Various Types of Building Materials Used in Construction

In this article, we explained all types of building materials that are used in construction also giving a List of building materials.

Types of Building Materials:

  1. Clay products
  2. Rocks and Stones
  3. Lime and Pozzolanic materials
  4. Cement concrete materials
  5. Timber
  6. Miscellaneous Material

1. Clay Products:

Clay products are the products that are made from clay (a mixture of soil and water) or indirectly made from soil. So the soil is also a types of building material that is directly or indirectly used in construction.

clay products as a types of building materials

Various types of clay product are given below.

  • Bricks
  • Tiles
  • Stoneware
  • Porcelain, etc.

i. Bricks:

Bricks are the most common types of building materials that are used from the Roman period.

Bricks are made from the clay.

In a building, bricks are used to make a wall or a building unit.

In Load-bearing structures, bricks wall are used as structural members that carry a superstructure load and transfer it to the ground soil. But, Now a day’s Framed structures are mostly used.

In framed structures, bricks walls are used to fill the space between column-beam framed.

ii. Tiles:

Tiles are made from clay after applying very high temperature on it. Tiles are used in a building for various purposes. The main function is to give a nice aesthetic view.

Tiles are used in building at a various location like Roof, Floor, Ceiling, Wall, For Dado work, For skirting, etc.

iii. Stoneware:

Stoneware is a type of poetry that is made from clay fired at a very high temperature. It is a non-porous and impervious material.

In a building, various types of stoneware material are used like, washbasin, sink, drain and sewer pipes, etc.

2. Rocks and Stones:

Rocks are the geological formation; its type is depending on its origin. Rocks are brake in small fragments known as a stone.

Mostly stones are used to construct walls in a building. There are lots of uses of stone in construction like

uses of stones in construction
  • To construct floors, roofs, etc.
  • To construct Partition walls
  • In a concrete as aggregate
  • In railway tracks as a ballast
  • In a road construction
  • Used as a seal of doors and window
  • To construct rockfill dams
  • To construct riprap on earthen dams
  • Used as a milestone on roads
  • Used in temples
  • To construct bridge piers, etc.

3. Lime and pozzolanic materials:

uses of lime and fly ash in construction

Lime:

Lime is made from limestone. Lime is used as a binding material in construction.

In the past, lime is used to prepare mortar, concreting work in the foundation and construction of the other elements of the building.

But now a day’s, cement replaces most of the uses of lime in the building. But lime is also used in the construction industry, for whitewashing work, plastering work, color painting work, etc.

Pozzolanic materials:

Generally, Fly ash is the most common type of pozzolanic material that can be obtained naturally or artificially.

Naturally flyash obtain from the soil, shale, pumice and volcanic ash, etc.

Artificially, fly ash obtain from the power plants or others factories where coals are burned.

Flyash is used in construction to change the material’s property. Generally, it is used in cement to reduce the heat of hydration. Flyash is also used in concrete as an admixture to improve the workability of concrete, and reduce the cost of concrete.

4. Cement concrete materials:

Cement concrete material are given below.

cement and concrete materials
  • Cement
  • Sand
  • Aggregate
  • Water

i. Cement:

Cement is used as a binding material in construction that is made by a wet or dry process. The calcareous and argillaceous raw materials are used to make cement in the factory. The cement manufacturing process consists of the mixing of raw material, burning, and grinding process.

Gypsum is added into the cement to avoid flash setting of cement.

Various types of cement used in construction. Each types of cement have its own application which is we already discuss in other article.

Also read: 14 Types of Cement and its Uses in Construction | Full Explain

Generally, cement is used to make mortar, plain concrete, reinforced cement concrete, plaster, etc. in buildings.

ii. Sand:

Sand is an inactive material. Sand is obtained by breaking stones in small fragments.

Sand is used in concrete to fill space between coarse aggregate, avoid honeycombing, reduced cement content, and make well-graded concrete that has great workability.

Sand is also known as fine aggregate.

iii. Course Aggregate:

Coarse Aggregates are obtained from the stones by breaking them into small fragments. Aggregates are classified as per their shape, density, size, and textures.

The maximum strength of concrete depends on aggregate density. So it is used in concrete to increase the toughness, compressive strength of concrete.

As per size it is defined as the aggregate that is more than 4.75mm.

Various size of aggregate available in a market, like 4.75mm, 10mm, 12mm, 20mm, 25mm, 40mm, etc.

Coarse aggregate is used in a concrete to increase the strength, volume, density, durability of concrete.

iv. Water:

Water is used for the various purposes in construction like in concrete, for curing, for cleaning, etc.

For concreting work, water should be portable. Water is used in concrete to chemically react with cement and increase the workability of concrete.

Water should be free from impurities.

5. Timber:

Timber is a types of building material that is obtained from teak, Arjun, babool, bamboo, Jamun, Khair, sal, mango wood, etc.

uses of timber in construction

Timber is an unforgettable types of building material that is used in construction for all purposes. Now a day’s uses of timber decreased due to the coming of steel, plastic, and other materials. But in past, the whole building is made of timber material. Also, bridges, their piers, are made of timber.

Now a day’s use of timber is decreased due to other alternatives, and its defects, fire-resisting property, decay property, etc.

 Timber is used in construction for formwork, support system for shoring, timbering, cofferdam, wooden dam, scaffolding, railways sleepers, skirting board, dado rail, fencing poles, electrical poles, etc.

Timber used in buildings for doors, windows, furniture, floors, jambs, sills, beam, columns, roofs, card boards, wall papers, etc.

Seasoned timber is used in construction.

6. Miscellaneous Materials:

The lists of miscellaneous materials are as follows.

  • Plastic and PVC materials
  • Glass
  • Paints and Varnish
  • Adhesive materials
  • Sound insulating materials
  • Asbestos
  • Fibers
  • Steels
  • Asphalt, Bitumen, Tar, etc.

i. Plastic and PVC materials:

Plastic:

Plastic is created from organic materials. Now a day’s plastic becomes the best alternatives of all materials in every sector due to various factors like,

  • Easy to cast in any shape
  • Negligible atmospheric effects on its
  • Lightweight
  • Insulator of electricity
  • Cheaper compare to other
  • Not affected by insects, termites, etc.
Uses of Plastic in construction:

There are lots of uses of plastic in construction sector. Some uses are listed below.

  • It can be used as a,
  • Floor tiles
  • Window, doors, etc.
  • Frames of the window, doors, etc.
  • Roofing sheets
  • Skirting
  • Shutters
  • Waterproofing material
  • Ferules ceiling material
  • Heat insulating material
  • Sound insulating material
  • Utensils
  • Furniture’s
  • Wallpapers
  • Partition walls
  • Plastic formwork, etc.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polyvinyl chloride is the one form of plastic that is made by the polymerization process of vinyl chloride. PVC is light in weight, easy to cast, and flammable material. It quickly burns when it with contact with fire.

PVC is used as Drain pipes, sewer pipes, roofing sheets, water tanks, floor sheets, drain-sewer fixtures and fastenings, doors, windows, etc. in building construction.

ii. Glass:

Glass is a transparent crystal material. I think all of you know about it due to its lots of general uses.

Blass is a transparent brittle material that is made from a silicate liquid. Properties of glass are given below.

  • It is a brittle material.
  • Negligible effects of chemicals on the glass.
  • It is a transparent material, so it easily transmits light through it.
  • Easy to cast in any shape.
  • Easy to clean.

Glass is used as panels of windows and doors, architectural scenery, glazing material, decoration materials, partition walls, etc., in construction.

iii. Paints and Varnish:

Paints and varnish are used in construction to give a great aesthetic view of materials, increase durability, increase corrosion resistance, increase resistance against atmospheric action, termite, insects, etc.

Paints are applied on timber goods, steel, etc.

iv. Adhesive Materials:

Adhesive are bonding agents that is used to join materials by gluing.

Adhesive materials are used in construction to attached veneers to make plywood, assembling wooden units, stick wallpapers on wall, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning joints, for roofing, pre-fabricated panels, wall covering, etc.

Various types of adhesive used in construction that is given below.

  • Polymer adhesive
  • Hot melt adhesive
  • Acrylic adhesive
  • Resin adhesive
  • Anaerobic adhesive
  • Epoxy adhesive, etc.

v. Sound insulating materials:

Sound insulating materials are light in weight, have a less density, more porous, thicker and soft.

Straw board, fiberboard, hair felt, porous materials, glass wool, particles board, etc. are the types of sound insulating materials used in construction.

vi. Asbestos:

Asbestos is a natural material that is composed of long and thin fibrous crystal.

Asbestos is used as roofing materials, fireproofing material, thermal insulating materials, etc. in building construction.

vii. Fibers:

fibers are the longer material made by naturally or manmade.

Fibers are used in construction to change the properties of concrete. Fiber helps to improve the durability of concrete. It increases tensile strength, fatigue strength, the impact strength of concrete.

Now a day’s fiber reinforced concrete becomes most popular that is explained already in another article.

viii. Steel:

Steel is a ductile material that is used to increase the tensile strength of the beam, column, slab, and other structural concrete elements.

Steel increases the load carrying capacity of structural elements.

Types of steel used in construction is already discuss in another article please go and see it for more knowledge.

Also Read: Types of steel used in reinforced cement concrete

List of Building Materials:

  • Brick
  • Aggregate
  • Sand
  • Cement
  • Wood
  • Aluminium
  • Asbestos
  • Asphalt
  • Bitumen
  • Brass
  • Soil
  • Concrete
  • Copper
  • Heat insulating materials
  • Lime
  • Fat lime
  • Flyash
  • Glass
  • Lead
  • Coal
  • Paints
  • Varnish
  • Plastics
  • Adhesive materials
  • Fibers
  • Rubber
  • Sound Insulated materials
  • Steel
  • Stones
  • Tar
  • Tiles
  • Water
  • Ceramic

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