Any materials that are used for Home Building is known as Building Material. Cement, Reinforced Bars, Sand, Brick, Aggregates, Clay are the most common material that are used in construction. The quality of the materials determines the strength and longevity of the building therefore, it cannot be ignored or compromised.

Building materials comes in different Grades, Sizes and brands. Based upon the construction purposes different grades, sizes are to be used.

List of Important Construction Materials and their usage

Cement

Construction materials such as sand, bricks, Steel Bars bind with cement. Cement is the binder in construction. Cement comes in different grades as per the Indian Standards (IS) such as:

• 33 Grade Cement – 33 grade cement has composite strength of 33N/mm2 after 28 days of curing.

33 Grade Cement is used for general construction work and it is suitable for lower concrete grade such as M15 or M20. Nowadays 33 Grade is hardly manufactured because higher grades are most acceptable ones in construction.

• 43 Grade Cement – 43 grade cement has composite strength of 43N/mm2 after 28 days of curing.

43 Grade Cement is used for plastering, concrete work, precast items such as tiles, blocks etc. It is most suitable for concrete grade mix upto M30.

• 53 Grade Cement – 53 grade cement has composite strength of 53N/mm2 after 28 days of curing.

53 Grade Cement is suitable to use on or over concrete grade mix of M25.

Nowadays usage of higher grade become essential therefore, 53 Grade is the most used for all type of construction purposes.

TMT Bar

High Strength Thermo Mechanically Treated Bars with low carbon steel. TMT Bars are the main component to provide strength to your structure. TMT Bar bonds with RCC and hold the structure. It comes in Different Grades as per Indian Standards (IS) such as:

Fe 415 | Fe 415D | Fe 500 | Fe 500D | Fe 550 | Fe 550D | Fe 600

‘D’ denotes elongation. Fe 500D has the perfect balance of Strength & Flexibility. That is why it is most recommended for all type of construction purposes. It is essential to use Fe 500D grade of TMT Bar for Earthquake prone areas.

Sand

Different types of sands are available to the market for construction purposes. Sand is basically the particles of broken rock. Sand is an important material for construction because it provides bulk, strength and other properties to the concrete. Different types of sands are:

• River Sand – Whitish grey in color and rounded particles sands that are generally gathered from the bank of the river. River Sands are highly effective for plastering and other construction purposes.
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• Coarse Sand/Pit Sand – Coarse Sand is procured from deep pits where the supply is abundant. In Course Sand the grains are sharp, yellow-reddish in color, salt free. It is commonly used in Concreting.

• M Sand – M Sand is used as a substitute of River Sand. It is manufactured by following the guideline of Indian Standards codes (IS). M Sand is manufactured by crushing granite/basalt rock. It is also known as Artificial Sand or Stone Sand.

Bricks

Brick is an important material in construction mostly it is manufactured from clay and rectangular in shape. Different types of Bricks are:

• Unburnt Bricks – Bricks that are sun dried are known as Unburnt Bricks. These bricks are mostly used for temporary structures. These types of bricks are less durable, less water resistant and less fire resistant therefore it cannot be used for permanent structures.
• Burnt Bricks – Burnt Clay Bricks are sub categorized into four types
  • First Class Bricks – Standard Size, Sharp Edge, Smooth Surface bricks that are highly acceptable for load bearing and other masonry construction purposes.
  • Second Class Bricks – Bricks that are molded by ground molding process is known as Second Class Bricks. Shapes of the bricks are irregular for ground molding.
  • Third Class Bricks – Poor quality bricks that has rough surface, unfair edges mostly used for temporary structures.
  • Fourth Class Bricks – Very poor quality bricks that can break easily are known as fourth class bricks. These bricks are not used for any structures it is been used as course aggregate in most cases.

Coarse Aggregate

Aggregate in construction is used for mixing with cement. The aggregate gives stability, volume to the finished structure. Coarse aggregate particles are either 0.19 inch or more in size. It acts as additives to concrete mixes.

Wood

Wood is the most common material that is used as a construction material for various purposes. There are quite a few types of wood that are used for various purposes.

• Deodar Wood – In Timer genre the soft woods are mostly comes from Deodar wood. It is moderately soft in nature and used for making cheap furniture, packing box, structural work etc.
• Mahogany Wood – High quality wood that is durable under water as well. For its longevity and durability it is commonly used for all type of furniture.
• Satin Wood – Hard and durable in nature. Mostly used for furniture making, ornamental works etc.
• Teak Wood – Fire resistant, durable, Termite proof wood that is used for all type of works such as furniture making, interior decoration etc. It is one of the valuable timber trees in world and limited for superior work.

Apart from these types there are other types of wood such as Shisham wood, Sal wood, Rose wood, Pine wood, Mulberry wood and many more.

Apart from these 6 important construction material there are others such as Metal, Glass, Foam, Tarpaulin and the list is endless. In construction endless number of things is needed but, these are the Most Important Construction Material with which we cannot compromise on quality.