In the general environment for humans’ survival, all the materials or products used in structures or buildings are called building materials which are the material foundation for all construction engineering.

The materials used for construction activities are all the materials used for building foundations high-rise buildings, floors,  walls,  beams, various types of roofs, and architectural decoration.

There is a wide variety of building materials. They are usually grouped from different angles in terms of study, application, and description. General classifications are based on their chemical components and functions.

1) They are classified According to the chemical components of building materials, which can be classified into three types that are inorganic materials, organic materials, and composite materials.

2)  According to the functions of materials, they can be classified as functional materials and structural materials.

 

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Building materials are the foundation for all construction engineering. The building materials industry which is one of the important basic industries of the national economy promotes the development of the construction industry.

Various buildings and structures are constructed from all kinds of building materials based on reasonable design. The types, specifications, and properties of building materials are directly related to the application, aesthetics and durability of the buildings and the cost of the project. The development of society requires the building of a large number of high-quality industrial and civic buildings.

Meanwhile, large-scale water conservation projects, traffic engineering, and port projects need to be built to accommodate the rapid development of the national economy…

It requires lots of high-quality building materials which accords with the application environment of projects. Therefore, the building materials industry is usually considered the basic industry for construction engineering.

The building materials not only have a large consumption but also are expensive. In the total cost of the construction, the cost of building materials often accounts for about 50%.

Thus, this is significant to properly choose and reasonably utilize building materials in the construction for the reduction of costs and the improvement of investment benefits.

A  large number of new building materials continue to emerge,  often promoting the innovation and development of construction techniques.  For example,  the emergence of clay bricks contributes to the brick-timber structure; the reinforced concrete structure comes from concrete and steel bar; light high-strength materials promote the development of modem buildings .

 

And high-rise buildings; the application of various functional materials in the construction industry continues to create a diversified comfortable living and production environment and to conserve energy.

 

In short, the application of building materials in the projects must possess the following characteristics: the function required by projects, the durability proper for the environmental conditions, the rich resources to meet the needs of construction, and low price.

In the building environment,  the ideal building materials must be light, high-strength,  aesthetic,  heat-insulating,  sound-absorbing,  waterproof, shockproof, fireproof, non-toxic, and efficient, etc…