List of materials

Sleepers are heavy pieces of wood or concrete that are used for support. They are most commonly seen under railway tracks, but are also popular as garden edging or for making outdoor furniture.

Straw is a waste product from growing grains like wheat. It is the dried stalks of the plants after the seed heads have been cut off at harvest time. Straw is used for animal bedding, mulching gardens, as thatched rooves, making hats, and as a poor-quality animal feed. Hay is similar to straw but is a better quality animal feed.

Tar could mean any very dark, sticky substance, usually made from modified tree resin. Tar is also another word for bitumen, as is found in tar pits. Tar is very sticky and animals used to get trapped in tar pits, which preserved them.

Thatching is an ancient way of making a roof on a house. Thatch is made from a thick layer of straw or reeds, and is thick enough to be watertight.

Timber is another word for wood that is going to be used to make things out of, like furniture or houses. Timber might also mean trees that are grown for the purpose of being used to make things from.