Basic Construction Materials, 8th edition

Basic Construction Methods, Eighth Edition, offers an in-depth introduction to the real-world application of some of the most fundamental materials used in construction today. This informative and practical text reflects the latest industry standards from ASTM and ACI and fully prepares students for entry into the construction industry or for further study in construction methods, specification writing, design methods, or related engineering programs. This new edition takes a renewed focus on sustainability, the environmental costs of materials production, and the ability to recycle construction materials.

Basic material coverage.

• Considers some of the most commonly used materials in construction—aggregates, asphalt and asphalt concrete, Portland cement and Portland cement concrete, masonry, ferrous metals, and wood.
• Gives students a strong foundation in basic construction materials—how they are selected and tested, their properties and uses, methods of extraction and processing, auxiliary equipment, and more.

Real-life testing procedures.

• Gives students hands-on experience with testing procedures used on a daily basis on today's construction sites.

Review questions.

• Concludes each chapter with many review questions, metric problems, and a reiteration of usable industry reference standards.
• Provides students with immediate reinforcement and support of the concepts and applications they have just learned.

Useful appendix.

• Includes valuable metric information.
• Prepares students for an upcoming conversion in the construction industry to metrication.

Created new and easily understood student experiments which replace the ASTM standards in previous editions.

• These experiments allow students and instructors to follow accepted guidelines for testing materials and analyzing results. 

Updated and revised chapters.

• Completely revised and updated, chapter 3 on asphalt includes extensive new information regarding Super Pave.
• Chapter 1 offers a new section highlighting concepts of sustainability in materials manufacture and use.
• Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 concerning asphalt, concrete, iron and steel, and wood have been revised to reflect concerns about sustainability and materials recycling and reuse.  

Updated teaching and learning tools.

• A revised Instructor Test Bank is available electronically along with lecture slides for each chapter, providing updated lecture materials and exercises for presentation to students.
• New example problems have been developed for chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• New data recording sheets and Excel^® spread sheets have been developed which make it easier for students to record, analyze, and report the results of material experiments.
• New tables, figures, charts, and photos have been added.
• Tables and figures are now identified separately so that readers may more easily follow and coordinate between text and graphic information.