Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. The term stucco refers to plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.
Stucco plaster reliefs, such as this work at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, were hugely influential in Northern Mannerism. A plaster low-relief decorative frieze is above it.
Applying mud plaster to an outside wall
Clay plaster base coat on split oak lath held in place with straw and manure, covered with a lime plaster top coat, Old Economy Village, Pennsylvania (1827)
Lime setting-coat on clay plaster with straw binder. Applied to hand-split lath over a timber framed wall of a brick family house at Old Economy Village, Pennsylvania
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacturing of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific specialty trades, such as carpentry, insulation, plumbing, and roofing work. They provide the make-up of habitats and structures including homes.
Concrete and steel rebar used to build a reinforced concrete floor
Wooden church in Bodružal in Slovakia
This wall in Beacon Hill, Boston shows different types of brickwork and stone foundations.
A group of Mohaves in a brush hut