Building construction is a vast subject, ranging from the construction of a small individual home to tall skyscraper commercial complexes and huge malls. The construction of non-residential buildings like hospitals, courts, schools, etc. require specialised design knowledge and use of different type of building materials. The building materials required will have a wide variance according to the size and the budget of the said construction. Even between two individual homes of the same size, there can be a huge difference in the materials used, depending on the budget allocation. A simple home can be constructed with a few building materials, while a similar home of the same size can use a large variety of materials if there is no constraint on the budget.The January 2003 amendments to Building Code of Australia have specified measures and regulations on building construction and the type of building materials that can be used in Australia. This has been done with the intention of achieving minimum energy requirements of new buildings and major refurbishments and energy efficiency measures are completely met with. The inclusion of energy efficiency measures is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is a subsequent initiative of the Australian government to include all the levels of the government and representatives of the building industry.
An interesting item termed as the Building Assemblies & Materials Scorecard is being developed by the Centre for Design at RMIT University. This tool is expected to help users to find the actual environmental impact of building products and building assemblies. The new tool considers the impact of the entire building assemblies, not just the individual products, like the impact of using both timber & plaster for a wall. Another study reveals that the major constructions are proliferating around coastal Australia areas and the incidence of solar radiation is very high over a major portion of the Australian mainland. This affects organic materials and metal surfaces severely and products that work well in other countries are found wanting in Australia many times. Hence, special care is needed to be taken while choosing the building materials. It will be best if leading experts in the field, be it architects, engineers or developers, are considered and consulted in this sensitive matter, to avoid later problems and save long term costs.
Some of the most essential building materials can be listed as follows:
- Bricks & tiles
- Ceilings & Wallboard
- Cement
- Decorative Concrete
- Doors
- Drainage Products
- Elevators
- Faucets
- Fireplaces
- Flooring
- Home Automation Products
- Insulation
- Lighting
- Pipes & Plumbing Fixtures
- Roofing
- Spas & Saunas
- Wood & Joinery
Many of the leading building materials suppliers are expected to participate in the Designbuild Perth 08 Exhibition and the Perth Plumbing Show to be conducted in the city of Perth
between October 17 and October 19 this year. The site has provided a list of the exhibitors that have consented to participate in this Designbuild Perth 08 exhibition. There are several trade directories available in Australia, through which building materials suppliers can be located.