Loose materials - The Ecology of Building Materials - page 117

8 Loose materials

'Loose materials' is a collective name for fine-particled materials that have orig-
inated from mineral and/or organic, decomposed products from animals and
plants. In the larger lifecycle these return to a solid form such as rock. During this
process, loose materials with a large organic content can form a foundation for
the creation of coal or oil. A wide spectrum of raw materials within these states
of continuous degradation and regeneration have been used throughout
mankind's history for building construction.
Loose materials can be classified according to their origin, e.g. moraine - mate-
rial originating from a river or sea bed. As well as being the starting point for all
of the Earth's food production, they have many different uses in the building
process: sand and gravel as aggregate in concrete, clay mixed with earth which
can be rammed for solid earth construction and clay for the production of bricks,
ceramic tiles and expanded clay pellets.

Table 8.1: Basic building materials from loose materials

Material Main constituents Areas of use in building

Clay bricks, roof tiles Clay, sand, slag, fly ash, lime,

fossil meal

Structures, cladding, floor finishes, roof
covering, moisture regulation

Quarry tiles/Terracotta Substances for colouring Floor finishes, cladding

Vitrified tiles Loose materials containing

clay, kaolin, substances for
colouring, glazing

Floor finishes, cladding

Expanded day Loose materials containing

clay

Thermal insulation, granular fill, sound
insulation, aggregate in lightweight
concrete products