Editing Building material (section)

==Naturally occurring substances==
{{Main|Alternative natural materials}}
[[Bio-based material]]s (especially plant-based materials) are used in a variety of building applications, including load-bearing, filling, insulating, and plastering materials.<ref name=":0">{{cite thesis |last1=Bennai |first1=Fares |title=Étude des mécanismes de transferts couplés de chaleur et d'humidité dans les matériaux poreux de construction en régime insaturé |date=28 June 2017 |url=https://theses.hal.science/tel-01865834 |language=fr }}{{pn|date=April 2024}}</ref> These materials vary in structure depending on the formulation used.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Othmen |first1=Inès |last2=Poullain |first2=Philippe |last3=Leklou |first3=Ali-Nordine |title=Etude numérique des techniques d'isolation : application à la réhabilitation du bâti ancien en tuffeau |journal=32èmes Rencontres Universitaires de Génie Civil |date=June 2014 |url=https://hal.science/hal-01089525/ }}</ref> Plant fibres can be combined with binders and then used in construction to provide thermal, hydric or structural functions. The behaviour of concrete based on plant fibre is mainly governed by the amount of the fibre constituting the material. Several studies have shown that increasing the amount of these plant particles increases porosity, moisture buffering capacity, and maximum absorbed water content on the one side, while decreasing density, thermal conductivity, and compressive strength on the other.

Plant-based materials are largely derived from renewable resources and mainly use co-products from agriculture or the wood industry. When used as insulation materials, most bio-based materials exhibit (unlike most other insulation materials) hygroscopic behaviour, combining high water vapour permeability and moisture regulation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bourbia |first1=S. |last2=Kazeoui |first2=H. |last3=Belarbi |first3=R. |date= 2023|title=A review on recent research on bio-based building materials and their applications |url= |journal=Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=117–139 |doi=10.1007/s40243-023-00234-7 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023MRSE...12..117B }}</ref>

===Brush===
[[File:View of a group of Mohaves in a brush hut, one man very emaciated, entitled, by Wittick, Ben, 1845-1903.jpg|thumb|A group of [[Mohave people|Mohaves]] in a brush hut]]
[[Branches|Brush]] structures are built entirely from plant parts and were used in various cultures such as Native Americans and<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nabokov |first1=Peter |last2=Easton |first2=Robert |title=Native American Architecture |date=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-506665-4 |page=16 }}</ref> [[pygmy peoples]] in Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Susan |title=Domestic Architecture and the Use of Space: An Interdisciplinary Cross-Cultural Study |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-44577-1 |page=131 }}</ref> These are built mostly with branches, twigs and leaves, and bark, similar to a [[beaver]]'s lodge. These were variously named [[wikiup]]s, lean-tos, and so forth.

An extension on the brush building idea is the [[wattle and daub]] process in which clay soils or [[feces|dung]], usually [[cow]], are used to fill in and cover a woven brush structure. This gives the structure more thermal mass and strength. Wattle and daub is one of the oldest building techniques.<ref name=Shaffer>{{cite journal |last=Shaffer |first=Gary D. |title=An Archaeomagnetic Study of a Wattle and Daub Building Collapse |journal=Journal of Field Archaeology |volume=20 |number=1 |date=Spring 1993 |pages=59–75 |doi=10.2307/530354 |jstor=530354}}</ref> Many older timber frame buildings incorporate wattle and daub as non load bearing walls between the timber frames.

===Ice and snow===
Snow and occasionally ice,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lyon |first1=George Francis |title=The Private Journal of Captain G.F. Lyon, of H.M.S. Hecla: During the Recent Voyage of Discovery Under Captain Parry |date=1824 |publisher=J. Murray |oclc=367961511 |pages=280–281 }}</ref> were used by the [[Inuit]] peoples for [[igloo]]s and snow is used to build a shelter called a [[quinzhee]]. Ice has also been used for [[ice hotel]]s as a [[tourist attraction]] in northern climates.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Michael |last2=Saarinen |first2=Jarkko |title=Tourism and Change in Polar Regions: Climate, Environments and Experiences |date=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-97199-0 |page=30 }}</ref>

===Mud and clay===
[[File:SkogarMuseumOutside.jpg|thumb|Sod buildings in Iceland]]

Clay based buildings usually come in two distinct types. One being when the walls are made directly with the mud mixture, and the other being walls built by stacking air-dried building blocks called [[Mudbrick|mud bricks]].

Other uses of clay in building is combined with straws to create [[light clay]], [[wattle and daub]], and mud [[plaster]].

====Wet-laid clay walls====
{{Main|rammed earth|sod|cob (building)}}
Wet-laid, or damp, walls are made by using the mud or clay mixture directly without forming blocks and drying them first. The amount of and type of each material in the mixture used leads to different styles of buildings. The deciding factor is usually connected with the quality of the [[soil]] being used. Larger amounts of [[clay]] are usually employed in building with ''cob'', while low-clay soil is usually associated with ''[[sod house]]'' or ''[[sod roof]]'' construction. The other main ingredients include more or less [[sand]]/[[gravel]] and [[straw]]/grasses. ''Rammed earth'' is both an old and newer take on creating walls, once made by compacting clay soils between planks by hand; nowadays [[formwork|forms]] and [[machine|mechanical]] [[pneumatic]] compressors are used.<ref name="Graham">{{cite book |last1=McHenry |first1=Paul Graham |title=Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction |date=1984 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-87677-9 |page=104 }}</ref>

Soil, and especially clay, provides good [[thermal mass]]; it is very good at keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather. Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over a period of time like stone. Earthen walls change temperature slowly, so artificially raising or lowering the temperature can use more resources than in say a wood built house, but the heat/coolness stays longer.<ref name="Graham" />

People building with mostly dirt and clay, such as cob, sod, and adobe, created homes that have been built for centuries in western and northern Europe, Asia, as well as the rest of the world, and continue to be built, though on a smaller scale. Some of these buildings have remained habitable for hundreds of years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Michael G. |chapter=Cob Building, Ancient and Modern |pages=132–133 |editor1-last=Kennedy |editor1-first=Joseph F. |editor2-last=Wanek |editor2-first=Catherine |editor3-last=Smith |editor3-first=Michael G. |title=The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Resources |date=2002 |publisher=New Society Publishers |isbn=978-0-86571-433-5 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100416132054/http://www.takungpao.com/news/10/01/28/_IN-1208245.htm] Earliest Chinese building brick appeared in Xi'an (中國最早磚類建材在西安現身)]. takungpao.com (2010-1-28)</ref>

====Structural clay blocks and bricks====
{{Main|adobe|mudbrick|compressed earth block}}

''Mud-bricks'', also known by their Spanish name ''[[adobe]]'' are ancient building materials with evidence dating back thousands of years BC. ''Compressed earth blocks'' are a more modern type of brick used for building more frequently in [[industrialized society]] since the building blocks can be manufactured off site in a centralized location at a [[brickworks]] and transported to multiple building locations. These blocks can also be monetized more easily and sold.

Structural mud bricks are almost always made using clay, often clay soil and a binder are the only ingredients used, but other ingredients can include sand, lime, concrete, stone and other [[Binder (material)|binders]]. The formed or compressed block is then air dried and can be laid dry or with a mortar or [[clay slip]].

===Sand===
{{see also|sand mining}}
[[Sand]] is used with [[cement]], and sometimes [[Lime (material)|lime]], to make [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] for [[masonry]] work and [[plaster]]. Sand is also used as a part of the concrete mix. An important low-cost building material in countries with high sand content soils is the [[Sandcrete]] block, which is weaker but cheaper than fired clay bricks.<ref>Zoya Kpamma, Z. Mohammed Kamil, K. Adinkrah-Appiah, "Making Wall Construction Process Lean:The Interlocking Blocksystem as a Toole" [sic], International Conference on Infrastructural Development In Africa (ICIDA), KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana, March 2012. https://www.academia.edu/2647016/MAKING_WALL_CONSTRUCTION_PROCESS_LEAN_THE_INTERLOCKING_BLOCK_SYSTEM_AS_A_TOOL accessed 12/11/2013</ref> [[Sand reinforced polyester composite]] are used as bricks.

=== Stone or rock ===
{{see also|Rock (geology)#Building}}
Rock structures have existed for as long as history can recall. It is the longest-lasting building material available, and is usually readily available. There are many types of rock, with differing attributes that make them better or worse for particular uses. Rock is a very dense material so it gives a lot of protection; its main drawback as a building material is its weight and the difficulty of working it. Its [[energy density]] is both an advantage and disadvantage. Stone is hard to warm without consuming considerable energy but, once warm, its [[thermal mass]] means that can retain heat for useful periods of time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thermal mass |url=https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/thermal-mass |website=Your Home |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=2020-08-17}}</ref>

[[Dry-stone wall]]s and [[dry-stone hut|hut]]s have been built for as long as humans have put one stone on top of another. Eventually, different forms of [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] were used to hold the stones together, [[cement]] being the most commonplace now.

The [[granite]]-strewn uplands of [[Dartmoor]] National Park, United Kingdom, for example, provided ample resources for early settlers. Circular huts were constructed from loose granite rocks throughout the [[Neolithic]] and early [[Bronze Age]], and the remains of an estimated 5,000 can still be seen today. Granite continued to be used throughout the [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] period (see [[Dartmoor longhouse]]) and into modern times. [[Slate]] is another stone type, commonly used as roofing material in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world where it is found.

[[Rock (geology)|Stone]] buildings can be seen in most major cities, and some civilizations built predominantly with stone, such as the Egyptian and Aztec [[pyramids]] and the structures of the [[Inca]] civilization.

===Thatch===
[[File:Toda Hut.JPG|thumb|right|Toda tribe hut]]
[[Thatch]] is one of the oldest of building materials known. "Thatch" is another word for "grass"; grass is a good insulator and easily harvested. Many African tribes have lived in homes made completely of grasses and sand year-round. In Europe, thatch roofs on homes were once prevalent but the material fell out of favor as industrialization and improved transport increased the availability of other materials. Today, though, the practice is undergoing a revival. In the Netherlands, for instance, many new buildings have thatched roofs with special ridge tiles on top.

=== Wood and timber ===
[[File:Wood-framed house.jpg|thumb|A wood-framed house under construction in Texas, United States]]
[[File:Maszt 01.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The [[Gliwice Radio Tower]] (the second tallest wooden structure in the world) in [[Poland]] (2012).]]

[[Wood]] has been used as a building material for thousands of years in its natural state. Today, [[engineered wood]] is becoming very common in industrialized countries.

Wood is a product of [[tree]]s, and sometimes other [[natural fiber|fibrous]] plants, used for construction purposes when cut or pressed into lumber and timber, such as boards, planks and similar materials. It is a generic building material and is used in building just about any type of structure in most climates. Wood can be very flexible under loads, keeping strength while bending, and is incredibly strong when compressed vertically. There are many differing qualities to the different types of wood, even among same tree species. This means specific species are better suited for various uses than others. And [[forest management|growing conditions]] are important for deciding quality.

"Timber" is the term used for construction purposes except the term "lumber" is used in the United States. Raw wood (a log, trunk, bole) becomes timber when the wood has been "converted" (sawn, hewn, split) in the forms of [[Log cabin|minimally-processed logs stacked on top of each other]], [[timber frame]] construction, and [[Framing (construction)|light-frame construction]]. The main problems with timber structures are [[fire risk]] and moisture-related problems.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

In modern times [[softwood]] is used as a lower-value bulk material, whereas [[hardwood]] is usually used for finishings and furniture. Historically timber frame structures were built with oak in western Europe, recently [[douglas fir]] has become the most popular wood for most types of structural building.

Many families or communities, in rural areas, have a personal [[woodlot]] from which the family or community will grow and harvest trees to build with or sell. These lots are tended to like a garden. This was much more prevalent in pre-industrial times, when laws existed as to the amount of wood one could cut at any one time to ensure there would be a supply of timber for the future, but is still a viable form of agriculture.