Published by Oxford University Press
ISBN 10: 0199497214 ISBN 13: 9780199497218
Review by PC Sharma, Chief Editor, NBM&CW and Retd. Head Material Sciences, Structural Engg. Research Centre, Roorkee and Ghaziabad

25 chapters in well written and easy to understand English language cover materials and their specifications, construction equipment and their applications, and describe the various tests that need to be conducted on some of the materials to evaluate their performance. The book covers various aspects of building materials such as their properties and characteristics, manufacturing and energy requirements, environmental friendliness such as recyclability and sustainability, etc. Several Indian codes on building materials, and an abstract of all the important codes have been provided, along with an introduction on the green building rating system.
Building Materials covered include stones, bricks and brick substitutes, cement and cementitious materials, aggregates, mortars and plasters, concrete and RCC, SPL Structural concrete, gypsum wood and wood products, ferrous metals other than steel, steel, non-ferrous metals and alloys, glass, clay and ceramic products, plastics & rubbers, paints & varnishes, asphalt bitumen & tar, and thermal and sound insulating materials, waterproofing and damp proofing materials and more.
30 case studies, 750 review questions, and 440 multiple choice questions, make this book a rich source of information on the construction industry.
The book reflects the author’s experience in teaching, in-depth research, and writing skill.
On a scale of 1-5, I would like to rate it 5.