Best Materials Choice for your Property
The materials used in a property are very vital factors that can go a long way in determining the quality, value, and purpose of the property. The choice of the best materials for your property can be dependent on cost-effectiveness for building projects and how fitting it is for the project.
The materials used in properties are a huge part of the technical details and the overall structural design of the property. Materials used in properties can be naturally occurring or human-made. The best choice of materials for your property depends on which one is suitable for the technical and structural design of your property.
Types of Materials Used in Properties
Masonry [Brick and Block]
Modern masonry construction remains one of the standard ways to build in many parts of the world. Masonry construction consists of two groups of materials, which are bricks and blocks. Properties made of bricks and blocks make use of a cavity wall construction with an internal and external skin of brickwork. The construction mostly uses designs that allow a little space in between two bricks. The primary essence of the space is to allow insulation.
In this UK project, we used masonry for a two-story residential house to replace an existing dwelling.
Timber
Timber and other light wood constructions are prevalent, and they are desirable because it is cost-effective. It is easy to use without the necessary involvement of heavy or highly technical equipment. It is also flexible, and you can easily carve it to give the desired shape. Aside from being used as the primary construction material, you can also use timber for other purposes in the properties. Timber can be used as joist horizontally placed to support studs within the wall, rafters to support the roof, and siding to cover the exterior walls.
In this proposed detached house, we used timber and did a complete structural engineering package including structural calculations and drawings.
Concrete
A concrete material is practically suitable for almost all properties. It has both horizontal and vertical members that have a concrete skeleton. The horizontal members of concrete materials are beams, while the vertical members of the frame are called columns. The column carries the most load of the property. Therefore, damaged columns can bring down the entire building while any damage in the beams can only damage the floor.
For this Fitness Center in the KSA, we suggested concrete. The structural system proposed for this building is reinforced concrete dual frame-shear wall system with vertical elements spanning from each other up to 10 m.
Steel
There are different steel types, but the most suitable for general steel construction is mild steel. Mild steel does not reflect its name because it is immensely strong, which is an excellent advantage to any building or properties. Other notable features of steel framing are flexibility and durability. Mild steels are the best material when the strength of the building is of utmost importance.
In this steel frame factory extension in Northern Ireland, a 840 sq.m. 7-bay Portal steel frame with 19.2m long unsupported rafter spans was done by our teams.
Role of Structural Engineers in Choosing the Best Material for your Property
They help to choose appropriate material tor the property
One of the significant roles of structural engineers in identifying the best materials that are most suitable for properties. They are in charge of calculating the loads and stress acting on a building; hence, they can make use of these calculations to figure out the best material for the building.
They help identify quality materials
In the world of construction and construction materials, the market has many materials of substandard materials. Therefore, it takes a level of professionalism and someone conversant with building structures to distinguish between the quality and substandard materials. A structural engineer is consistently in the construction world and can assist you in getting only quality materials.
Structural engineers help cut costs
Cost-effectiveness is one of the factors you should consider while constructing your property. Structural engineers can assist you in getting the best materials for your properties at cost-effective rates. They can assist you only to get essential materials while also cutting costs and minimizing waste.
Conclusion
Only suitable building materials can give you a suitable outcome when constructing your properties. The quality of materials used should fit your prospective property and should be cost-effective. However, you might need the professionalism of a structural engineer to achieve the best material choice for your property. The knowledge of structural engineers about quality materials cost control, strength factors, and durability factors can be very instrumental in getting the best materials for your property.