Low-cost building materials not just increment access to perpetual housing for individuals from low and middle class people also in addition contributes towards sustainability, especially when locally accessible structure material is utilized.

The materials generally used for modern low-cost construction are hollow concrete blocks, bamboo, extruded clay bricks, compressed earth bricks, concrete panels, along with non-conventional materials like polymers and recycled composite blocks, as they can decrease constn time significantly. We’ll take a look on types of building materials reasonable for low-cost housing in India.

1. Bamboo: One of the oldest building materials used by man along with stone and wood, bamboo is utilized even today in rural regions. It is a green structure material, which is extremely famous in India because of its low cost, low weight and strength yet ought to be treated with proper chemicals concoctions to make it termite proof. As India produces almost 50% of the world’s bamboo, houses in seismic zones of the nation are made with bamboo. The material has preferred rigidity over steel and is also fire proof. Recently, corrugated sheets of bamboo have been created, and these are utilized for roofing as specialists believe it to be a perfect substitute for asbestos and galvanized sheets.
2. Concrete Blocks: Concrete blocks are manufactured at factories as per necessities of house developers. Made by blending Portland cement, water, stone or quartz, these blocks can either be strong or hollow and are commonly lightweight, sturdy and fire proof. These are utilized for the foundation, basement walls and partition walls as their centers can be loaded up with steel rods for improving strength. As they are made of cement, they are termite safe, soundproof and give natural protection against heat and cold.
3. Prefabricated houses: These are progressively being utilized for meeting necessities of perpetual housing as the expense of normal brick and mortar houses keeps on rising exponentially. These houses are made of parts that are factory fabricated and afterward collected at the house site. The parts incorporate steel outlines, wooden boards, concrete and gypsum for floors alongside factory fabricated doors, windows, ceilings and walls. Contingent upon the necessities, components like wall and ceiling panels, as well as structural steel frames, can be specially designed and afterward amassed. Despite the fact that these materials are about 15% more costly than normally used materials, their significant level of productivity and low work costs cut down the general development costs. They evacuate the requirement for helper exercises like wiring, plumbing and plastering, which are done at the casting stage.
4. Compressed Earth Bricks: These blocks are created out of soil and r/fed with a blend of lime and cement. Otherwise called adobe bricks, they are lightweight, harmless and fire proof. Compacted earth bricks are thick and for the most part utilized for outside plaster work and are viewed as one of the least expensive among low-cost building materials.
5. Interlocking bricks: These bricks are structured with a projection on one side and a downturn on the other so they line up with blocks of a comparable sort, similar to a jigsaw puzzle, to make walls. Interlocking bricks are made out of laterite stone powder, cement and rock. They are viewed as green structure materials when contrasted with heated bricks as they dry naturally and are similarly as solid.
6. Mud bricks reinforced by natural fibres from straw and coconut: This feasible structure material is normally utilized in rural regions to built weatherproof houses as they give both strength and durability. Naturally available fibres like coconut and straw increment the strength and sturdiness of unadulterated soil while a covering of sulphur makes walls waterproof. Different sorts of fiber bricks are made with oat straw, bagasse, corn straw and rice husk, which are mixed with cement to make them corrosion resistant and solid.
7. Magnesium oxide cement: Also known as ‘eco cement’, this material is made out of a few waste materials however has high sturdiness and requires just 20-40% of the vitality required for the creation of Portland concrete. It doesn’t make any damage to people of houses where it is applied as a maintainable structure material.
8. Fly ash Hollow bricks: These bricks are utilized for developing load-bearing walls of low ascent structures and made of fly ash, stone powder or sand, slag and cement or gypsum for holding. A few classifications of fly ash bricks are additionally made out of mineral buildup, glass, water, and fly ash and are vitality proficient, water-safe and give natural thermal protection to a low-cost house.
9. Shipping container houses: Houses made of steel containers are quick getting popularly known among individuals investigating recyclable structure materials. While the littlest one can make a 100 sq ft house, one shall require around 8-9 large containers to set up a 1500 sq ft home with two stories. It’s a cost-effective as a pre-assembled house as the container just should be organized on a ready foundation.
10. Autoclaved aerated Concrete or AAC: Made out of gypsum, lime, quartz sand, water and aluminum powder, these blocks are built under heat and pressure inside an autoclave as indicated by explicit necessities. The blocks can be utilized for both outside and inside walls and are known to be heat safe and lightweight. The material decreases vitality costs as it is permeable and non-toxic. It is environment safe too as it creates 30% less solid waste in contrast with normally used concrete.

1. Plinth levels of all buildings should be 0.6 m above the drainage/flood submersion levels under the mean annual flood.
2. All the buildings should preferably be two or more storeys.
3. In single-storey buildings, a stairway must be provided to the roofs which could be used as temporary shelter for which roof should be made of flat type.
4. The roof levels of the single-storey buildings and the first floor level in double-storey buildings should be kept above 100-year flood levels.

For more detailed guidelines, follow the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council