Construction materials

Approved Document 7: materials and workmanship, provides a very wide definition of ‘materials’:

NB Materials might also refer to project information material.

Narrower definitions of materials such as 'physical substances that things can be made from' would seem to exclude manufactured products such as components, fittings, items of equipment and systems. For example, steel is a material, whereas a steel beam is a product.

Primary materials are the materials that make up the majority of the structural components, foundation and envelope of construction projects. Ref The Living Building Challenge.

Some of the more commonly used construction materials that might be considered to fall within this narrower definition are listed below. For a wider list, including products and components see: Products and components.

• Adhesives
• Adobe.
• Acrylic.
• Aggregate
• Alkali-activated binder
• Aluminium.
• Architectural fabrics
• Asphalt
• Bulk filling materials
• Carbon fibre
• Cast iron
• Cavity wall insulation
• Cement
• Ceramics
• Chert
• Clay
• Coal ash
• Concrete
• Concrete fibre
• Copper.
• Daub
• ETFE
• Fibre cement
• Glass for buildings
• Glass reinforced concrete
• Glass reinforced plastic GRP
• Glulam
• Graphene in civil engineering
• Gravel
• Gravel v hardcore v aggregates.
• Grouting in civil engineering.
• Gypsum.
• Hempcrete
• High alumina cement
• Icynene spray foam insulation
• Laminated veneer lumber LVL
• Lead in construction
• Limecrete
• Masonry
• Mastic sealant
• Metal
• Mortar
• Mycelium
• Nylon
• Oil - a global perspective
• Paint
• Paints and coatings
• Pebbledash
• Phase change materials
• Phenolic foam insulation
• Plastic
• Plywood
• Polyamide intermediates
• Polyethylene.
• Polystyrene
• Polyurethane spray foam in structurally insulated panels and composite structures
• Polyvinyl chloride PVC
• Precast concrete
• Prestressed concrete
• Products v goods v materials.
• R22 phase out
• Recyclable construction materials
• Refrigerants in buildings
• Reinforced concrete
• Render
• Renewable chemicals
• Sand.
• Solid wall insulation
• Stainless steel in construction
• Steel
• Stone.
• Straw bale construction
• Structural steelwork
• Stucco
• Sundry items.
• Sustainable materials
• Terracotta.
• Thermoplastic materials in buildings
• Timber
• Topmix Permeable
• Tradical Hemcrete
• Transparent insulation
• Types of steel
• Wattle and daub
• Wrought iron
• Zinc.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Approved documents.
• Approved document 7.
• BREEAM Material efficiency.
• BTTG.
• Building Regulations.
• Cement and concrete companies release 2050 Climate Ambition.
• Construction buyer.
• Conversion of material volumes.
• Defects.
• Greenbloc.
• Off-site goods and materials.
• Material handling.
• Materials on site.
• Performance gap.
• Polypropylene.
• Project information material.
• Protecting and storing rebar.
• Quality control.
• Registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals REACH.
• Schedule of defects.
• Snagging.
• Supply.
• Testing construction materials.
• Truth to materials.

[edit] External references

• Safety Precautions When Working With Construction Materials

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