Building materials

earth mixed with straw, used for making bricks to build houses

sand or small stones used for making concrete (=material used for building)

a substance that does not burn easily that was used in building materials in the past. It is now known to cause cancer and is no longer used.

bitumen (noun)

a black sticky substance made from petroleum, used for making roads and covering roofs

board (noun)

a long thin flat piece of wood, used especially for making floors and other parts of buildings

boarding (noun)

boards joined together to make something such as a floor or a fence

breeze block (noun)

British a large light brick made from cement and cinders that is used in building

brick (noun)

a block used for building walls and other structures

brick (noun)

bricks used as a building material

brownstone (noun)

a type of reddish-brown stone, often used for building

caulk (noun)

a substance that you use for caulking something

cavity wall insulation (noun)

British a substance that is put into a cavity wall to keep heat inside a building

cement (noun)

a grey powder used in building that becomes very hard when you mix it with sand and water

cinder block (noun)

American a breeze block

cladding (noun)

a hard substance such as wood, stone, or metal that is put on the outside of a structure, especially a building, to protect it or make it look more attractive

clapboard (noun)

mainly American wooden boards used for covering the outside of a building

clapboard (noun)

mainly American one of these wooden boards

concrete (noun)

a hard substance used in building made by mixing cement, sand, small stones, and water

damp course (noun)

British a layer of plastic material that is built into the bottom of the walls of a building to stop damp from rising up into the walls from the ground

daub (noun)

a mixture of wet clay and straw (=dried plant stems), used for making walls, especially in the past

decking (noun)

wood used for making this floor

duct tape (noun)

strong and very sticky cloth that is often used for covering cracks or holes in pipes

fiberboard ()

the American spelling of fibreboard

fibreboard (noun)

a hard light substance made from wood fibres pressed together, used in building

fibro (noun)

Australianinformal fibrocement: a building material that is made from asbestos and cement and can cause lung disease

filler (noun)

a substance used for repairing holes in walls and in wood

floorboard (noun)

a long wooden board that is part of a wooden floor

galvanize (noun)

Caribbean pieces of galvanized tin (=a soft white metal) that are used for making roofs or fences

girder (noun)

a very large metal bar used for making the frame of a building, bridge, or other large structure

granite (noun)

a type of very hard stone, used especially for building

hardboard (noun)

thin light board made by pressing very small pieces of wood together

hard core (noun)

British pieces of broken stone and brick used to make the surface that something is built on

insulating tape (noun)

British sticky material that you wrap around electrical wires in order to insulate them

insulation (noun)

material used for preventing heat, cold, noise, or electricity from passing through something

insulator (noun)

a substance that reduces the amount of heat, cold, noise, or electricity that can pass through something

iron (noun)

a hard heavy metal that is a common element. It is used for making steel and is also used in many types of machine and building structures.

laminate (noun)

a substance that consists of several thin layers of wood, plastic, glass etc

lath (noun)

a long thin piece of wood used in building

leads (noun)

British flat pieces of lead used for covering roofs

lime (noun)

a white substance used for making cement and for helping plants to grow

limestone (noun)

a type of white or grey stone containing calcium, used for building and making cement

lumber (noun)

American timber

marble (noun)

a hard smooth stone used for building and making statues. Marble is usually white with dark lines that are not regular in shape

masonry (noun)

the bricks or stones that make a building, wall, or other structure

MDF (noun)

medium-density fibreboard: a building material made of small pieces of wood pressed together to form boards, used for making furniture, doors etc

mortar (noun)

a substance used in building for joining bricks or stones, made by mixing together sand, water, and lime

mud (noun)

earth used as a building material

parquet (noun)

a floor made of blocks of wood that form a pattern

paving (noun)

bricks, blocks of stone, or concrete used for covering an area of ground

pebbledash (noun)

British a substance that consists of cement mixed with a lot of small pebbles and is spread over the outside walls of a house

piping (noun)

a long tube that can be cut into smaller tubes to make pipes

pitch (noun)

a thick black sticky substance used on roofs and ships to stop water getting through

plank (noun)

a long narrow piece of wood used for making structures such as floors

planking (noun)

planks used for making a floor

plaster (noun)

a substance that is spread onto walls and ceilings to form a hard smooth surface

plasterboard (noun)

British plaster that is put between layers of strong paper, and is used for covering walls

plywood (noun)

a type of board used for building houses, furniture etc, made from thin layers of wood that are fixed together using glue

pointing (noun)

the cement or mortar between the stones or bricks in a wall

precast (adjective)

already made into the correct shape to use for building a structure

putty (noun)

a soft grey substance used for fixing glass into windows

quarry tile (noun)

a thick tile for floors that has a slightly rough surface

reinforced concrete (noun)

concrete with metal bars inside it to make it stronger

rendering (noun)

plaster or cement used for covering a wall

roofing (noun)

material used for making or repairing the roofs of buildings

sandstone (noun)

a type of pale yellow stone used for building, made from sand that has become hard over many years

scaffolding (noun)

poles and boards used for making a scaffold on the outside of a building

shingle (noun)

one of many small flat pieces of wood that form the outer surface of a wall or roof

slab (noun)

a large flat piece of a hard material such as stone or wood

slate (noun)

a single flat piece of slate that is used with others for covering a roof

stone (noun)

the hard substance that rocks are made of, often used for building

stucco (noun)

a substance used for covering walls, usually on the outside of a building, to give them a rough surface

tile (noun)

a flat piece of baked clay or stone that is used for covering a roof

tile (noun)

a flat square piece of baked clay or another substance used for covering a wall or a floor

timber (noun)

wood used for building houses or making furniture

timber (noun)

a piece of wood used for building

wattle (noun)

a substance used for making walls, consisting of large sticks with small branches between them

wattle and daub ()

a substance used in the past for building walls, consisting of wattle covered with clay

weatherboard (noun)

British one of a set of wooden boards used for protecting the outside of some buildings, arranged so that the base of one board covers the top of the next

woodblock (noun)

a square piece of wood that forms part of a floor

Synonyms and antonyms of Building materials in British Thesaurus