Some Useful Building Materials With Strong Fire Resistance Strength
- Concrete Cost Estimator
- Concrete Continuous Footing
- Landscape Bidding and Estimating
- Construction Cost Estimating
- Concrete and steel cost estimation
- Construction Cost Estimate Breakdown
- Construction Estimating Worksheet
- Home Construction Cost Estimate
- Estimate Pricing Sheet
- Sheet for General Contractor
- Construction Cost Estimate
- Labor Materials Cost Estimator
- Masonry Estimating Sheet
- Sheet for Building Contractor
- Construction Schedule Bar chart
- General Cost Estimator Sheet
- General Construction Estimate
- Building and Road Estimating Sheet
- Detailed expense estimates
- Door and Window Takeoff Sheet
- General Construction Cost Estimating Sheet

Our dwelling house should be adequately strong to withstand earthquakes, floods as well as outbreak of fires. But it is a major concern that not every house is properly fire-resistant.
But if any house is built-up in a perfect manner with fire-retarding materials, the fire can be resisted for a longer duration and thus the risk is minimized significantly.
Properties Of Fire Retarding Materials:
1. It never be affected with fire easily and also transmits heat gradually.
2. It does not break up under the impact of heat caused by fire.
3. It does not spread out under heat and consequently does not provide extra stresses in the building.
4. It does not lose its strength if affected with fire.
Given below, the details about fire resisting characteristics of some building materials which are mostly utilized in house construction.
Concrete: Concrete has strong fire resistance strength. The behavior of concrete mainly influenced by the quality of cement and aggregates available within it.
For reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete, the placement of steel reinforcement is also very crucial. Larger concrete cover over a member leads to superior fire resistance to it.
Usually, the strength of concrete is lost beyond the temperatures of 250oC. The reinforced concrete can undergo the temperatures of up to 1000oC for about an hour.
Steel: Steel is also considered as a good conductor of heat. It yields at 600oC and dissolves at 1400oC. The tensile strength is reduced under the effect of heat resulting from fire. Steel columns are in danger during fires. Steel reinforcement can make the reinforced concrete structures weak.
Also Read: How to measure various building materials with formulas
So, the brick work or thin concrete cover should be provided with steel columns to safeguard them. Steel grills and beams should also be coated with fire resistant paints.
Glass: Glass is considered as a poor conductor of heat. It enlarges slightly upon heating. When the glass is cooled down, after being heated, cracks are developed.
Tempered glass is heat treated and it offers about four times more strength as compared to regular glass. Glass is normally reinforced with steel wires to enhance the fire resistance strength. Even if the glass cracks or breaks, the broken pieces are still in their original positions.
Aluminium: Similar to steel, aluminium is also a good conductor of heat. But it offers greater fire resistance than steel.
Bricks: Bricks are also considered as poor conductors of heat. They can withstand temperatures of up to 1200oC. When the quality mortar is good during construction, bricks offers superior fire resistance. Brick walls can easily defy fires up to 1 to 4 hours.
Stucco: Stucco is a specific type of plaster that is constructed with plaster, sand and lime and applied as a very strong and long-lasting fire resistant finish material for buildings. It is provided in 2 to 3 coats. A one inch thick layer of stucco can easily give a one hour fire rating to a wall.
Timber: Timber catches fire quickly and it should be coated with fire resistant like ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulphate, borax, etc. Sometimes fire resistant paints are also used on timber as a coating to get rid of catching fire fast.
Gypsum: The different types of structural materials contain underlying gypsum sheathing for superior fire-resistance. The gypsum board is frequently used for interior finish. Gypsum board or drywall comprises of a layer of gypsum squeezed among two sheets of paper. Type X gypsum board is specially provided with several additives for greater resistance to fire.
The paper on the exterior layer of the gypsum board burns gradually to stop the fire from further spreading. Next, the non-combustible core with gypsum (water, chemically combined with calcium sulphate) is impacted. Because of fire, the water emerges as steam, impeding the heat transmission through the gypsum board. Finally, the gypsum core withstands fire infiltration for a specific time period.
Asbestos: It stands for a non-combustible material. It has strong resistance capacity against fire but also leads to waterproofing of buildings. If the asbestos are added to mortar mix, the tensile strength is raised significantly. Due to its fire resistant properties, it is frequently used in building up the asbestos bricks which are again utilized to build fireplaces and brick ovens.
- Application of concrete calculator
- Roofing Calculator can streamline the roof estimating process
- House construction cost calculator
- Engineering column design excel spreadsheet
- Material Estimating Sheet with Excel
- Materials List and Cost Estimate Worksheet
- Concrete Slab Estimating Calculator Sheet
- Common types of foundations for buildings
- Online calculation of construction materials
- Estimating with Excel for the Small Contractor
- Concrete Beam Design Spreadsheet
- Virtual Construction Management app for construction
- Autodesk’s Project Skyscraper
- Reed Construction’s Reed Insight
- Manage your construction project documentation
- Costimator, the popular cost estimating software
- On Center Software for construction professionals
- Free Construction Estimating Software
- Plumbing Calc Pro
- Cost Estimate Worksheet
- HVAC Piping Quantity Takeoff Worksheet
- Construction Estimating Software Sheet
- Estimate Cost Templates
- Construction Punch List
- Construction cost estimating template consisting estimating basic
- Gantt Chart Template for Excel
- Download Civil Engineering Spreadsheets with Verification
- The Building Advisor Estimating and Budgeting Worksheet
- Spreadsheet for design of concrete bridge
- Construction Estimating Software Free