All of the architectural constructions are made up of a variety of materials. These materials are referred to as construction materials or building materials. It is essential for a builder, whether an architect, engineer, or contractor, to have a solid understanding of various building materials. Knowledge of many types of materials, their qualities, and applications for various reasons provides a valuable tool in the hands of builders in attaining material cost savings.

A building’s material costs range from 35 to 50 percent of the total construction cost. Aside from material economy, proper material usage results in increased structural strength, functional efficiency, and aesthetic appeal.

So, let’s have a look at some of the most important building materials used in today’s construction industry.

List of Important Building Materials

The utilisation of building materials varies from country to country. This is due to the materials’ scarcity. However, some of the most significant construction materials are available worldwide and are frequently used.

• Bricks
• Rock & Stones
• Cement
• Aggregates
• Water
• Lime
• Concrete
• Metal
• Ceramics
• Paint
• Wood

Bricks

Due to its affordability, durability, and ease of use, brick remains one of the most popular and leading construction materials. Exterior and interior walls, partitions, piers, footings, and other load-bearing constructions are all constructed using clay bricks.

A brick has a rectangular shape and is small enough to be handled with one hand. Bricks can be produced of burnt clay, a sand-lime combination, or Portland cement concrete. Clay bricks are frequently utilised because they are inexpensive and readily available. 

Rocks & Stones

The natural, hard substance generated from minerals and earth particles found in rocks has been defined as stone. The component of the earth’s crust that has no definite shape and structure is known as rock. Minerals and organic materials make up almost all rocks, which have a distinct chemical composition.

Quartz, felspar, mica, dolomite, and other rock-forming minerals are examples. Granite, basalt, trap, marble, slate, sandstone, and limestone are the most common types of rocks used to make building stones.

Stone is traditionally used in building construction in the areas where it is mined, though its high cost limits its use even there. Cost, fashion, ornamental value, and durability are the factors that influence stone choices for structural purposes.

With the introduction of cement and steel, stone has steadily lost its prominence as a building material. Moreover, the strength of stone-built structural parts cannot be reasonably assessed.

Other main issues obstructing its use are the challenges in transporting and dressing it, both of which take a long period and result in a slow construction speed.

Cement

Cement can be defined as an adhesive and cohesive material capable of bonding solid matter particles into a compact, hard mass.

They are limited to calcareous cements with lime compounds as their main constituents for civil engineering projects, with the primary function of binding fine (sand) and coarse (grits) aggregate particles together.

Hydraulic and non-hydraulic cements are two types of cement used in the construction industry. Non-hydraulic lime and other materials that are unstable in water, such as Plaster of Paris, do not set and harden in water. Hydraulic cement sets and hardens in water, resulting in a stable product. One such example is Portland cement.

Today, cement is widely used in all types of construction projects, particularly in structures requiring high strength, such as bridge piers, lighthouses, and tall towers, as well as massive constructions such as bridges, silos, and chimneys. Also in constructions that are subjected to the effect of water, such as reservoirs, dams, dock yards, and so on.

Aggregates

Aggregates are the materials that are primarily utilised in the creation of mortar and concrete as a filler and binding material. They are made from igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, as well as blast furnace slag and other materials.

Aggregates make up the concrete’s body, prevent shrinkage, and save expense. They take up 70-80% of the volume and have a significant impact on the concrete’s qualities. As a result, getting the proper type and quality of aggregates on site is critical.

Initially, aggregates were thought to be chemically inert, but new research has revealed that some of them are chemically active, and that certain types exhibit chemical bonds at the aggregate-cement paste interface.

Water

The use of water with cement is intended to cause hydration of the cement. Excess water acts as a lubricant between coarse and fine aggregates, resulting in a workable and cost-effective concrete.

When there is an excess of water, the cement, along with the water, rises to the surface by capillary action and produces a thin layer known as laitance on the surface. This degrades the link between consecutive concrete lifts.

Excess water may leak through the form work, resulting in honeycombed concrete, which becomes porous as it dries. On the other side, less water makes working with concrete more difficult, and the resulting concrete is poorer in strength due to non-uniform mixing.

Therefore, to manufacture concrete of the quality required for a work, the amount of water used must be restricted. Water is also utilised for curing and cleaning aggregates.

Lime

Lime was the primary cementing material in building construction until Portland cement was invented. The use of Portland cement has nearly overtaken the use of lime, but lime is still used in regions where it is locally available and during periods of shortage of Portland cement. Typically, free lime in free state is not found in nature.

Calcium carbonate, which is obtained by calcining lime stone, is the raw material used to make lime (CaO). Tufa, limestone boulders, and kankars are three types of limestone often utilised in building. Calcination of shell, coral, chalk, and other calcareous minerals can also provide lime.

Concrete

Concrete is the most extensively used building material in the construction business. It is a composite man-made material. It’s made up of a well-balanced mix of binding materials like lime or cement, fine and coarse aggregates, water and admixtures.

Wet or green concrete is freshly mixed concrete that hasn’t yet hardened, whereas set or hardened concrete is the one that has already hardened.

Lime concrete was used to build the majority of the traditional constructions and historical buildings. Since the invention of cement, lime concrete has been limited to usage as footing for concrete foundations and roof terracing. 

Moldability, early hardening, high early compressive strength, development of desired qualities, suitability for gunting, pumpability, and durability are the key reasons for widespread use of cement concrete.

Metal

Metals are trying for leading in the race for the most practical construction materials. They are called as ores and are naturally occurring substances such as oxides, carbonates, sulphides, and phosphates. By eliminating impurities from ores, metals can be extracted .

They are generally classified into two categories:

• Ferrous Metals
• Non-Ferrous Metals

Metals with iron as the primary element, such as cast iron, wrought iron and steel are categorised as ferrous metals, whereas non ferrous metals, such as aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, and tin, have no iron as the main constituent.

Despite the fact that non-ferrous metals are produced in low quantities compared to iron, they play a vital role in many engineering structures and industrial operations.

Ceramics

Ceramics are polycrystalline materials and products made by sintering oxides of various metals and inorganic substances with a high melting point, as well as baking natural clays and mineral admixtures at a high temperature.

Ceramics can be used to make brick, stone, concrete, glass, abrasives, porcelain, high-temperature refractories, and other building materials.

Paint

Paint is a type of surface coating that is applied in the form of a liquid. It dries to a thin film on the painted surface (60–150 µ). Oil paints, water paints, cement paints, bituminous paints, and special paints such as fireproof paints, illuminating paints, chlorinated rubber paints, and so on are all categorised as paints.

The primary functions of paints are to protect the coated surface from mechanical and chemical stresses, as well as deterioration caused by physical or environmental factors, and to enhance the structure by providing a smooth and colourful finish.

Wood

An enormous portion of a tree’s trunk and branches are made up of hard & fibrous substance called as wood. It is also referred to as a natural polymeric material that does not age.

Timber, lumber, and other natural wood products are being rapidly replaced by composite wood materials, in which natural wood is used as a basic ingredient in a matrix or laminate, as a result of scientific and technological advances.

Due to their ability to be chemically or thermally modified to meet specific requirements, these materials are considered more useful and versatile. Plywood, fibreboards, chipboards, compressed wood, impregnated wood, etc. are some of the examples.