A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. The term stucco refers to plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.
Drywall is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick sheets of facer and backer paper, used in the construction of interior walls and ceilings. The plaster is mixed with fiber ; plasticizer, foaming agent; and additives that can reduce mildew, flammability, and water absorption.
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacturing of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific specialty trades, such as carpentry, insulation, plumbing, and roofing work. They provide the make-up of habitats and structures including homes.
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture. Stucco can be applied on construction materials such as metal, expanded metal lath, concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe for decorative and structural purposes.
Lath and plaster is a building process used to finish mainly interior dividing walls and ceilings. It consists of narrow strips of wood (laths) which are nailed horizontally across the wall studs or ceiling joists and then coated in plaster. The technique derives from an earlier, more primitive process called wattle and daub.
This page is a list of construction topics.
Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering or rendering, has been used in building construction for centuries. For the art history of three-dimensional plaster, see stucco.
Fireproofing is rendering something resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a noun, verb or adjective; it may be hyphenated ("fire-proof").
Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor-ceilings and roofs, fire doors, windows, and wall assemblies, fire-resistant coatings, and other fire and smoke control assemblies. Passive fire protection systems can include active components such as fire dampers.
Joint compound is a white powder of primarily gypsum dust mixed with water to form a paste the consistency of cake frosting, which is spread onto drywall and sanded after dry to create a seamless base for paint on walls and ceilings.
Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) is a type of fibre-reinforced concrete. The product is also known as glassfibre reinforced concrete or GRC in British English. Glass fibre concretes are mainly used in exterior building façade panels and as architectural precast concrete. Somewhat similar materials are fibre cement siding and cement boards.
A cement board is a combination of cement and reinforcing fibers formed into sheets, of varying thickness that are typically used as a tile backing board. Cement board can be nailed or screwed to wood or steel studs to create a substrate for vertical tile and attached horizontally to plywood for tile floors, kitchen counters and backsplashes. It can be used on the exterior of buildings as a base for exterior plaster (stucco) systems and sometimes as the finish system itself.
Building insulation materials are the building materials that form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer.
Earthen plaster is made of clay, sand and often mixed with plant fibers. The material is often used as an aesthetically pleasing finish coat and also has several functional benefits. This natural plaster layer is known for its breathability, moisture-regulating ability and ability to promote a healthy indoor environment. In the context of stricter indoor air quality regulations, earthen plaster shows great potential because of its properties as a building material.
Magnesium oxide, more commonly called magnesia, is a mineral that when used as part of a cement mixture and cast into thin cement panels under proper curing procedures and practices can be used in residential and commercial building construction. Some versions are suitable for general building uses and for applications that require fire resistance, mold and mildew control, as well as sound control applications. Magnesia board has strength and resistance due to very strong bonds between magnesium and oxygen atoms that form magnesium oxide crystals.
Knauf Group is a multinational, family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany, well known for drywall gypsum boards, founded in 1932. The company is a producer of building materials and construction systems comprising construction materials for drywall construction, plasterboard, cement boards, mineral fibre acoustic boards, dry mortars with gypsum for internal plaster and cement-based external plaster and insulating materials; glass wool, stone wool and other insulation materials under the company Knauf Insulation.
Gypsum block is a massive lightweight building material composed of solid gypsum, for building and erecting lightweight, fire-resistant, non-load bearing interior walls, partition walls, cavity walls, skin walls, and pillar casing indoors. Gypsum blocks are composed of gypsum, plaster, water and in some cases additives like vegetable or wood fiber for greater strength. Partition walls, made from gypsum blocks, require no sub-structure for erection and gypsum adhesive is used as bonding agent, not standard mortar. Because of this fundamental difference, gypsum blocks shouldn't be confused with the thinner plasterboard used for paneling stud walls.
Gypsum recycling is the process of turning gypsum waste into recycled gypsum, thereby generating a raw material that can replace virgin gypsum raw materials in the manufacturing of new products.
Construction adhesive is a general-purpose adhesive used for attaching drywall, tile, molding, and fixtures to walls, ceilings, and floors. It is most commonly available in tubes intended for use with a caulking gun.
