The building and construction sector is an ever-vibrant niche of human activity. Day after day, new buildings of varying sizes, purposes, and constitutions are being raised. This variety is also starkly expressed in the kinds of materials employed in setting up the structures. A typical building professional is often faced with a variety of options when it comes to building materials. It is then left for the expert to choose which material is the best fit for a particular project.
In this piece, we will be touching on a good number of these materials, with a deliberate emphasis on their unique utilities in building and construction.
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Glass
This material features windows, doors, roofs, floors, and skylights such as roof lanterns from Addlite. Glass is notable for its insular nature, that is, the ability to function as an insulator. This quality becomes advantageous because the glass holds back excessive entry of radiant heat into the building, a boon which a more conductive material would not avail us. It is also highly prized for its interplay with light via refraction, reflection, and transmission, owing to its transparent or translucent nature. Glass is proving increasingly valuable as it is now being used as a green option. This mitigates the havoc being wrecked on the ecosystem by our many activities, and it is also recyclable. However, a common downside of glass is its fragility, as it is easily fractured. Nonetheless, special techniques like the addition of laminate can decrease this brittleness.
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Steel
Steel is a widely used alloy composed of iron and steel. It is mostly worked into the frames and supports, as it boasts tremendous strength and stability. It is also durable, economical, and equally recyclable. There are varieties of steel, which include the very well-known stainless steel, among others.
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Plastics
These have special properties that make them suited for water pipes, gutters, window frames, and wall/floor coverings. As evident at Shapes Plastics, you can also get cut-to-size plastic materials for easier and faster installation. Their particular value lies in their durability, lightness (thus their ease of manipulation), and resistance to deterioration by water and pests.
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Timber
Timber is an age-long feature at many building sites. It is relatively easy to obtain, as it derives from wood. Builders use timber in the construction of floors, supports, walls, roof frames, et cetera. The upsides of timber are its remarkable versatility, ease of handling, and biodegradable nature ( since it is essentially an organic product ). It is also viable as a renewable product, although some samples are nonrenewable because they’ve been treated with certain chemicals. In this light, it is advisable to use non-treated timber, preferably those sustainably sourced and recycled.
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Mudbrick
Mud bricks number among the most recognizable building fragments anywhere they are seen, utilized to lay floors and walls. The production of quality bricks involves intensive labor and skilled manipulation of appropriate soil. The mass-produced bricks are then conveyed in large trucks to the construction site. The benefits of these materials include their long-lasting nature, biodegradability, and the ready availability of the source material (soil).
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Concrete
This is an aggregation of coarse gravel, fine cement, crushed stones, sand deposits, and water. The mixture, over time, hardens into a solidified mass. Whereas it has high compressive strength, its tensile strength is usually low. This low tensile strength is commonly reinforced with steel. Concrete is a vital component of pavements, walls, fences, poles, and the foundation itself. Its durability largely rests on the quality of the mixing or compounding done to yield the concrete.
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Plexiglass
This material is more technically called acrylic sheeting and is steadily usurping the traditional glass in several areas. It offers greater strength than glass which is brittle. It is, therefore, more useful as a protective covering, making it a common sight at banks, detention facilities, and government buildings. It is principally used for skylights, solar panels, and windows, availing us of the advantage of extra strength and resistance to cracking.
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Granite
Granite is a prominent igneous rock of peculiar beauty and durability. It comprises inter alia, mica, quartz, amphiboles, and a list of other members. Its uses span kitchen countertops, pavements, and architectural designs.
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Cement
This is the most regular member of any building enterprise. Obtained from limestone, it forms an admixture with gravel, sand, stones, and water to yield solid concrete used to overlay walls and floors.
The list of building materials is one of true magnitude. This handful of materials are the most common, and each of these lots comes with a particular resource for a building enterprise. The well-constructed building, commercial or residential, takes its origin from the right usage of the right materials.
