Construction Materials

1-wood

Wood is used a lot in construction, as well as in-home furnishings.

However, it should not be forgotten that it too needs to be sustainably
collected and, if possible, reused. Wood can be used for the building
structure, for walls, floors, and roof, but also for cladding, cornices,
floors, and finishes.

2- soil

Since ancient times the earth has been used to build houses mainly
with the clay technique. In this case, we are dealing with compressed
clay material to create a flat vertical surface. By using Portland
cement as a mixed binder like concrete, it is possible to arrive at a
technique called “casting soil”. We can add that this technique is
mostly used to satisfy specific requests on certain terrains. Of course,
we must not forget that earth is the oldest and most sustainable
building material there is, since ancient times. Currently, raw earth is
also used for finishes and to complete building envelopes.
 3-Metal

Metal is used as structural framework for larger buildings such as skyscrapers,

or as an external surface covering. There are many types of metals used for
building. Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, and is the usual
choice for metal structural construction. It is strong, flexible, and if refined well
and/or treated lasts a long time. Corrosion is metal's prime enemy when it
comes to longevity. The lower density and better corrosion resistance of
aluminium alloys and tin sometimes overcome their greater cost. Brass was
more common in the past, but is usually restricted to specific uses or specialty
items today. Metal figures quite prominently in prefabricated structures such as
the Quonset hut, and can be seen used in most cosmopolitan cities. It requires a
great deal of human labor to produce metal, especially in the large amounts
needed for the building industries. Other metals used include titanium, chrome,
gold, silver. Titanium can be used for structural purposes, but it is much more
expensive than steel. Chrome, gold, and silver are used as decoration, because
these materials are expensive and lack structural qualities such as tensile
strength or hardness.

4-Rock
Rock structures have existed for as long as history can recall. It is the longest
lasting building material available, and is usually readily available. There are
many types of rock through out the world all with differing attributes that make
them better or worse for particular uses. Rock is a very dense material so it
gives a lot of protection too, its main draw-back as a material is its weight and
awkwardness. Its energy density is also considered a big draw-back, as stone is
hard to keep warm without using large amounts of heating resources. Dry-stone
walls have been built for as long as humans have put one stone on top of
another. 

5-Concrete
Concrete is a composite building material made from the combination of
aggregate (composite) and a binder such as cement. The most common form of
concrete is Portland cement concrete, which consists of mineral aggregate
(generally gravel and sand), portland cement and water. After mixing, the
cement hydrates and eventually hardens into a stone-like material. When used in
the generic sense, this is the material referred to by the term concrete. For a
concrete construction of any size, as concrete has a rather low tensile strength, it
is generally strengthened using steel rods or bars (known as rebars). This
strengthened concrete is then referred to as reinforced concrete. In order to
minimise any air bubbles, that would weaken the structure, a vibrator is used to
eliminate any air that has been entrained when the liquid concrete mix is poured
around the ironwork. Concrete has been the predominant material in this
modern age due to its longevity, formability, and ease of transport.

6-Glass
Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small
openings in a building. They provided humans with the ability to both let light
into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside. Glass is
generally made from mixtures of sand and silicates, and is very brittle. Modern
glass "curtain walls" can be used to cover the entire facade of a building. Glass
can also be used to span over a wide roof structure in a "space frame".

7-Plastic

Plastic pipes penetrating a concrete floor in a Canadian highrise apartment building The term
plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization
products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived
from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are malleable, or have the property of
plasticity. Plastics vary immensely in heat tolerance, hardness, and resiliency. Combined with
this adaptability, the general uniformity of composition and lightness of plastics ensures their
use in almost all industrial applications today

8-Foam
Foamed plastic sheet to be used as backing for firestop mortar at CIBC bank in
Toronto. More recently synthetic polystyrene or polyurethane foam has been
used on a limited scale. It is light weight, easily shaped and an excellent
insulator. It is usually used as part of a structural insulated panel where the foam
is sandwiched between wood or cement.

9-Cement composites

Cement bonded composites are an important class of construction material.

These products are made of hydrated cement paste that binds wood or alike
particles or fibers to make precast building components. Various fibrous
materials including paper and fiberglass have been used as binders. Wood and
natural fibres are composed of various soluble organic compounds like
carbohydrates, glycosides and phenolics. These compounds are known to retard
cement setting. Therefore, before using a wood in making cement boned
composites, its compatibility with cement is assessed.

10-Thatch
Thatch is one of the oldest of materials known; grass is a good insulator and
easily harvested. Many African tribes have lived in homes made completely of
grasses year round. In Europe, thatch roofs on homes were once prevalent but
the material fell out of favour as industrialization and improved transport
increased the availability of other materials. Today, though, the practice is
undergoing a revival. In the Netherlands, for instance, many of new builds too
have thatched roofs with special ridge tiles on top.

11-Ceramics
Ceramics are such things as tiles, fixtures, etc. Ceramics are mostly used as
fixtures or coverings in buildings. Ceramic floors, walls, counter-tops, even
ceilings. Many countries use ceramic roofing tiles to cover many buildings.
Ceramics used to be just a specialized form of clay-pottery firing in kilns, but it
has evolved into more technical areas.

12-Brick and Block

A brick is a block made of kiln-fired material, usually clay or shale, but also may be
of lower quality mud, etc. Clay bricks are formed in a moulding (the soft mud
method), or in commercial manufacture more frequently by extruding clay through a
die and then wire-cutting them to the proper size (the stiff mud process). Bricks were
widely used as a construction material in the 1700, 1800 and 1900s. This was
probably due to the fact that it was much more flame retardant than wood in the ever
crowding cities, and fairly cheap to produce. Another type of block replaced clay
bricks in the late 20th century. It was the Cinder block. Made mostly with concrete.
An important low-cost material in developing countries is the Sandcrete block, which
is weaker but cheaper than fired clay bricks.

13-Mud and clay

The amount of each material used leads to different styles of buildings. The deciding factor is
usually connected with the quality of the soil being used. Larger amounts of clay usually mean
using the cob/adobe style, while low clay soil is usually associated with sod building. The other
main ingredients include more or less sand/gravel and straw/grasses. Rammed earth is both an old
and newer take on creating walls, once made by compacting clay soils between planks by hand,
now forms and mechanical pneumatic compressors are used. Soil and especially clay is good
thermal mass; it is very good at keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth
tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather. Clay holds heat or cold,
releasing it over a period of time like stone. Earthen walls change temperature slowly, so
artificially raising or lowering the temperature can use more resources than in say a wood built
house, but the heat/coolness stays longer. Peoples building with mostly dirt and clay, such as cob,
sod, and adobe, resulted in homes that have been built for centuries in western and northern
Europe as well as the rest of the world, and continue to be built, though on a smaller scale. Some
of these buildings have remained habitable for hundreds of years.

14-Bamboo
 This sustainable material is fast growing and strong for its weight,
and it is used in many building applications. This includes a concrete
replacement for rebars and as pins for straw bale building.

15-Masonry

Masonry is also an ancient building material and includes brick and

stone. Brick and stone are used for foundations, floors, walls, walkways,
and landscaping.

16-aluminum
 As the extraction process is relatively expensive, aluminium was generally not used
in construction until the early-20th century. In the 1920s, it began to be used primarily for
decorative detailing and Art Deco structures. In the 1930s, a breakthrough was achieved
when the Empire State Building used aluminium for much of its interior structures and its
famous spire. Subsequently, it began to be used for roofing, flashing, wall panels, spandrels,
and so on.Today, aluminium is the second most used metal in buildings after steel.
Because of its ductility, aluminium can be formed into many shapes and profiles. Aluminium
wall cladding systems are commonly used for building exteriors, with large wall panels
requiring fewer joints, resulting in time-efficient installation.
Some of the most common applications for aluminium are:
Window and door frames.
Rolling shutters and sun shading elements.
Long-span roof systems covering large areas such as halls and auditoriums.
Structures located in inaccessible places where the economy of transport and ease
of installation are important, such as electrical transmission towers.
Structures in corrosive or humid environments, such as swimming pools, bridges,
hydraulic structures, offshore superstructures, and so on.
Structures with moving sections, such as moving bridges Structures to which access
for maintenance is limited, such as masts, lighting towers, antenna towers, and so on.