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Plastics have now been developed to such an extent that they can be applied to almost every branch of building, from the laying of foundations to the final coat of paint.

Plastics products offer many advantages over the materials they replace, such as ease of handing, lower maintenance costs and rapidity of assembly.

The large range of decorative plastics laminates now available to the architect and builder has brought about a revolution in interior and exterior design. These materials are no longer for decoration only, but are made to withstand sever outdoor conditions for varying periods of time and are sufficiently rigid to stand on their own in certain cases without support. They can be worked by all the methods commonly employed by the builder. Many disadvantages have had to be overcome in the development of decorative laminates before they could be put on the market, particularly with respect to their weathering properties.

A laminate has been developed which is suitable for both inside and outside use. This consists of a paper filler impregnated with thermosetting resins, on top of which is laid similarly impregnated paper. The paper itself is topped with a melamine resin treated skin which gives a tough surface, this sandwich being then pressed and subjected to heat. The laminate formed is 5/8 in thick, and it is claimed to stand up to severe exterior conditions for at least ten years without serious fading. As a complete structural material in itself, it is recommended for exterior work on shop fronts, walls, entrances, doors, windows. Its chief advantage is that it needs no maintenance other than an occasional wipe down with a damp cloth, and another important property is that curved surfaces can be introduced and sharp corners eliminated in areas where hygiene is an essential consideration. For interior use it is recommended for surfacing – or sometimes as a structural material for kitchens, bathrooms and lavatory walls, for doors, staircase walls, window sills, etc.

What is a Plastic? What are plastics and why are the chemists so enthusiastic over them? Synthetic plastics are man-made substances which not only change their shape under great heat and pressure, but change their chemical state as well.

They are light and hard, being produced by mixing to­gether a number of gases and liquids. A synthetic — or man-made — product must be both better and cheaper than the natural material it is to replace.

So quickly have the manufacturers begun to produce plas­tic products that one can hardly live through the day without using some of them in one way or another. Since plastics combine all the fine characteristics of a building material together with good insulating properties, and are fireproof as well, it is no wonder that the architects and engineers have turned to them to add colour and beauty to modern homes and offices.

The greatest advantages which plastics are expected to give the world is that they will make the people no longer dependent upon nature for their materials.

Light Weight Aggregates. Light concrete aggregates are establishing themselves, to an ever increasing extent in building practice as a means of reducing structural overweight. Some of these new materials are ceramzite, vermiculite, perlite, agloporite, termozite and penoceralite.

Ceramzite is a light porous artificial gravel made from clay through special processing. The material is of great value in construction.

In many districts deposits of clay are available which, when processed, increase more than four times in volume. The weight of one cubic metre of ceramzite varies between 400 and 700 kg.

Vermiculite is also a porous, light mineral of the mica family. It is used in concrete as a light aggregate and also as an insulating material.

Perlite is a glass-like substance of volcanic origin found in great quantities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Siberia and the Far East. Following a definite process at a temperature of about 1,200°C, it is transformed into a light gravel a cubic metre of which weighs from 200 to 400 kg. If it is made of sand then its weight is still further reduced to 40-100 kg/cu m. Perlite is also used both for insulation and as an aggregate together with sand, for lightweight concretes. For example, large exterior wall panels of such lightweight concrete (from 500 to 600 kg/cu m) are used for apartment house developments in Irkutsk Region.

Agloporite, termozite and penoceralite are employed both for lightweight concretes and as insulation material.

A New Decorative Laminate of Great Importance. A new decorative laminate to be manufactured shortly is believed to be of great importance. Production is expected to start towards the end of this year.

The material is of sandwich construction, the outer lay­ers being of rigid PVC enclosing a decorative layer, the whole being fused to produce a uniform sheet.

In addition to the possibilities of design and texture, the new laminate is claimed to have very high resistance to chem­icals and any kind of staining.

It is also non-inflammable, easy to handle, washable, flexible, resistant to smoke and nicotine staining and dimensionally stable. It can be bonded to conventional construction­al bases by various readily available adhesives. It is expect­ed to be of value for decorative and functional covering of surfaces in a wide range of industrial and domestic applica­tions.

applications- области применения;

foundations- основы;

maintenance- обслуживание;

to withstand- выдерживать;

sufficiently- достаточно;

weathering- выветривание;

thermosetting- термореактивные;

impregnated- пропитанный;

enthusiastic- восторженный;

man-made- искусственный;

establishing- создание;

value- значение.