ABSTRACT
Building materials are the architect's palette, critical to success in every respect from the functional and economic to the psychological and aesthetic. Their selection has increasingly complex environmental and socio-economic implications. The second most widely used substance in the world after water, concrete ranges from the most basic below ground uses in building to some of the most sophisticated and costly finishes that fashion dictates. Bricks are categorised according to the degree of frost resistance they exhibit, with a further categorisation of their soluble salt content. A strong high-grade ceramic ware made from white clays and finely ground minerals. All exposed surfaces are coated with an impervious non-crazing vitreous glaze. Damp-Proof Courses (DPCs) provide an impermeable barrier to the passage of moisture from below, from above or horizontally. Ground gas protection against radon, methane, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons is provided by sheet membranes and cavity barriers as required under Building Regulations.
