Housing and Space Management

Housing And Space Management 3(2+1)

Lesson 21 : Building Materials

Introduction

Building material is any material which is used for a construction purpose. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand, wood and rocks, even twigs and leaves have been used to construct buildings.

Apart from naturally occurring materials, there are many man-made products in use in building industry, some more and some less synthetic.

The beauty, utility, economy, comfort and convenience of the houses generally depend to a larger extent on the selection, use and care of the building materials.

At the current cost of construction, the cost of building materials alone works out to be more than fifty percent of the total cost of the house. The materials available in our country are natural materials and man-made materials.

1. Natural materials: Mud, stone, sand, wood, lime, asbestos and leaves.
2. Man-made materials: Cement, brick, tiles, metal, glass and plastic.