12/14/2018 How Adobe Construction Works | HowStuffWorks

How Adobe Construction Works

BY LINDA C. BRINSON
Browse the article How Adobe Construction Works

These adobe homes in Togo, West Africa

are ideal for the area's dry climate. See
more home construction pictures.
PEETER VIISIMAA/GETTY IMAGES

If you've spent any time in the southwestern U.S., you'd know that adobe construction is one of the
oldest and most versatile building techniques used by humans. You can find it in the simplest of one-
room huts and the world's most elaborate mosques. It's everywhere, but what is it -- and more
importantly, where did it come from?

Today, this time-honored material is gaining new popularity as a low-cost, environmentally friendly way
of building. After all, adobe is really nothing more than simple bricks made of sun-dried mud. What's
more plentiful or inexpensive than dirt and sunshine? As a green-building bonus, adobe's mass helps
keep buildings naturally cool in summer and warm in winter, reducing the need for air conditioning and
heat.

Adobe construction is not especially complicated. There's a growing movement among do-it-yourselfers
and community-action groups to build with adobe. What's not to like about a type of construction that
gives you an excuse to play in the mud while doing something worthwhile?

Be careful before you start building, though: Adobe works better in some places than others. There's a
reason for this: The mud for the bricks might include sand, small gravel or clay -- whatever makes up
the soil in an area. Water, and often straw or grass, are mixed with the dirt. The resulting mud dries
naturally in the sun and air. Because fire isn't used to cure them, adobe bricks aren't hard. In fact, they
shrink and swell with the weather. Here's where things get problematic: An extremely wet climate prone
to flooding might turn the bricks back into mud. Not only that, frequent freezing and thawing can make
the bricks crumble. This is why adobe is used primarily in dry, mostly warm climates such as the

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American Southwest, the Mediterranean region, Latin America, the Middle East and arid parts of Africa
and India. However, with careful site selection and construction techniques, adobe can be used in
wetter and colder areas.

Before we get to building with adobe, though, let's take a look at its history.

Ancient Architecture
Adobe was one of the first materials ancient humans used to create buildings, dating as far back as the
8th century B.C. The word "adobe" is Spanish, but etymologists trace its origins to an old Arabic word,
al-tob or al-tub, meaning "brick."

The Native Americans, who built the beautiful cliff dwellings you can see today at Mesa Verde National
Park in Colorado, built pit houses and other structures of adobe before they began using sandstone.

Adobe construction spread throughout warm, dry climates. It was used in Spain and other
Mediterranean areas, and the Spaniards who explored the Americas found Native Americans already
using it. In the United States, many examples of historic adobe architecture can be found in Southern
California and the southwestern states. Santa Fe, N.M., for example, has many adobe structures,
including the Palace of the Governors, which dates to the early 17th century. The Historic Taos Inn, also
in New Mexico, includes several adobe houses built in the 1800s; tourists often visit the San Francisco
de Assisi Mission Church in Rancho de Taos.

The largest adobe building in the world, and probably the most famous adobe structure standing, is The
Great Mosque at Djenné in central Mali, near the edge of the Sahara Desert. The Great Mosque was
built in 1907 on the ruins of earlier mosques. It has walls as thick as 24 inches (61 centimeters), and
arches measuring 45 feet high (13.7 meters) and covers some 62,500 square feet (5,806 square
meters). Djenné was long a center of learning and trade, until the late 19th century. Wealthy merchants
built elaborate houses from the mud that was plentiful along the creeks that led to the Bani River. The
town was built on hills to protect it from the river's floods. Many of these houses still stand today
[source: Sacred Destinations].

Today in the southwestern United States, adobe construction is becoming popular again as a way to
provide low-cost, energy-efficient housing.

How are adobe houses made, anyway? Keep reading to find out.

Add Water, Then Stir

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These adobe homes in Taos, N.M. were

built with building techniques that trace
back nearly 3,000 years.
SAM DIEPHUIS/GETTY IMAGES

Most adobe construction today follows many of the same principles used since the 9th century B.C. --
that is, make mud bricks and leave them out to dry. Some brick-makers use variations: They use
artificial heat rather than the sun to dry the bricks, or pour the adobe mixture into larger molds rather
than making individual bricks. Others add cement, asphalt or other substances to make the bricks
stronger. But bricks that have been dried by fire or that have additives don't have the same appearance
and texture as those made in the traditional ways. If you don't want to do it yourself, you can buy ready-
made bricks.

Here's how adobe bricks are made:

Sand and clay are mixed with water.

Straw or grass (and sometimes manure) is usually added. This helps the mud shrink
into uniform brick shapes as it dries.
The mud mixture is put into wooden forms and leveled by hand. You can make them
any size or shape you want, but they should be easy to move by hand.
The bricks are removed from the forms and laid onto a surface in the sun that's covered
with straw or grass.
After they have dried for a few days, the bricks are set on their edges for at least four
weeks of air-drying.

Here's the basic method for building with adobe bricks:

Build your foundation. Adobe houses usually don't have basements. Foundations can
be made of stones or other locally available materials.
Lay the bricks with mortar. Mud works best because it shrinks and swells with the
bricks. Cement and similar mortars are too strong and rigid.
Stack bricks together to make thick walls -- 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) or more -- for
strength. This mass helps cool the house summer and warm it in winter. Adobe houses are

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usually rectangular and rarely more than two stories high.

Leave openings for doors and windows. There shouldn't be too many, as they will
weaken the structure. Use wooden lintels (supports) over openings.
Choose a roof. Roofs on adobe houses traditionally vary with the location. Many choose
thatched roofs. Fairly flat but not level roofs (water needs to run off) are common. Often,
builders use logs or rough timbers (called vigas) as beams, with sticks laid over and
between them under the roofing. Some people use adobe mud as roofing. Today, builders
like terra cotta tile, wooden shingles and metal roofing.
Select a coating. Builders use coatings of mud plaster, whitewash, lime plaster and
cement stucco to protect adobe walls.

Adobe may have a long history, but it's positively cutting-edge in some circles. Read on to find out more
about modern adobe construction.

Brown Is the New Green

There is a growing interest in new adobe construction, especially in the American Southwest. Because
adobe bricks are made of dirt and dried by the sun and air, they're eco-friendly and less expensive than
many building materials.

Adobe construction is popular with individuals and organizations interested in low-cost housing that
does not harm the environment.

Here are some of adobe's assets:

It's renewable; after all, you can find dirt just about anywhere.
It's local; materials don't have to be hauled in.
It's inexpensive.
It's healthy; adobe doesn't release chemicals, as some modern materials do.
It saves energy; Thick adobe walls have lots of thermal mass. They collect heat from
the sun during the day and release it slowly at night. That helps with cooling in summer and
heating in winter.
It's so easy that many people learn to do adobe construction themselves. It's also a
good strategy for volunteer groups building homes for others.
It's durable; with proper maintenance, an adobe structure can last centuries.
It's fun; if you liked building blocks and plastic bricks as a kid, you'll enjoy building with
adobe bricks.

Keep reading for lots more information about adobe.

ADOBE SCHOOL

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If you want to learn more about adobe construction, you're in luck. There are
private companies that offer classes. Some companies that sell adobe-making kits
and equipment offer also instruction. And if you're really serious, you can go to
college to learn more. No, really: Northern New Mexico College in El Rito offers the
only certification program in adobe construction in the United States. Students
spend two semesters in classes and hands-on fieldwork, learning to build
traditional Southwestern structures as well as the latest adobe buildings. They
learn how to renovate existing structures and how to design and build new ones.
You can find more information here.

Author's Note
Having traveled a good bit in the American Southwest, I was aware of the historic adobe buildings
there, many of which have stood the test of time. As I researched adobe, I was not surprised to learn
how widely this ancient method of construction has been used, but I was awed by the magnificence of
some of the structures in Africa and the Mediterranean. The discovery that intrigued me most, however,
was to learn that this time-honored method is having quite a revival in parts of the Southwest as a low-
cost, earth-friendly, sustainable way for people to build their own homes or for volunteers to help build
homes for others. The ancient people knew what they were doing!

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Sources
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http://www.adobebuilder.com/southwest-solaradobe-school-1.html
Adobe in Action. "Adobe in Action." (March 29, 2012) http://www.adobeinaction.org/
Adobe Is Not Software. "Why Adobe." (March 29, 2012) http://adobeisnotsoftware.com/
Blondet, Marcial and Gladys Villa Carcia, M. "Adobe Construction." Catholic University
of Peru. (March 30, 2012) http://www.world-housing.net/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/Adobe_Blondet.pdf
MudCrafters Construction. "Adobe Brick House." (March 30, 2012)
http://www.mudcrafters.com/ext/brick.html

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National Park Service Technical Preservation Services. "Preservation of Historic Adobe

Buildings." (April 2, 2012) http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief05.htm
Northern New Mexico College. "Adobe Construction Program." (April 3, 2012)
http://elrito.nnmc.edu/page/adobe-construction-program
Pat Friend's Real Adobe Brick Kit. "Adobe Q&A." (April 4, 2012)
http://adobebrickkits.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6
Pat Friend's Real Adobe Brick Kit. "Build an Adobe Brick Model." (April 2, 2012)
http://adobebrickkits.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
Sacred Destinations. "The Great Mosque, Djenné." (April 5, 2012) http://www.sacred-
destinations.com/mali/great-mosque-of-djenne.htm
Santa Fe Unlimited. "The Historic Adobe Architecture of Santa Fe, New Mexico." (April
4, 2012) http://architecture-sf2.nm-unlimited.net/
Saudi Aramco World. "Djenné: Living Tradition."November-December 1990. (April 3,
2012) http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199006/djenn.-living.tradition.htm
Taos Inn. "Step into History." (April 5, 2012) http://www.taosinn.com/history.html

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