Earth materials

Earth materials is a general term that includes minerals, rocks, soil and water. These are the naturally occurring materials found on Earth that constitute the raw materials upon which our global society exists. Earth materials are vital resources that provide the basic components for life, agriculture and industry.

Earth materials can also include metals and precious rocks.

The type of materials available locally will of course vary depending upon the conditions in the area of the building site.

In many areas, indigenous stone is available from the local region, such as limestone, marble, granite, and sandstone. It may be cut in quarries or removed from the surface of the ground (flag and fieldstone). Ideally, stone from the building site can be utilized. Depending on the stone type, it can be used for structural block, facing block, pavers, and crushed stone.

Most brick plants are located near the clay source they use to make brick. Bricks are molded and baked blocks of clay. Brick products come in many forms, including structural brick, face brick, roof tile, structural tile, paving brick, and floor tile.

Caliche is a soft limestone material which is mined from areas with calcium-carbonate soils and limestone bedrock. It is best known as a road bed material, but it can be processed into an unfired building block, stabilized with an additive such as cement. Other earth materials include soil blocks typically stabilized with a cement additive and produced with forms or compression.

Rammed Earth consists of walls made from moist, sandy soil, or stabilized soil, which is tamped into form work. Walls are a minimum of 12″ thick. Soils should contain about 30% clay and 70% sand.

The use of locally available and indigenous earth materials has several advantages in terms of sustainability. They are:

Reduction of energy costs related to transportation. Reduction of material costs due to reduced transportation costs, especially for well-established industries. Support of local businesses and resource bases. Care must be taken to ensure that non-renewable earth materials are not over-extracted. Ecological balance within the region needs to be maintained while efficiently utilizing its resources. Many local suppliers carry materials that have been shipped in from out of the area, so it is important to ask for locally produced/quarried materials.

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Wikipedia