Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most widely used building material. Its usage worldwide, ton for ton, is twice that of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined.
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but floor covering refers more to loose-laid materials.
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar, to wall or cover formed structures.
Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder, polymeric, or a combination of both. Metal strips often divide sections, or changes in color or material in a pattern. Additional chips may be sprinkled atop the mix before it sets. After it is cured it is ground and polished smooth or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface. "Terrazzo" is also often used to describe any pattern similar to the original terrazzo floors. Modern forms of terrazzo include polished concrete.
Mortar is a workable paste which hardens to bind building blocks such as stones, bricks, and concrete masonry units, to fill and seal the irregular gaps between them, spread the weight of them evenly, and sometimes to add decorative colours or patterns to masonry walls. In its broadest sense, mortar includes pitch, asphalt, and soft clay, as those used between bricks, as well as cement mortar. The word "mortar" comes from the Old French word mortier, "builder's mortar, plaster; bowl for mixing." (13c.).
A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel.
A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the traditional masonry style with layers of staggered blocks.
This page is a list of construction topics.
Ferrocement or ferro-cement is a system of construction using reinforced mortar or plaster applied over an "armature" of metal mesh, woven, expanded metal, or metal-fibers, and closely spaced thin steel rods such as rebar. The metal commonly used is iron or some type of steel, and the mesh is made with wire with a diameter between 0.5 mm and 1 mm. The cement is typically a very rich mix of sand and cement in a 3:1 ratio; when used for making boards, no gravel is used, so that the material is not concrete.
Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing, which is the external part of mortar joints, in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units, usually in bricks, allowing the undesirable entrance of water. Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and from salt dissolution and deposition. Repointing is also called pointing, or pointing up, although these terms more properly refer to the finishing step in new construction. Tuckpointing is also commonly used as a synonym, though its formal definition is technically different.
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.
Lime mortar or torching is a masonry mortar composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, used in ancient Rome and Greece, when it largely replaced the clay and gypsum mortars common to ancient Egyptian construction.
Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through openings in materials, a type of mechanical seal. In building construction sealant is sometimes synonymous with caulk and also serve the purposes of blocking dust, sound and heat transmission. Sealants may be weak or strong, flexible or rigid, permanent or temporary. Sealants are not adhesives but some have adhesive qualities and are called adhesive-sealants or structural sealants.
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.
Decorative concrete is the use of concrete as not simply a utilitarian medium for construction but as an aesthetic enhancement to a structure, while still serving its function as an integral part of the building itself such as floors, walls, driveways, and patios.
Thinset is an adhesive mortar made of cement, fine sand and a water-retaining agent such as an alkyl derivative of cellulose. It is usually used to attach tile or stone to surfaces such as cement or concrete. The adoption of a thinset mortar based installation method has led to an expansion in the usage of ceramic tiles throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Further, It is particularly popular among mosaicists for outdoor applications.
Cement render or cement plaster is the application of a mortar mix of sand and cement, and water to brick, concrete, stone, or mud brick. It is often textured, colored, or painted after application. It is generally used on exterior walls but can be used to feature an interior wall. Depending on the 'look' required, rendering can be fine or coarse, textured or smooth, natural or colored, pigmented or painted.
Polished concrete is a multi-step process where a concrete floor is mechanically ground, honed and polished with bonded abrasives in order to achieve a desired level of sheen or gloss.
Self-leveling concrete has polymer-modified cement that has high flow characteristics and, in contrast to traditional concrete, does not require the addition of excessive amounts of water for placement. Self-leveling concrete is typically used to create a flat and smooth surface with a compressive strength similar to or higher than that of traditional concrete prior to installing interior floor coverings. Self-leveling concrete has increased in popularity as the degree of flatness and smoothness required for floor covering products has increased, with vinyl goods becoming thinner and floor tiles becoming larger, for example.
A traditional method for the installation of tile and stone which involves setting the tile or stone into a mortar bed which has been packed over a surface.
