Building Material II
Basic Technology J.S.S 1 Second Term
WEEK 2
Building Material II
Performance Objectives
Students should be able to:
- Mention uses of Building materials
Content
Building material is any material used for construction purpose such as materials for house building. The choice of these building materials is based on their cost-effectiveness for building projects.
Types of Building Materials
The following are the common types of building materials: wood, cement, aggregates, metals, bricks, concrete, clay, sand etc.
Uses of Building Materials
1. Sand – this is the commonest building material. There are two types of sand which are used in building construction and these are:
a. Soft sand
b. Sharp sand
The two must be devoid of chemicals or minerals which could render them useless for building construction. Minerals and chemicals reduce the strength of sand mixture and cause them to fail when loaded.
2. Gravel – this is a constituent of concrete which is used in building construction. Gravel is derived from the weathering and erosion rocks. There are two main types of gravel, they are:
Pebbles: These are small stones excavated from pits or river banks.
Granite chippings: These are small chippings of blasted granite stones generally collected in graded sizes.
Picture of gravel
3. Cement – this is a finely powdered, manufactured substance consisting of gypsum plaster or Portland cement that hardens after being mixed with water. It is an essential material in building construction.
Image of cement
4. Wood – Wood is a natural product that forms the trunk of trees which is used as a material for building construction. They are used to produce wooden doors and windows and also used as roof and ceiling structures. They are not commonly used nowadays but were good roof covering materials in the past.
5. Glass – A factory produced building material fairly hard in texture but breaks easily. It is transparent and mostly used on windows and doors.
6. Plastics and Ceramics –These are also factory produced and are generally used as sewage pipes for draining waste.