In presentation I have covered all the topics of building materials which are used in construction work of any building like stone,brick,sand,cement,etc.

1. BUILDING MATERIALS
BY: ER. SANJEEV KUMAR

2. WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY
BUILDING MATERIALS
The materials such as stones,bricks,lime,cement,sand,timber,aggregates,concrete,mortar
which are used in construction of any building is known as building materials

3. STONES
Stones are derived from rocks which form the earth’s crust and have no definite shape or chemical
composition but are mixtures of two or more minerals.
Rocks from which stones are classified in three groups:
1. Geological classification
 Igneous rocks
 Sedimentary rocks
 Metamorphic rocks
2. Physical classification
 Statified rocks
 Unstratified rocks
3. Chemical classification
 Silicious rocks
 Argillaceous rocks
 Calcarious rocks

4. IMPORTANT BUILDING STONES
GRANITE:
 It is an igneous rock.
 It is manily composed of quartz, feldspar and mica.
 Its specific gravity is 2.64 and compressive strength varies from 70 to130
MNm^2.
 Its colour depends upon that of feldspar which may be brown, grey, green, and
pink.
 A fine grained granite offers high resistance to weathering.
 It is used for exterior facing of buildings.

5. SANDSTONE:
 It is a sedimentary rock of silicious variety
 It is manily composed of quartz,lime and silica.
 Its specific gravity is 2.65 to 2.95 and compressive strength varies from 35to40
MNm^2.
 Its usual colour are white, grey, pink, brown etc.
 The fine grained stones are strong and durable.
 It is suitable for ashlar work, moulding, carvings etc.
QUARTZITE:
 It is silicious sandstone which has been subjected to metamorphic action.
 It is strong and durable.
 It is used as a road metal or railway ballast or in concrete.

6. LIMESTONE
 It is a sedimentary rock of calcarious variety.
 Its specific gravity is 2.6
 It is available in brown, yellow and dark grey colours.
 It is used in large quantities in blast furnaces.
 It may be used as stone masonary for walls.
MARBLE
 It is a metamorphic rock of calcarious variety.
 Its specific gravity is 2.7 and available in many colour.
 It is hard and take fine polish
 It is used for carving and decoration work.

7. BRICKS
 The bricks is the most commonly used building material and used for constructing walls,
columns, roofs, paving floors etc.
 The standard size of bricks are 19cm*9cm*9cm.
 The specific gravity of bricks is about 2.
 The brick should be burnt at a temperature from 1000◦c to1200◦c.
 A good brick clay contains 20 to 30 percent of alumina, 50 to 60 percent of silica and
remaining constituents are lime, magnesia, sodium, potassium, manganese and iron
oxide.
 The excess of alumina in the clay makes the brick crack and warp on drying.
 The excess of silica in the clay makes the brick brittle and weak.
 The excess of lime in clay causes the bricks to melt and distort during burning.
 The alkaline salt present in the bricks, absorb moisture from air which on drying
leavespowder deposit on the brick. This effect is known as efflorescence.

8. CLASSIFACTION OF BRICKS
 First class bricks:
 These bricks are well burnt having smooth and even surface with perfect rectangular shape and
uniform reddish colour.
 These bricks should not absorb water more than 20% of its own weight after 24 hours immersion
in water.
 It should have minimum crushing strength of 10.5 MNm^2.
 Second class bricks:
 These bricks are slightly over burnt having rough surface and not perfectly rectangular in shape.
 These bricks should not absorb water more than 22% of its own weight after 24 hours immersion
in water.
 Third class bricks:
 These bricks are under burnt in the kiln and hence these are soft and can easily broken
 These bricks should not absorb water more than 25% of its own weight after 24 hours immersion
in water.
 Jhama bricks:
 These are over burnt and irregular in shape.
 Dark blurish in colour.

9. LIME
 The lime is calcium oxide obtained by calcination of limestone, kankar and
calcareous substances.
 It is not found in nature in free state.
 It is used as a matrix for concrete , for plastering of walls,ceiling etc.
TYPES OF LIME :
 Quick lime:
 It is the lime obtained after the calcination of pure limestone.
 It is amorphous and highly caustic having no affinity for carbonic acid.
 Slaked lime or Hydrated lime:
 It is the lime formed by the absorption of water by quick lime.
 The process of chemical combination of quick lime with required quantity of water is known as slaking.

10.  Fat or Rich lime:
 It is the lime which has high calcium oxide(about 95%)content and can set and become hard
only in the presence of carbon dioxide from atmosphere.
 It has high plasticity.
 This type of lime is perfectly white in colour.
 Hydraulic lime:
 It is the lime which has small quantities of silica, alumina, and iron oxide which are in chemical
combination with calcium oxide.
 It can set and become hard even in the absence of carbon dioxide and can set under water
 Poor or Lean lime:
 It is the lime which contains more than 30% of clayey impurities in the form of silica, alumina
and iron oxide.
 It is used for inferior type of work.

11. CEMENT
 The word cement usally means Portland cement used in civil engineering works which
sets under water, hardens quickly and attains strength.
 Cement differs from lime by the property that it does not slake but sets readily and
acquires more strength on setting.
 The main constituents of Portland cements are:
1. Lime (63%)
2. Silica (22%)
3. Alumina (6%)
4. Iron oxide (3%)
5. Magnesium oxide (2.5%)
6. Sulphur oxide (1.5%)
7. Loss on ignition (1.5%)
8. Alkalies (0.5%)

12.  The lime, silica and iron oxide imparts strength to cement, while alumina gives quick setting property.
 The alkalies when in excess, causes efflorescence and magnesium oxide and Sulphur trioxide are not
desirable in excess amonts.
 The calcium sulphate in the form of gypsum is usaly added in order to lengthen intian setting time.
Tests on Portland cement
 Fineness test:
 This test is conducted to check the proper grinding of cement.
 Finess of cement is tested either by sieve method or air permeability method.
 The percentage of residue after sieving good Portland cement in 90 micron IS sieve should not
exceed %
 A good Portland cement should not have less than cm^/g if found by air permeability method.
 Soundness test:
 This test is carried out to detect the presence of uncombined lime and magnesia in cement
which causes the expansion of cement.
 Soundness of cement is tested with Le Chatelier apparatus.
 According to Indian standard the expansion should not exceed 10 mm.

13.  Consistency test:
This test is used to determine the percentage of water required for preparing cement
pastes of standard consistency.
The consistency test is performed with the hel[p of Vicat’s apparatus which determine
the intial and final setting time and normal consistency of cement.
The intial setting time of cement should not be less than 30minutes and final setting
should not be more than 10 hours.
The normal consistency of Portland cement is about 25%
 Tensile strength test:
This test is carried out on standard briquettes made of good Portland cement and
standard mortar to determine the tensile strength of cement.
The average tensile strength of 3 day and 7 day of curing should not be less than
2N/mm^2 and 2.5N/mm^2 respectively.
 Compressive strength test
This test is carried out on standard cubes made of a good Portland cement and mortar
to determine compressive strength of cement.

14. FIELD TESTS ON CEMENT
1. DATE OF PACKING
 Date of manufacture should be seen on the bag. It is important because
the strength of cement reduces with age.
2. COLOUR
 The cement should be uniform in colour. In general the colour of
cement is grey with a light greenish shade. The colour of cement gives
an indication of excess lime or clay and the degree of burning.
3. RUBBING
 Take a pinch of cement between fingers and rub it. It should feel
smooth while rubbing. If it is rough, that means adulteration with sand.
4. HAND INSERTION
 Thrust your hand into the cement bag and it should give cool feeling. It
indicates that no hydration reaction is taking place in the bag.

15. 5. FLOAT TEST
 Throw a small quantity of cement in a bucket of water. It should sink and
should not float on the surface.
6. SMELL TEST
 Take a pinch of cement and smell it. If the cement contains too much of
pounded clay and silt as an adulterant, the paste will give an earthy smell.
7. PRESENCE OF LUMPS
 Open the bag and see that lumps should not be present in the bag. It will ensure
that no setting has taken place.
8. SHAPE TEST
 Take 100g of cement and make a stiff paste. Prepare a cake with sharp edges
and put on the glass plate. Immerse this plate in water. Observe that the shape
shouldn’t get disturbed while settling. It should be able to set and attain
strength. Cement is capable of setting under water also and that is why it is also
called ‘Hydraulic Cement’.
9. STRENGTH TEST
 A block of cement 25 mm*25 mm and 200 mm long is prepared and it is
immersed for 7 days in water. It is then placed on supports 15000 mm apart and
it is loaded with a weight of 340 N. the block should not show any sign of
failure.

16. SAND
 Sand is primarily composed of finely granulated silica and,
depending on its location, can include various rock, coral, shell or
lava fragments.
 It is lightweight and easily transported by wind and water.
 Its composition directly affects its color, resulting in black, white,
pink and green coloring

17. AGGREGATES
 Aggregates are used in concrete to provide economy in the cost of concrete.
 Aggregates act as filler only.
 These do not react with cement and water.
 But there are properties or characteristics of aggregate which influence the properties of
resulting concrete mix. These are as follow.
• Composition: Aggregates consisting of materials that can react with alkalies in cement
and cause excessive expansion, cracking and deterioration of concrete mix should
never be used. Therefore it is required to test aggregates to know whether there is
presence of any such constituents in aggregate or not.
• Size & Shape: The size and shape of the aggregate particles greatly influence the
quantity of cement required in concrete mix and hence ultimately economy of concrete
• Surface Texture: The development of hard bond strength between aggregate particles and
cement paste depends upon the surface texture, surface roughness and surface porosity of
the aggregate particles. If the surface is rough but porous, maximum bond strength
develops. In porous surface aggregates, the bond strength increases due to setting of
cement paste in the pores

18. • Specific Gravity: The ratio of weight of oven dried aggregates maintained for 24
hours at a temperature of 100 to 1100C, to the weight of equal volume of water
displaced by saturated dry surface aggregate is known as specific gravity of
aggregates. Specific gravity is a mean to decide the suitability of the aggregate
• Bulk Density: It is defined as the weight of the aggregate required to fill a container
of unit volume. It is generally expressed in kg/litre. Bulk density of aggregates
depends upon the following 3 factors.
1. Degree of compaction
2. Grading of aggregates
3. Shape of aggregate particles
• Voids: The empty spaces between the aggregate particles are known as voids. The
volume of void equals the difference between the gross volume of the aggregate mass
and the volume occupied by the particles alone.
• Porosity & Absorption: The minute holes formed in rocks during solidification of the
molten magma, due to air bubbles, are known as pores. Rocks containing pores are
called porous rocks. Water absorption may be defined as the difference between the
weight of very dry aggregates and the weight of the saturated aggregates with surface
dry conditions.
• Bulking of Sand: It can be defined as in increase in the bulk volume of the quantity
of sand (i.e. fine aggregate) in a moist condition over the volume of the same quantity
of dry or completely saturated sand

19. • Fineness Modulus of Aggregate: Fineness modulus is an empirical factor
obtained by adding the cumulative percentages of aggregate retained on each of the
standard sieves ranging from 80 mm to 150 micron and dividing this sum by 100.
Fineness modulus is generally used to get an idea of how coarse or fine the
aggregate is.
• Surface Index of Aggregate: The surface area per unit weight of the material is
termed as specific surface. This is an indirect measure of the aggregate grading.
Specific surface increases with the reduction in the size of aggregate particle. The
specific surface area of the fine aggregate is very much more than that of coarse
aggregate.
• Crushing Value of Aggregate: The aggregates crushing value gives a relative
measure of resistance of an aggregate to crushing under gradually applied
compressive load. The aggregate crushing strength value is a useful factor to know
the behavior of aggregates when subjected to compressive loads
• Impact Value of Aggregate: The aggregate impact value gives a relative measure
of the resistance of an aggregate to sudden shock or impact. The impact value of an
aggregate is sometime used as an alternative to its crushing value.
• Abrasion Value of Aggregate: The abrasion value gives a relative measure of
resistance of an aggregate to wear when it is rotated in a cylinder along with some
abrasive charge.

20. MORTAR
 the mortar is the paste made by mixing lime, surkhi and water; lime, sand, water;
cement, sand, water.
 The lime and cement are the binding materials where as sand and surkhi prevents
shrinkage and cracks in setting and give strength to the mortar.
 It may be noted that mortar made with coarse sand is stronger than one made with
fine sand.
CONCRETE
 The concrete is the mixture of cement, sand, brick or stone ballast and water,
which when placed in forms and allowed to cure, becomes hard like stone.
 It is more stronger in compression than tension.
 To increase the strength in tension reinforcements are provided and that is known
as reinforced cement concrete.

21. PAINTS
 The paints are coating of fluid materials applied over the surface of
timber and metals as protective coating and to improve their
appearance.
 It is a fluid paste prepared by dissolving a base into a vechile along
with colour pigment.
 The bases used in oil paints are white lead, zinc white, red lead, iron
oxide, titanium white, lithophone.
 The other ingredients of an oil paints are solvent or thinner.
DISTEMPER
 The distemper is made by mixing a dry pigment with clean water
and ordinary size.
 It is used on plastered surfaces not exposed to weather.

22. Thank you