Did you know? Almost 11,000 new buildings are constructed every day all over the world. Countless building materials are used in every construction. From pavements, skyscrapers, tunnels, bridges, and underwater structures. In this blog, we will talk about the top 10 types of building materials used in the construction industry. Thus, every architect should be aware of them.
Concrete
Concerning the different types of building materials, concrete is the most used one. It includes cement, water, and fine & coarse aggregates. Chemical admixtures are also used to slow down the setting of concrete. The properties of concrete will depend on the quantity and mix ratio of the concrete ingredients. The usage of concrete has become crucial in the construction sector, where durability and strength are primary factors. Concrete is also used to construct bridges, towers, dams, roads, and buildings.
Cement
When it comes to the types of building materials, Cement is also a crucial one. It is a binding agent for construction materials. Cement is created by mixing different aluminous raw materials, calcareous, siliceous, and crushing the resulting clinkers in a refined powder. Also, another crucial factor about Cement is that it is the most costly ingredient. It comes in a wide array of forms. When you mix it with water, a chemical reaction starts, and the mixture turns into a paste which binds all the materials with it. The properties of Cement will also depend on the chemical composition, the degree of fineness and the manufacturing process. Cement is used in concrete to construct bridges, buildings, dams, plaster work, roads, railways and more.
Admixture
Admixture is one of the optional components of concrete. You can add it to modify the properties of the concrete and enhance its performance. The volume of admixtures you must add to the concrete mix will depend on the requirement. It varies from one site to the other. There are two types of admixtures – the mineral admixture and the chemical admixture.
Mineral Admixture: These are solid admixtures that replace the Cement in a concrete mix. The primarily used mineral admixtures are:
- Fly ash.
- Ground granulated blast furnace slag.
- Rice husk ash.
- Silica fume and metakaolin.
Chemical Admixtures: These are the liquid admixtures you add to the concrete mix to modify the concrete’s property.
Mortar
Mortar is one of the most-common type of construction material created with fine aggregates and binders. The most common binder in mortar is Cement. However, you can also use lime as a binder. When it comes to the different building materials, make sure that the mortar in the brick masonry is weaker than the bricks. This will ensure that the failure occurs in the mortar that can be easily repaired instead of the bricks. You can use them in plastering, masonry, patching, and repair.
Steel
You will find three types of steel used in the construction sector.
- Rebar Steel
- Chicken wire mesh
- Structural steel
Rebar Steel: Rebar steel is also known as steel reinforcement. It is a crucial component of modern construction. Rebar steel has higher compressive strength, but it’s weak in tension. Therefore, you must use steel to prevent the tension caused due to bending or lateral loads. Amongst all the metals, steel is the most suitable material for reinforcement because of its near same thermal expansion coefficient. For example, the thermal co-efficient of concrete is 14.5/degree centigrade, and that of steel is 12/per degree centigrade. Because of this steel property, it is much more compatible with concrete and other metals.
Chicken Wire Mesh: Chicken wire mesh used to construct Ferroconcrete, also known as Ferrocement, is a reinforced concrete structure made up of fine aggregates, Cement, square or hexagonal chicken wire mesh and water.
Structural Steel: Structural steel is an alloy made with manganese and carbon. It is a building block of structural steel like steel buildings, bridges, trusses and more. Since the structural steel is prefabricated at the factories, you can quickly erect it at the site. Thus, the overall construction process becomes easier. The best part is that using structural steel will also reduce the dead weight of the structure.
Bricks
Bricks are rectangular blocks made up of clay or sometimes mud:
- You can harden bricks with heat or a chemical process.
- The bricks are set with mortar.
- The glue holds them together in place and withstands the loads.
Also Check: 10 Factors to Consider Before Choosing Construction Materials Suppliers
At present, bricks are available in various varieties created with fly ash, concrete, calcium silicate, lime, ceramics and more. In addition, concrete bricks are getting more popular in the modern construction industry.
Stone
Stone is one of the oldest types of building materials available. Construction workers have used stone since ancient times. Mortar and natural rocks make up the stone masonry. The common types of stones are granite, sandstone, marble, laterite, and limestone. Stone masonry is followed in those places that have locally available stones. It is because stone masonry offers a better appearance to the building.
Timber
Timber is one of the oldest types of building materials. However, the use of wood is limited to creating doors, windows, cabinets, concert halls, shelves, interior decoration, and wooden sleepers. Primarily used timber from ash, oak, pine, fir, walnut, cypress, plywood or even redwood. Wood also helps to improve the beauty of the building. The uses of timber include walls, floors, roofing, frames, furniture, and interior decoration.
Glass
Construction workers use glass a lot to offer higher transparency and let more light into a building. Thus, there is no doubt that glass is one of the most common types of building materials. However, if you want to take things a bit further, you can choose recyclable glass with higher insulation properties. Many constructions include glass for making windows, doors, floors, non-load bearing walls, translucent bricks, and skylights—all this help to improve the overall appearance of the building.
Kevlar
Kevlar is stronger than metal body armour. The best part is it has high tensile strength. Thus, it is an asset to construct large buildings. In addition, it has a less rigid composition than steel. Therefore, it can reform the way we think about large load-bearing structures. However, it is still a new material. You can use Kevlar by turning it into sheet material for cladding, roofing, and reinforcing. Banks can use it to protect their bank counters. Also, architects can use it to create reinforced seismic shear walls.
In Conclusion
When it comes to the different types of building materials in construction, the ones mentioned above are the critical ones. As with all types of building materials in construction, accessibility plays a crucial role. You might find one of two materials not on this list that would be an obvious option in certain parts of the world. Thus, you must know the different materials around you, and you will have the complete resource for construction.
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