There are many types of building materials used in construction such as Concrete, Steel, Wood and Masonry. Each material has different properties such as weight, strength, durability and cost which makes it suitable for certain types of applications. The choice of materials for construction is based on cost and effectiveness to resisting the loads and stresses acting on the structure.
Building materials can generally be divided into two categories: Natural building materials such as stone and wood, and Man-made building materials such as concrete and steel. Both categories usually require a certain level of preparation or treatment before the use in a structural application. Below is the list of materials I used the most in engineering consulting projects.