Established as per the Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956

Approved by AICTE, COA and BCI, New Delhi

B20EDO501: BUILDING MATERIALS AND

CONSTRUCTION
Vth Semester. Academic Year: 2023-2024.

School of Civil Engineering

Introduction Class
AY: 2023-2024
OUTLINE

Course Overview
Course Objective
Course Outcomes
Course Contents
Learning Resources
unit 1 : Introduction To Construction Material
unit 2 : Smart Materials
unit 3 : Brick Masonary And Stone Masonary
unit 4 : Flooring Plastering And Finishing
 COURSE OVERVIEW

This course provides the knowledge about the various major building materials used for
constructions.

It emphasizes on the types, composition, properties and uses of these materials.

Further the course also provides information related to basic construction methods such as
brick and stone masonry, joint, flooring types, plastering etc.

This course also provides knowledge of designing the green building to reduce the overall impact
of the built environment on huma health and the natural environment
COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course enables graduating students

CO3: CO5:
To explain about the
CO1: To explain onTo
different types of
CO2: understand the
To introduce composition, uses and
flooring and its
different types To provide an defects of cement,
construction.
CO6:
and properties overview of mortar and steel.
CO4: To establish the
of building
different smart knowledge of
materials. To introduce the plastering, its types,
materials. concept involved in methods and
brick masonry and defects.
stone masonry.
.
COURSE OUTCOMES

After the completion of the course, the student will be able to:

CO1: Identify the types, qualities

and uses of building materials. CO3: Describe the composition,
uses and defects of cement,
CO2: Explain about various mortar and steel.
smart materials.

CO5: Explain the different types

CO4: Identify the materials and of flooring and its construction.
explain the types of joints in CO6: Represent the various
brick and stone masonry. types and uses of plastering and
flooring materials.
COURSE CONTENTS
UNIT - I
• INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: Bricks: Introduction, types of bricks, quality
of good brick, uses of bricks.
• Stones: Introduction, classification, characteristics, different types of stones.
• Cement: Chemical composition, physical properties of cement, uses of cement, types of cement.
• Aggregates: Fine aggregate: River sand and M-sand, Coarse aggregate: natural and recycled aggregate, light
weight aggregate.
• Mortar: Definition, types of mortar and uses of mortar.
• Steel: Uses of steel, different types of steels, defects in steels.
• Wood : Timber, Teakwood and Ply wood
UNIT – II
• SMART MATERIALS :Piezoelectric materials - Introduction, classification,
Properties and Applications in construction
• Smart Materials – Introduction, classification, properties, Applications of Smart
Materials in Construction
• Shape memory alloys, Light weight bricks, Introduction to Special concretes – Fly
ash based concrete, Geo-polymer concrete, fiber reinforced concrete and Self
compacting concrete.
COURSE CONTENTS
UNIT - III
• BRICK MASONRY AND STONE MASONRY : Brick masonry: Introduction, Definition of terms
used in Masonry, materials used, types of bonds, joints in brick work.
• Stone masonry: Introduction, Definition of terms used in Masonry, cutting and dressing of stones,
types of stone masonry (rubber and ashlar), joints of stones.

UNIT - IV
• FLOORING, PLASTERING AND FINISHING :Flooring: Types of flooring and their
construction- brick, stone, concrete, tile flooring.
• Plastering: Definition, material used for plastering, types of plastering, and methods of plastering,
defects of remedial measures in plastering. Introduction to Pointing and Painting.
REFERENCES OR LEARNING RESOURCES
1. Text Books:
• Engineering Materials by Rangawala P.C. Charter Publishing House, Anand, India.
• Engineering Materials, by Sushil Kumar, Standard Publication and Distributors,
New Delhi.
• Building Materials, by P.G. Varghese, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., Publication.
• Reference Books:
• Concrete technology – Theory and practice, M.S. Shetty, S. Chand and Co, New
Delhi, 2002.
• Advances in Building Materials and Construction by Mohan Rai and M.P. Jain
Singh – publication by CBRI, Roorkee.
• Material Testing Laboratory Manual by C B Kukreja and Ravi Chawla, Standard
Publishers Distributors, New Delhi.
UNIT : 1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL
Sl no. Contents
1 bricks

2 stones

3 cement

4 aggregates

5 mortar

6 steel
7 wood
Introduction Class
Bricks introduction
 The bricks are obtained by moulding clay in rectangular blocks of uniform size
and then by drying and burning these blocks.
 The common brick is one of the oldest building material and it is extensively used
and it is extensively used at present as a leading material of construction because
of its durability, strength, reliability, low cost, easy availability, etc.
 The great wall of china (210 B.C.)was built with both, burnt and sun dried bricks.
The other examples of the use of bricks in early stage of civilization could be
cited In rome and other place.
 BRICKS

 Made of burnt clay or mixture of sand and lime.

 Clay bricks are commonly used.
 Standard size 19 x 9 x 9cm (without mortar).
 Modular size 20 x 10 x 10cm (with mortar).
 FROG: An indent of 1-2 cm deep formed on the top.
 Purpose of providing frog is to form a key for holding the mortar.
 CLASSIFICATION OF BRICKS
FIRST CLASS BRICKS:
 Thoroughly burnt with deep red, cherry or copper colour.
 Surface should be smooth and rectangular, with parallel, sharp and straight edges and square
corners.
 Should be free from flaws, cracks and stones and should be uniform texture.
 No impression should be on the bricks when a scratch is made by a finger nail.
 Water absorption should be 12-15% of its dry wt. when immersed in cold water for 24 hours.
 The fractured surface of the brick should not show lumps of lime.
 A metallic or ringing sound should come when two bricks are struck against each other.
 Crushing strength of brick should not be less than 10.5 N/.
 uses: pointing flooring exposed face work in masonary structures. Reinforce brick work.
SECOND CLASS BRICKS: Same requirement as the first class are except that
Small cracks and distortion are permitted and water absorption of about 16-20% is allowed.
Crushing strength should not be less than 7 N/ .
Uses: All important and unimportant masonary works.
 THIRD CLASS BRICKS:
• under burnt, soft and light coloured producing dull sound.
• Water absorption is about 25% of dry wt.
• Use: for building temporary structures.
FOURTH CLASS BRICKS:
• Over burnt and badly distorted in shape and size and are
brittle in nature.
• Uses: ballast of such bricks is used for foundation and floors
in lime concrete and road metal.
INGREDIENTS OF GOOD BRICK EARTH:
i. The proportion of various ingredients.
silica : 50 - 60%
alumina : 20 – 30%
lime : < 10%
magnesia : < 1%
ferric oxide : < 7%
alkalis : < 10%
ii. Function of various ingredients

Silica: enables the brick to retain its shape and imparts durability.
Excess silica makes the brick brittle and weak on burning
• Silica: enables the brick to retain its shape and imparts durability. Excess silica
makes the brick brittle and weak on burning.

• Alumina: imparts plasticity to the earth so that it can be moulded.

excess quantity produces cracks in brick on drying.

• Lime: lime prevents shrinkage of raw bricks.

Excess lime causes the brick to melt and loose its shape.

• Oxide of iron: it imparts red colour to the bricks.

Improves impermeability and durability.

• Magnesia: imparts yellowish tint to the bricks and decreases shrinkage.

excess of magnesia leads to decay of bricks.

• Harmful ingredients in brick earth:
Lime: when present in lumps, it absorbs moisture, swells and causes disintegration of
bricks.

Iron pyrites: disintegrate the brick during burning. Discolourises the brick.

Alkalies: excess alkalies make the clay unsuitable for bricks.

Causes efflorescence i.e. white powder deposits on the brick which spoil appearance.

Pebbles: will result in week and porous bricks.

Organic matter: makes the brick porous, water absorption increases and strength
reduced.
Types of bricks made
In general we get four types of bricks in the market. They are as follows
• Ground moulded bricks usually fired in temporary clamps. The dimension of these
bricks are not regular.
• Table moulded bricks fired in kilns. These bricks are also called as stock bricks.
• Machine moulded bricks fired in continuous kilns. These bricks are also called wire
cut bricks.
• Pressed bricks made under pressure. These bricks are used for decorative works.
• QUALITIES OF GOOD BRICK
The good bricks which are to be used for the construction of important
structures should posses the following qualities:
• The bricks should be table moulded, well-burnt in kilns, copper-coloured, free
from cracks and with sharp and square edges. The colour should be uniform
and bright.
• The bricks should be uniform in shape and should be of standard size.
• The bricks should give a clear metallic ringing sound when struck with each
other.
• The bricks when broken or fractured should show a bright homogenous and
uniform compact structure free from voids.
• The bricks should not absorb water more than 20% by weight for first class
bricks and 22% by weight for second class bricks, when soaked in cold water
for a period of 24 hours.
• The bricks should be sufficiently hard. No impression should be left on brick
surface, when it is scratched with finger nail.

• The bricks should not break in to pieces when dropped flat on hard ground from
a height of about one meter.

• The bricks should have low thermal conductivity and they should be sound proof.

• The bricks, when soaked in water for 24 hours, should not show deposits of white
salts when allowed to dry in shade.

• No brick should have the crushing strength below 5.50.

• Tests for bricks
A brick is generally subjected to the following tests to find out its suitability for the
construction work:
• Absorption
• Crushing strength
• Hardness
• Presence of soluble salts
• Shape and size
• Soundness
• Structure.
Uses of bricks
Following are the uses of bricks
I. the first class and second class bricks are widely used for all sorts of sound work
especially of permanent nature. These structure include building, dams, roads, sewers,
bridge piers, tunnels, pitching works, etc.
II. The use of first class bricks is specified for obtaining the architectural effects on faces
of structures where they are to be kept exposed for beauty.
III. The masonary with second class bricks is generally plastered to make the smooth
surface obtained due to the irregular shape and size of bricks. The mortar required in
brick masonary using second class bricks will Also be more.
IV. The third class and sun-dried bricks are used for construction work of temporary
nature. These bricks are not used in damp situations or at places subjected to heavy
rains.
V. The fourth class bricks are used as road metal and as aggregates in the foundation
concrete.
 STONES

Building Construction Material

 DEFINITION
• Stones are naturally occurring compact, solid and massive material that make the crust of the earth.
• Technically, the stones are called as rocks. The rocks occur in great variety. The rocks posses suitable properties often find
use in building stones. It follows that all building stones are rocks in nature, all rocks may not be useful as building stones.
BUILDING STONES
 INTRODUCTION
• Stones have been used in all type of construction since time immemorial.
The pyramids of Egypt, The eiffel tower, The temple of Jagannathpuri, the
Taj Mahal, the red fort, the great wall of china and hundreds of historical
buildings in each big country are made of stones. The greatest thing about
stone is that they are natural and do not required to be manufactured.

• Stone, timber and clay had been the most commonly construction used
material right from the beginning of the civilization till the advent of
Portland cement and hence concrete in the early nineteenth century.
HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
 CLASSIFICATION OF STONES

The building stones are obtained from the rocks which are classified in the
following three ways:
 CLASSIFICATION OF STONES
A ) Geological Classification:
according to this classification, the rocks are of the following three types:
I) Igneous Rocks;
II) Sedimentary Rocks; and
III) Metamorphic Rocks.

I) Igneous Rocks (Greek word ignis = fire)

The inside portion of the earth’s surface has high temperature so as to cause fusion by
heat at even ordinary pressures. The molten or pasty rocky material is known as the
magma and this magma occasionally tries to come out to the earth’s surface through
cracks or weak portions. The rocks which are formed by the cooling of magma are known
as the igneous rocks.
The igneous rocks are recognized in the following three classes:
a) Plutonic rocks
b) Hypabyssal rocks
c) Volcanic rocks
Igneous Rocks
 IGNEOUS ROCKS

(a) Plutonic Rocks

• Such rocks are formed due to cooling of magma at a considerable depth from earth’s
surface. The cooling is slow and the rocks possess coarsely grained crystalline structure.
The igneous rocks commonly used in building industry are of plutonic type. The granite
is the leading example of this type of rock.
(b) Hypabyssal rocks.
Such rocks are formed due to cooling of magma at a relative shallow depth from the earth’s
surface. The cooling is quick and hence these rocks posses finely grained crystalline
structure. The dolerite is an example of this type of rock.
The Hypabyssal Rocks.
(c) Volcanic rocks:
such rocks are formed due to pouring of magma at earth’s surface. The cooling is very rapid as
compared to the previous two cases. Hence these rocks are extremely fine grained in structure.
They frequently contain some quantity of glass which is a non-crystalline material. The basalt is
an example of this type of rock.
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
(a) These rocks are formed by the deposition of products of weathering on the pre-existing rocks.
All the products of weathering transport. Such agents are frost, rain, wind, flowing water, etc.

Following four types of deposits occur:

Residual deposit : some portion of the products of weathering remain at the site of origin. Such
adeposit is known as a residual deposit.
Sedimentary deposit.
Sedimentary deposits : the insoluble products of weathering are carried away in suspension and
when such products are deposited, they give rise to a sedimentary deposits.
Chemical deposits : some material that is carried away in solution may be deposited by some
physio chemical processes such as evaporation, precipitation, etc. it give rise to the chemical
deposits.
Organic deposit : some portion of the product of weathering gets deposited through the agency
of organisms. Such deposits are known as the organic deposits.
The examples of sedimentary rocks are gravel, sandstone, limestone, gypsum, lignite, etc.
Metamorphic rocks
• Metamorphic rocks : are formed from igneous or sedimentary rocks as a result of
the action of the earth movements, temperature changes, liquid pressures, etc.
The resultant mass may have a foliated structure, e.g. slate, gneiss, schist and
phyallite or non-foliated structure, e.g. marble, quartzite and serpentine.
Examples of transformation of some of the rocks to metamorphic rocks.
Examples of transformation of rocks
BASED ON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• The rocks may be classified as stratified, unstratified and foliated.

• STRATIFIED ROCKS show distinct layers along which the rocks can be split. The
examples are sandstone, limestone, shale, slate, marble, etc.
• UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS do not show any stratification and cannot be easily split
into thin layers. The examples of such rocks are granite, basalt, trap, etc.
• FOLIATED ROCKS have a tendency to split up only in a definite direction. Most of
the metamorphic rocks have a foliated structure, except for quartzite and marble which
have granulose structure.
BASED ON CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION
• The rocks may be classified as argillaceous, silicious and calcarious.
• Argillacious Rock The principal constituent is clay (Al2O3). The rocks are
hard and brittle, e.g. slate, laterite, etc.
• Silicious Rock The principal constituent is silica (SiO2), i.e. sand. The rocks
are very hard and durable, e.g. granite, basalt, trap, quartzite, gneiss, syenite, etc.
• Calcareous Rock The principal constituent is lime, e.g. limestone, marble,
dolomite, etc.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD BUILDING STONE

• A good building stone should have the following qualities.

• APPEARENCE For face work it should have fine, compact texture; light-
coloured stone is preferred as dark colours are likely to fade out in due course of
time. STRUCTURE A broken stone should not be dull in appearance and
should have uniform texture free from cavities, cracks, and patches of loose or
soft material. Stratifications should not be visible to naked eye. STRENGTH A
stone should be strong and durable to withstand the disintegrating action of
weather. Compressive strength of building stones in practice rang
• WEIGHT : It is an indication of the porosity and density. For stability of
structures such as dams. retaining walls, etc. heavier stones are reauired,
whereas for arches, vaults, domes, etc. light stones may be the choice.
HARDNESS : This property is important for floors, pavements, aprons of
bridges, etc. The hardness is determined by the Mohs scale (Section 3.2). %
• TOUGHNESS :The measure of impact that a stone can withstand is defined as
toughness. The stone used should be tough when vibratory or moving loads are
anticipated.
SEASONING The stone should be well seasoned.
WEATHERING The resistance of stone against the wear and tear due to natural agencies
should be high.
WORKABILITY Stone should be workable so that cutting, dressing and bringing it out
in the required shape and size may not be uneconomical
Fire resistanceStones should be free from calcium corbonate, oxides of iron, and
minerals having different coefficients of thermal expansion. Igneous rock show marked
disintegration principally because of quartz which disintegrates into small particles at a
temperature of about 575°C. Limestone, however, can withstand a little higher
temperature; i.e. up to 800°C after which they disintegrate. Specific gravityThe specific
gravity of most of the stones lies between 2.3 to 2.5. %
• Thermal movement Thermal movements alone are usually not trouble-some.
However, joints in coping and parapets open-out inletting the rain water causing
trouble. Marble slabs show a distinct distortion when subjected to heat. An
exposure of one side of marble slab to heat may cause that side to expand and the
slab warps. On cooling, the slab does not go back to its original shape
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