Fibre cement is a composite building and construction material, used mainly in roofing and facade products because of its strength and durability. One common use is in fiber cement siding on buildings.
Fibre cement is a composite building and construction material, used mainly in roofing and facade products because of its strength and durability. One common use is in fiber cement siding on buildings.
The term cement originates from the Latin word caementum, which refers to chopped stone. Cement describes a substance which will react chemically with water and develop into a material as hard as stone.
In fibre cement there is a fibre reinforcement, which contributes to making the fibre-cement material even stronger. Together with a carefully planned production process, fibre cement makes it possible to develop strong and long lasting construction materials. [1] Today fibre cement is considered as a material physically suited for construction products such as cladding and roofing. It is primarily due to its function, performance and commercial value. [2]
Although fiber cement flat sheet may be classified under EN 12467:2012+A2:2018 in Category A1 (non-combustible - construction applications), A1Fl (non-combustible - flooring applications) or A2 (limited combustibility), some fiber cement sheet does not test as well. Additionally, some products may not have been tested by any accredited lab at all. [3]
Fibre-reinforced cement-products were invented in the late 19th century by the Austrian Ludwig Hatschek. He mixed 90% cement and 10% asbestos fibres with water and ran it through a cardboard machine, forming strong thin sheets. Originally, the reinforcing fibres were of asbestos and the material was commonly used as siding in house buildings due to its low cost, fire-resistance, water tightness, light weight, and other useful properties.
In the 1970s it became widely acknowledged that exposure to asbestos is harmful to health, being directly related to a number of life-threatening diseases including, asbestosis, pleural mesothelioma (lung) and peritoneal mesothelioma (abdomen). Consequently, asbestos use was progressively prohibited and safer fibre alternatives were developed, principally cellulose, to allow continued exploitation of the widely acknowledged advantages of fibre cement.
Fibre cement products were amongst the last materials available to have contained large quantities of asbestos. The asbestos fibres are intimately bound to the cement matrix and were considered to be immobilized in the cement and therefore less prone to be released in the environment, suspended in the air, and inhaled in the lung than in other materials or applications, such as thermal insulation or flocking, in which loose asbestos fibres were used. However, asbestos fibres are inevitably released during machining of the fibre-cement products, and by long-term erosion of the material after it has been exposed to atmospheric weathering and wind, which causes the cement to degrade. Occupational health concerns and the protection of workers in the fibre-cement factories have finally led to the progressive elimination of asbestos from these products. [1]
Users of fibre cement boards who seek high performance and reliable green building materials should source products that have been tested by accredited laboratories and proven to be 100% free from asbestos or other harmful materials such as sepiolite, inorganic fibre or formaldehyde.[ citation needed ]
Fibre cement is a main component of long-lasting building materials. The main application areas are roofing and cladding. The list below gives some common applications.
Internal cladding:
External cladding:
Roofing:
Along with the above applications, fibre cement boards can be used for a Mezzanine floor, Facade, External fins, Deck covering, Roof Underlay, Acoustix etc.
Fibre-cement products have found wide usage in various sectors of construction: industrial, agricultural, domestic and residential buildings, mainly in roofing and cladding applications, for new constructions and refurbishment projects.
Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite.
Siding or wall cladding is the protective material attached to the exterior side of a wall of a house or other building. Along with the roof, it forms the first line of defense against the elements, most importantly sun, rain/snow, heat and cold, thus creating a stable, more comfortable environment on the interior side. The siding material and style also can enhance or detract from the building's beauty. There is a wide and expanding variety of materials to side with, both natural and artificial, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Masonry walls as such do not require siding, but any wall can be sided. Walls that are internally framed, whether with wood, or steel I-beams, however, must always be sided.
This page is a list of construction topics.
Transite originated as a brand that Johns Manville, an American company, created in 1929 for a line of asbestos-cement products, including boards and pipes. In time it became a generic term for other companies' similar asbestos-cement products, and later an even more generic term for a hard, fireproof composite material, fibre cement boards, typically used in wall construction. It can also be found in insulation, siding, roof gutters, and cement wallboard. The more prevalent transite found in wall construction and roofing tiles for example, will last anywhere from 50 years to over 100 years.
Asbestos cement, genericized as fibro, fibrolite, or AC sheet, is a composite building material consisting of cement and asbestos fibres pressed into thin rigid sheets and other shapes.
Clapboard, also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.
Fiber cement siding is a building material used to cover the exterior of a building in both commercial and domestic applications. Fiber cement is a composite material made of cement reinforced with cellulose fibers. Originally, asbestos was used as the reinforcing material but, due to safety concerns, that was replaced by cellulose in the 1980s. Fiber cement board may come pre-painted or pre-stained or can be done so after its installation.
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat, rectangular shapes laid in courses from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive course overlapping the joints below. Shingles are held by the roof rafters and are made of various materials such as wood, slate, flagstone, metal, plastic, and composite materials such as fibre cement and asphalt shingles. Ceramic roof tiles, which still dominate in Europe and some parts of Asia, are still usually called tiles. Roof shingles may deteriorate faster and need to repel more water than wall shingles. They are a very common roofing material in the United States.
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").
Building insulation materials are the building materials that form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer.
Bituminous waterproofing systems are designed to protect residential and commercial buildings. Bitumen is a material made up of organic liquids that are highly sticky, viscous, and waterproof. Systems incorporating bituminous-based substrates are sometimes used to construct roofs, in the form of "roofing felt" or "roll roofing" products.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
CertainTeed is a North American manufacturer of building materials for both commercial and residential construction and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saint-Gobain SA, based in Paris.
Cembrit is a distributor and manufacturer of fibre cement products in Europe and offers a range of fibre-cement based products for roofing, interior cladding and exterior cladding. The company manufactures facade and buildings panels as well as fibre cement corrugated sheets, and systems for the design of facades, roofing, lining of interior walls and function panels for various building constructions.
Eternit is a registered trademark for a brand of fibre cement currently owned by the Belgian company Etex. Fibre is often applied in building and construction materials, mainly in roofing and facade products.
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer. In construction, cladding is used to provide a degree of thermal insulation and weather resistance, and to improve the appearance of buildings. Cladding can be made of any of a wide range of materials including wood, metal, brick, vinyl, and composite materials that can include aluminium, wood, blends of cement and recycled polystyrene, wheat/rice straw fibres. Rainscreen cladding is a form of weather cladding designed to protect against the elements, but also offers thermal insulation. The cladding does not itself need to be waterproof, merely a control element: it may serve only to direct water or wind safely away in order to control run-off and prevent its infiltration into the building structure. Cladding may also be a control element for noise, either entering or escaping. Cladding can become a fire risk by design or material.
All types of asbestos fibers are known to cause serious health hazards in humans. The most common diseases associated with chronic exposure to asbestos are asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Nigerite Limited is a firm that manufactures roofing and ceiling sheets and provides building components to the construction and building industry in Nigeria. It was established in April 1959 as a joint venture between the Western Regional government, Eternit Group who had majority shareholding, Patterson Zochonis and John Holt.
Ludwig Hatschek was an Austrian industrialist. He was the founder of the Eternit-Werke factory in Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria.
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