300 to 500 square feet (28 to 45 square meters). Usually 4 people live in a three-room unit. The living space per person is about 100 square feet (9 square meters) (Ogorodnikov, 1999).

A combination locked steel door opens to a central stairwell. Most units are accessed from this central stairwell that provides access to four units per floor. There can be several stairwells providing admittance to different portions of the building. When the structure exceeds five floors, the Russian National Building Code requires a small elevator. Another steel door with a combined entry and deadlock provides entry to the unit. The kitchen is about 50 square feet (4.5 square meters). It contains a sink, refrigerator with a 20 cubic foot capacity, and a multiple burner stove and oven. A small table with two to three chairs may also be in the room. A bathroom of about 30 square feet (2.8 square meter) will contain a toilet, lavatory, and bathtub. Usually, a single faucet services both the tub and lavatory. The unit's domestic hot water, which also serves as the heat source, is supplied from a central coal fired plant.

The construction materials for the housing are mostly masonry and concrete. Older units built up until 1950’s have exterior brick walls 12 to 16 inches thick. Many of these buildings have an exterior cementitious veneer tooled to resemble large granite blocks. Newer units employ the use of precast concrete panels. The panel's exterior surface is either plain concrete, exposed aggregate, ceramic tiles, or another type of decorative finish. Despite the severe temperature ranges from winter temperatures -60^o F to summer temperatures approaching 90^o F, with an average annual temperature near freezing, most exterior walls have little to no insulation. Exterior panels have openings formed into them to allow for the placement of standardized doors and windows. Most of the manufacturing plants utilized the standardized molds to cast the panels; the housing units are very similar throughout the region.

In residence where wall and ceiling insulation included in them, most of the insulation is composed of a rock wool. In some cases the insulation was a by-product of ash from factories producing military instruments and contain traces of radium. In some buildings the emission rates are as high as 2,000 microrem per hour and above acceptable levels (Lagnado, 1999). In some other buildings phenol and formaldehyde were added to wall panels to improve their insulating characteristics. Tests undertaken from 1996 to 1998 indicate that phenol levels in apartments with these panels are 8 to 9.6 times higher than what is considered safe and the Formaldehyde levels are three to four times above acceptable levels (Shulyakovskaya, 2001).

The casement style windows measuring about 3 feet x 3 feet (1 meter x 1 meter) are constructed of two wood sashes in wooden jams creating a dead air space of about 6 inches. A spring bronze type weather stripping might be included in the glazing system. For the last twenty years, the single glazing has been replaced with thermopane units. Recently the use of vinyl plastics for the sash jams has been introduced. The vinyl windows currently are costing more than the wooden windows. Because of the climatic conditions and the relationship with the efficiency of window units, several research projects are currently being conducted by the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to improve the efficiency of windows and glazing.

The floor systems in most units are wooden floor joists and utilize approximately one inch floor decking. In units built in the last 30 years a cast in place concrete or precast floor system is used. The interior walls of the units are either three-inch thick masonry or concrete panels with a plaster covering or 1x wood fence-like panels held in place by wooden tracks. The ceilings are plaster. Most of the walls, doors and windows are painted and there maybe linoleum floor coverings and area rugs but most of the floors are painted as well.

One or two single 220-volt convenience outlets are located in each room. A single pole switch operates a ceiling mounted light fixture. Commonly, additional surface mounted fixtures with surface mounted wiring might exist. The supply plumbing varies with the age of the units from galvanized steel to plastic. Most of the drain waste and vent piping is cast iron. The hot water for both domestic use and to supply the cast iron radiators is provided from a large coal fired generating plant. These facilities service the entire community. Prior to the recent change in the political and economic structure and the fall of the Soviet Union housing was provided to the residents at no charge. Currently the unmetered supply is billed on a per square foot basis at a rate subsidized by the government. This subsidy is being reduced by 20% per year. The subsidy is scheduled to expire in 2005. This policy has a very significant economic impact on the Russian people (Ogorodnikov, 1999).

The low-sloped roofs at a pitch of about 5/12 are covered with a thin corrugated cementitious product. Many units also have a narrow thirty square foot balcony most of which have been enclosed to create a green house or clothes drying area.

 

Typical Single Family Housing Units

 

Some one-to-four family homes exist. Historically, they were built very similarly to the high-density multifamily housing. Some units exist that are built from logs. Many of these structures have wooden siding attached to the exterior obscuring the log structure. Many of the older units have ornate windows.

Current new homes being constructed by commercial home builders are mostly produced utilizing masonry and precast products. The foundations are composed of two foot tall, two foot wide, by six-foot long solid concrete blocks placed into ten-foot deep excavations. The 16 to 20 inch exterior walls are a sandwich of three to four inches of rigid insulation between aerated autoclaved concrete block interior and a brick exterior. The brick exterior may be exposed, covered with stucco or in some cases even vinyl siding. The structure for the roof is site built from dimensional lumber. The roofing products vary between cement tiles, clay tiles or metal roofing. The interior walls are plastered autoclave aerated concrete block or brick. The floor system is constructed of precast panels.

Over the last three to four years wood frame house construction with approximately 2x6 exterior walls with batt insulation and a drywall interior have been introduced. These homes have an exterior covering of a brick veneer, cementitious or wood siding.

In June 1991, officially registered tenants had the option of acquiring title to the individual units. A fee calculated on the floor area of the unit was established and only a small percentage of individuals purchased their units. In December 1992 the law was amended to allow the purchase of the units for only a small processing fee (NAHBRC, 1997). Currently about two thirds of the housing units have been privatized. Legislation recently enacted permits the ownership of commercial and residential land by Russian citizens and foreigners. Only about 2 percent percentage of Russia’s land is included in this legislation. Agricultural land is excluded. Until this legislation, buildings, and the right to use land, including agricultural could be sold but the title to the actual land stayed with either an agricultural cooperative, government agency, commercial or industrial enterprise. (Yevgenia Borisova, Weary Duma Signs Off on Land Code, MT Jul 16, 2001)

Agricultural roots of the society influence another aspect of Russian housing. 60 percent of the current population produces almost half of the Russian agricultural yield. Even city dwellers grow the majority of the food they eat. In addition to their housing unit, families have access to agricultural land divided up into plots of about 7,000 square feet (650 square meters). Many business enterprises and manufacturing facilities create cooperatives that control tracts of agricultural land. Individuals, usually employees, rent the plots referred to as "dachas". The dachas could be located up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the prime residence of the family. Many of the families construct one to two room cabins on these properties that are currently being rented from the cooperative at about $10 per year. The units may be supplied with electricity and cold water. The sanitary facilities at the dachas are outhouses. The individuals may also have access to a cold cellar for produce storage and a garage/storage facility in other locations.

A functioning real estate market exists and the sale of individual housing units is occurring. The Russian Guild of Realtors was founded in July of 1992. (Naumenko, 2001). The sale of units is hindered by the lack of a strong mortgage industry. Cash funds most new construction and it is not unusual for a builder to stop work on the project if the owner stops payment.

Following the acquisition of housing units by those living in them in the early 90’s a small residential real estate market developed. Properties were bought and sold but the entire purchase was cash and lenders had difficultly educating consumers that using credit was not strange. A word for mortgages did not exist in the Russian language until recently, when ipoteka was coined. The Agency for Mortgage and Housing Credits was created in 1997 to establish a mortgage banking system similar to Fannie Mae. It is designed to create a secondary mortgage market that provides methods for the sale of mortgages to investors. Unlike Fannie Mae, pension funds are prohibited from investing in the Agency for Mortgage and Housing Credits. Possibly this resulted in sufficient funding and few mortgages were initiated. (Wolfe, 2000)

In 1999, Delta Credit, an investment company associated with the United States – Russia Investment Fund, was started. Since then Delta Credit has initiated mortgages in Moscow and several other regions. The 10-year mortgages fund 70 percent of the purchase price at interest rates near 15 percent. Payments are based in dollars, payable in rubles. (Thompson, 2001). This accounts for fluctuations in the exchange rate between the two currencies.

The Mortgage Corporation of the Moscow region was chartered in late 2000 with a capital investment of 50 million rubles. The Moscow regional government has a 51 percent ownership of this mortgage company and has pledged 100 million rubles (currently 30.12 rubles = 1 USD) in 2002 and 2003 to the Corporation to attract other investors. It is forecasting to have in place 1,500 mortgages by 2004. It is planning on offering mortgages to cover a maximum of 50 percent of the cost of the residence at a 12 percent rate for up to 15 years. This mortgage can be paid in rubles. (Vedomosti, 2001).  

Recently, a movement has been initiated to develop energy efficient single-family housing that includes many aspects of environmentally friendly building. These units include the use of insulated walls and insulating glazing. The term Ecodom has been developed to refer to this type of new construction.

The units also include both passive and active solar features. The passive solar features provide an area to support the home gardening that many Russians do. The active solar features include the storage of heat acquired over the summer in phase changing salts stored in chambers located in the basements. The heat accumulators are being developed by the Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They utilize inexpensive, widely available salts that undergo a phase change. In a normal season enough heat can be stored during the summer to maintain a comfortable interior temperatures into late February requiring supplemental heat source into late May. The same salts are then reused. Currently no data is available predicting the active life of the salts.

An integral feature of ECODOM is a well-insulated structure. Several inches of rigid insulation are sandwiched into the exterior walls. Additional insulation is provided by the use of low-density aerated concrete block for the exterior structural walls. The solid exterior walls of the dwelling also reduce air infiltration into the structure. Fresh air is supplied through heat exchanging ventilators.

The domestic water source can be from a central system if the structure is located in an urban area. In isolated areas artesian wells may provide water but much of the underground water supply is polluted and requires treatment prior to use. Several designs of the structures incorporate a system to collect and store precipitation in cisterns. Included in the sanitary system of the structure is the use of gray water from lavatories and washing facilities in the green house area. The water irrigates the vegetation and collects in a storage compartment and is recycled to flush toilets and then processed in a conventional individual septic system. The use of composting toilets is also considered in some projects but these do increase the need for a mechanical ventilation system to eliminate gasses created during the composting process. (Ogorodnikov, I. A, Makarova, O., & Dyvinia, E. 2001)

Currently, several builders are actively building these structures but much of the design is being adapted so that individual homeowners can construct the residences by themselves. A survey conducted in the Novosibirsk Region found that about 80% of those polled would consider assisting in the construction of their own residence. (Ogorodnikov) The land ownership issues are being met by the formation of condominium associations acquiring land specifically for developments committed for the creation of communities dedicated to sustainable development.

The Russian housing industry is moving to become a free market economy. Recent changes in legislation that enable the ownership of real property and the development of a mortgage system are facilitating this change. Foreign support of the mortgage market and building material manufacturing is also assisting the positive direction that is happening. The movement to increase the energy awareness by builders should have a positive influence on Russia’s housing. The opportunities for builders in Russia are very strong.