Nomen

der Baustoff

Translation

building material, construction material

Holz ist ein natürlicher Baustoff.

Wood is a natural building material.

Für den Hausbau brauchen wir viele Baustoffe.

We need a lot of building materials to build the house.

building materials made of sth. building materials made of a certain substance Building materials made of wood are popular.

building materials for sth. materials for a specific purpose We are buying building materials for the new house.

das Baumaterial (building material)

Composed of 'Bau' (building, construction) and 'Stoff' (material, substance). Literally 'building stuff'.

Think of it as the 'stuff' ('Stoff') you use for 'building' ('Bau'). 'Stoff' can mean fabric, but also substance or material in general.