Materials can be classified into following types:
1) Natural materials
2) Recycled materials
3) Artificial materials
4) Special materials
5) Finishing materials
1) Natural construction materials:-
a) Stone- stone is naturally available from rocks by quarrying process. It is dressed to be used for foundation, walls, floorings, kitchen otta etc. It is most strong and durable material.
b) Timber- timber is used worldwide as construction material. It is useful for formwork, centering, scaffolding, doors and window frames, shutters, for furniture, as roofing materials, for making railway sleepers, temporary bridges.
c) Bituminous materials and mixtures:-asphalt, bitumen and tar are widely used materials. They are obtained from petroleum and used in road construction and for water proofing. They can be used in the form of emulsion, cutback, mastics, sheet rolls etc.
d) Lime- lime is obtained from limestone by process of calcination in which carbondioxide and moisture is removed. CaCo3 CaO+CO2
e) Soil- soil is naturally obtained from disintegration of rocks when they are exposed to atmosphere by weathering agents like sun, wind, rain, frost etc. Soil is used as construction and foundation material. It is used for making earthen dams, canals, embankments. WBM roads. Clay is used in manufacturing of bricks and tiles. Sand is used in filter bed.
2) Recycled construction materials:-
Rice husk- it is a natural hard coating over rice grain. Rice husk is difficult toburn.
The ash has insulating property. It has pozzolonic properties so it is used inmanufacturing of bricks and alternative to cement for mortar, foundation and concreting.
b) Bagasse-it is fibrous residue left after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract juice.
It is rich in alumina, iron and silica and possesses pozzolonic property. The ash can is mixed in cement or concrete. Bagasse is used in manufacturing of boards, bricks, bio fuels, papers etc.
c) Coir Fibers-It is obtained from coconut husk which are present in covering offruit. There may be green, white or brown coir fibers. It is mixed with cement mortar as it increases impact and tensile strength.
d) Straw-It is agricultural by product .It is dry stalk of cereal plants like rice, wheat and barley etc. after the grains and chaff is removed. It can be used to bind clay and concrete, for insulation purpose and for roofing.
e) Fly ash-Fly ash is produced during combustion of coal generally in power plants.
It comprises of very fine particles. It possespozzolonic property so it is used in construction as alternative to cement. It is also used in brick manufacturing and soil stabilization.
f) Construction waste-It is obtained at construction site after completion of site and after demolition of old structures. It is used in pavement filling, plinth filling and to prepare low grade concrete.
3) Artificial construction material:-
a) Bricks- Bricks are made up of clay. They are used in brick masonry construction.
b) Tiles- Tile is used for Flooring and roofing. Varies types of tiles are available in market like Vitrified, Shahabad, Mosaic etc
c) Cement- Cement is a fine grey powder which forms a paste with addition of water. With due time it sets and becomes hard. It is mixture of calcareous, argillaceous or siliceous material burnt in a furnace which forms stone like mass. It is then grinded to fine powder called cement.
d) Aggregate- Aggregates are the materials basically used as filler with binding material in the production of mortar and concrete. They are derived from igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
e) Precast concrete product- These are the units casted or manufactured in industries or on site. They are ready to use materials thus going speedy Construction
f) Artificial Sand- The sand which is obtained from stone crusher after crushing the natural stone.
g) Particle board -Particle board is manufactured using chips or particles of low grade wood or sawdust mixed with strong adhesive and then compressed together under high pressure.
h) Veneers- Veneers are thin sheets of wood or slices of wood of superior quality obtained by rotating a log a wood against a sharp cutter or saw. The thickness of veneers varies from 0.4mm to 0.6mm or more.
4) Special construction material
a) Damp-proofing: Damp proofing is a treatment given to the building components during Construction to prevent entry of moisture.
b) Water-proofing- In building construction, mortar brick, stone and concrete are having tendency to get deterioted due to passage of time. Due to which cracks and pores are formed in this material and water leakage occurs. This leakage of water is stopped by using special materials called as water proofing materials.
c)Thermal insulating material- The thermal insulating material is used to conserve a constant heat or temperature inside the building, irrespective of the temperature changes outside.
d) Artificial Timber - The timber which is converted in a factory by some mechanical processes is termed as ‘Artificial timber’. And such timber possesses desired shape, appearance, strength and durability. It is a wood substitute made from solid waste like fly ash, silica, bituminous, and other bio-degradable material.
e) Geo-synthetic materials- Geo-synthetics are man-made materials used to improve soil conditions. ‘Geo’ means earth or soil and synthetic means man-made
f) Fibre: Fibre is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to length of thread.
5) Finishing construction material:-
a) Plaster of Paris-A white powder that sets to a hard solid when mixed with water, used for making sculptures and casts, as an additive for lime plasters, and for making casts for setting Broken limbs.
b) Mortar- when some binding materials such as cement or lime is mixed with inert material such as sand, surkhi or cinder and lubricating material such as water is added to it, a paste is formed which is plastic in nature, this paste is known as mortar.
c) Wall Cladding- Wall cladding is a process of finishing the surface with tiles.
d) Paints- paints are applied on the surfaces of timber, metals and plastered surface as a protective layer and at the same times to get pleasant appearance
e) Tiles- Tile is used for Flooring and roofing. Varies types of tiles are available in market like Vitrified, Shahabad, Mosaic etc