What the datasheet doesn't tell you

What is construction chemistry, and what does Built by Chemistry cover?

Construction chemistry is the applied science of the specialty chemical products that make modern building materials work: tile adhesives, waterproofing membranes, concrete admixtures, repair mortars, sealants, insulation systems and everything in between. It is the discipline that turns cement, water and aggregate into a specification that either holds up for thirty years on a coastal wall or fails at the joint in three.

Built by Chemistry is an independent weekly newsletter on construction chemistry, written from the intersection of R&D lab, plant floor and jobsite. Every edition takes one product family, one failure mode or one specification standard — EN 12004 tile adhesives, EN 1504 concrete repair mortars, EN 1928 and DIN 18533 waterproofing systems, IS 456 concrete cover and chloride ingress, IS 15477 Indian tile adhesive classes — and explains what the standard actually says, why the system fails in the field, and what a specifier should ask before signing off. No brand affiliations, no datasheet re-writes, no marketing filler.

Topics covered so far include cementitious tile adhesives and grouts, below-grade waterproofing (crystalline admixtures, PMC liquid membranes, sheet membranes), chloride-induced corrosion and repair mortar classes R1 to R4, drymix mortars, AAC blocks and thin-bed mortar, LC3 low-clinker cements, hydrostatic head testing, ETICS thermal insulation, and the practical differences between European (EN) and Indian (BIS/IS) standard families. The archive is at All editions; the topic hubs at Construction chemicals, Tile adhesives, Waterproofing, Mortar and AAC, Thermal performance and Specifications.