Quality is an important factor in construction process. It depends upon the material used in construction process which ultimately affects the durability of home.

2. INRODUCTION
• Always the durability of home is dependent upon the
quality of construction material .
• When you are choosing the material for construction try
to choose material that will make your home long
lasting.
• Some may choose low quality material to save their
money ,but you still can choose good material by having
some idea about the construction materials.
• So to purchase good material & to increase the durability
of home we are sharing some idea with you.

4. So we are covering here some basic material , which is called
structural material :-
Cement:-
Cement is the basic binding material in concrete mixes which
consists of cement, sand, stone aggregators & water. Cement
mortar consists of cement, sand & water. When mixes with
water, cement sets & hardens by means of chemical reactions.

5. Types of cement:-
• Ordinary Portland cement
• Blast furnace slag cement
• Flyash-based Portland pozzolana cement
• Air entertaining cement
• Low alkali cement
• Hydrophobic cement
• Sulphate resisting cement
• Quick setting cement
• Low heat cement
• Rapid hardening cement
• Coloured cement
• Expansive cement & many more

6. From this list some are used for bridge construction, some are
for commercial buildings. But only two categories of cement
are generally used for normal house construction:

7. • OPC contains lime, silica, alumina, iron oxide, etc., & is
divided into three grades 33,43 & 53 depending on the
minimum compressive strength of cement sand mortar
cubes at 28 days.
• For example, the minimum compressive strength of 33
grade OPC would be 33N/mm2 or 330 kg/cm2 at 28 days.
• Always remember that long-term strengths of all the grades
remain the same. Often, low-grade cement is preferred due
to its performance parameters like low heat hydration,
protection from cracks & durability.
OPC CEMENT

8. • Blended cement is similar to ordinary Portland cement.
Except, it has mineral additives(flyash, slag, etc.)Which
improve the properties of both fresh and hardened
concrete. This is because blended cement allows for
extended hydration period, reduced water demand, low
heat of hydration & improved cohesion of the paste. It also
enhances the durability owing to its lower permeability &
improved micro structure. Furthermore, ingredients used
in blended cement make it a value-added, eco-friendly
product.
• There are many companies are available for cement so
you should choose wisely that which company will meet
your requirement.
Blended cement

9. Storage of cement:-
• Also if you are buying cement in bulk amount then you
should be careful about its storage , because water is the
no 1 enemy of cement. That is why, you need to ensure
that that cement should be kept away from moisture, in
any form. The room where the cement is kept stored must
have airtight doors & windows & it should be kept on
raised platform &covered with a tarpaulin.
• Also try to use the cement in ‘first –in-first-out’ method,
so that it will not deteriorate.

10. • It is always advisable to use blended cement in all
constructions like concrete, plaster, brickworks.
• It is always advisable to select cement with moderate
setting properties, because strength development also
depends on other factors like quantity of water in the mix,
workmanship etc.
• You also need to be very careful during construction
because whatever the cement you choose the workman
wants his share of profit ,so he may try to reduce the
amount of cement or can create any wrong proportion of
cement mortar which ultimately going to affect you in
future.

11. Some misconceptions about cement:-
• Use of high early strength cement results in reduced
cement content in concrete. Reducing cement content in
the concrete mix results ,in a higher water to cement ratio,
which in turns leads to higher permeability of the concrete
and eventually ,to poor durability of the concrete
structure.
• Therefore you should never use a higher grade to save on
the quantity of cement.
• Some people thought that darker the colour of the cement
better will be the durability of structure or requirement of
cement will be less .

12. Sand and Stone :-
• The sand and stone are called aggregates. These two
products consist of 70-75% of the total volume of concrete
and give body to it. River sand or stone is fine aggregator
and the stone pieces (crushed rock) as coarse aggregates. In
certain parts of the country,10 mm stone pieces are called
grit & 20 mm pieces are called coarse aggregates.
• The 10 mm & 20 mm stone aggregator are always mixed to
get best results, but some time some contractor reduce the
amount of 10 mm stone aggregator as a result more sand
will be required, which in turn lead to more water
absorption per cement bag .And the result of all these thing
will lead to poor settling of structure and reduce the
durability of building. So it is always best to use the 20mm
& 10 mm aggregator ratio in the range of 60:40 to 70:30 .

13. Things to focus on when buying aggregates
Stone:-
• Stones must be clean, dense, hard it must be elongated
• Should be cubical in shape
• Different stone aggregators must not be mixed.
Sand:-
• It should be clean-there shouldn’t any clay. Slit, glass, plastic
or other materials.
• AND another important thing is try to choose good sand in
which there is no tiny stones are there, because it affects
very much during the plastering work. Because of this tiny
stones holes are created in walls.

14. Bricks:-
• Bricks also are used for making walls. There are two
types of bricks. One is red brick another is cement brick.
The cement bricks are quite cheaper than that of red brick
.
• Red brick has its property regarding the temperature of
house and cement brick has it’s own.so while choosing
bricks decide which bricks suits to you.
• Also while buying bricks be careful for maintaining
bricks shape because broken bricks cannot be used for
construction.

15. Water:-
• It is the most essential element of construction material. It
distributes the cement evenly so that every particle is
coated with cement properly. The chemical reaction of
water with cement is called as hydration, wherein it sets &
hardens the cement.
• Also you can not use sea water for construction because of
salt present in it will deteriorate building .
• You need to be careful about the amount of water that in
which stage what amount of water is to be used. So simply
apply the golden rule: "Use minimum required water for
mixing of concrete and mortar, and maximum water for
entire curing period.”

16. Along with these things many other factors affect the
durability of building, such as
Curing:- During construction curing is an important part in
every step which increases the durability of buildings in a
large way by preventing the walls from cracking.

17. Concrete compaction:-
Concrete compaction is done during the roof construction. If
it is not done properly then voids are created which leads to
weakening of the structure.

18. Moisture:-
The moisture quantity in air depends upon the area
topography and also the building side environment. If there is
always moisture in the environment then there will
efflorescence occurs which will convert salt into soluble
solution & when it evaporates it become crystallized on the
concrete surface. This will damage the building. So always
choose sand in which there will be less salt composition.

19. Thank You