A typical adobe brick is 10 inches wide, 14 inches long and 4 inches tall. The bricks are made of adobe dirt, a fine dirt with high clay content, mixed with straw and water. That’s it. The wet brick is poured into a form and left to dry in the sun. Removed from the form and then placed on pallets, the brick is ready to go. Each brick weighs about 30 pounds or so.
For an 18’ x 24’ building with 9’ walls, we used just about 1,700 adobe bricks. The adobe bricks are "glued" or "earthed" together by a mixture of adobe dirt and water. You can stack about five rows but then you have to let the mud dry before going any higher.
Because of the weight of the adobe, you have to place something called a lintel above all windows and doors. The lintel is a substantial beam that distributes the weight of the adobe bricks above the window across the walls, not just on the window frame or door frame. Lintels are super beautiful. A rough buck is the wooden frame within which the windows and doors will be hung.
For an 18’ x 24’ building with 9’ walls, we used just about 1,700 adobe bricks. The adobe bricks are "glued" or "earthed" together by a mixture of adobe dirt and water. You can stack about five rows but then you have to let the mud dry before going any higher.
Because of the weight of the adobe, you have to place something called a lintel above all windows and doors. The lintel is a substantial beam that distributes the weight of the adobe bricks above the window across the walls, not just on the window frame or door frame. Lintels are super beautiful. A rough buck is the wooden frame within which the windows and doors will be hung.
Once you get to the top of the wall, something called a bond beam is bolted into the adobe. A bond beam is a wooden surface that you can then anchor your roof into.
An adobe wall can withstand rain and wind only after it has had its earth stucco surface applied. We finished the adobe walls and the bond beam in the spring and returned now at the end of the summer to do the roof. The walls were covered all summer to avoid damage from the rain or wind because the stucco surface is applied after you have put on the roof.
The crew was a little surprised on day 1. We were examining the bond beam up on ladders and noticed a snake nesting in the space between the bond beam and the top of the adobes. We persuaded it to find a new home!
An adobe wall can withstand rain and wind only after it has had its earth stucco surface applied. We finished the adobe walls and the bond beam in the spring and returned now at the end of the summer to do the roof. The walls were covered all summer to avoid damage from the rain or wind because the stucco surface is applied after you have put on the roof.
The crew was a little surprised on day 1. We were examining the bond beam up on ladders and noticed a snake nesting in the space between the bond beam and the top of the adobes. We persuaded it to find a new home!
Consensus seems to be that this is a bull snake - the good kind that eats rattlesnakes!
We are calling this building an adobe shade house and the shade part comes when we add a portal (covered porch) to one or more sides of the building. Our hope was to have portals on all four sides but our finances, at this point at least, can support only one 10' portal on the west side of the building - the side facing Cerro Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain. (Art History People: Georgia O'Keefe painted Cerro Pedernal hundreds of times. It would often appear as the primary subject of a painting but even more often simply appeared in the background.) The picture below is the view from the west side door and the future portal.
We are calling this building an adobe shade house and the shade part comes when we add a portal (covered porch) to one or more sides of the building. Our hope was to have portals on all four sides but our finances, at this point at least, can support only one 10' portal on the west side of the building - the side facing Cerro Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain. (Art History People: Georgia O'Keefe painted Cerro Pedernal hundreds of times. It would often appear as the primary subject of a painting but even more often simply appeared in the background.) The picture below is the view from the west side door and the future portal.
In order to attach the portal to the building, and to make the wall a little higher, the crew has built a pony wall or a knee wall. This is a short wall often used for architectural purposes. The pony wall was completed today. It was built on top of the bond beam.
In addition to the pony wall, we have four non-structural beams across the building. These will add a lovely wood presence to the interior and will support our interior lights.
In addition to the pony wall, we have four non-structural beams across the building. These will add a lovely wood presence to the interior and will support our interior lights.
The electrician came out today. Sam is a wonderful man who is also a local minister. His ministry includes feeding people and supporting people who are homeless. Sam will be etching out trenches in the adobe wall that the electric wire will be seated into. When the walls get their final plaster surface, the electric wire will be safe and secure, unseen within the adobe walls.
One of the most exciting parts of building with adobe is the final step, mudding or plastering the walls. Elisa and I have on a wall in our kitchen an old picture of a woman earth plastering the walls of a building in one of the Eight Northern Pueblos of New Mexico. Soon, that will be us!
For anyone wanting to learn more about adobe, I suggest you check out the website of Adobe in Action. They provide education, owner/builder support and field work coordination.
One of the most exciting parts of building with adobe is the final step, mudding or plastering the walls. Elisa and I have on a wall in our kitchen an old picture of a woman earth plastering the walls of a building in one of the Eight Northern Pueblos of New Mexico. Soon, that will be us!
For anyone wanting to learn more about adobe, I suggest you check out the website of Adobe in Action. They provide education, owner/builder support and field work coordination.
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