The building-materials institute of the Paektusan Institute of Architecture brought out practicable research hits.

Its putty research group newly made putty using low-grade gypsum.

They conducted research for making putty, which is widely used in the treatment of underside for interior finish of structures, by using low-grade gypsum from domestic mines.

In the course of this, they confirmed the ratio of additives to improve the physical properties of low-grade gypsum which is used as the major material for making putty and solved technical problems arising in its manufacture.

The putty, which is effective for the interior and exterior of houses and public buildings, has good moisture resistance and water resistance after construction, and the process of recrystallization and hardening after grinding is fast.

When various pigments are added to the product, it can produce a decorative effect for the interior and exterior of the buildings.

This putty was introduced into the construction of rural dwelling houses in Sunan District of Pyongyang, the Thaechon County Foodstuff Factory and other construction and proved effective.

The institute also completed a new method of producing roofing tile paint based on domestic materials and put its execution method on a scientific basis.

The roofing tiles, which are used as roofing materials of buildings, are divided into cement, ceramic, clay and other ones. Among them, cement tiles are easy to make, consume less energy and are very durable.

Today, cement tiles are widely used, and a variety of roofing paints have been produced accordingly.

While conducting research for drastically minimizing costs by increasing the domestic production of paint, researchers confirmed factors influencing the technical characteristics of paint and found out the rational mixing ratio of various additives.

The cost of the paint with good technical indices like adhesion, heat resistance and coating is reportedly much lower than imported ones’.

Besides, the institute developed Portland cement colour plaster, a decorative plastering material which is applied to the last decorative plastering of interior and exterior walls of structures.

The colour plastering material has three times of lifetime as compared to general coating materials. As it has good absorption, compressive intensity, bond strength and freeze resistance, it simplifies construction and makes it possible to complete plastering in different colours in a try, thus saving much time, manpower and materials.