The Sustainability of Adobe Houses
(La Sostenibilidad De Las Sasas De Adobe)
These are the houses with a masonry system, the walls of which are made of materials obtained by mixing mud, straw, grass, etc. In these buildings, the walls can then be plastered with plaster and lime or covered with wood panels. Different types of sustainable materials can be used in such structures and architects are now reusing such sustainable design methods— biophilic design elements, biomimetic approaches in architecture etc. —
Architectural characteristics are similar in most countries: the rectangular plan, single door, and small lateral windows are predominant. In traditional constructions, wall thickness depends on the weather conditions of the region. Thus, in coastal areas with a mild climate, walls are thinner than
in the cold highlands or in the hottest deserts. The roof is made of wood joists (usually from locally available tree trunks) resting directly on the walls or supported inside indentations on top of the walls.
The building process and resulting houses are both sustainable because the materials are locally abundant and can create very energy-efficient buildings. For example, using straw bales provides excellent insulation, mud has an effective texture, and the use of straw-mixed materials in the soil is increasing.
Why Is Adobe Material Being Used More Frequently Again?
The reason for the popularity of adobe homes is that they are incredibly durable in harsh, dry climates. They are impressively resilient against earthquakes (when properly reinforced) and other natural disasters, and for those reasons, some of the oldest buildings in the world are made from adobe mud and are still standing.
What’s Adobe Material?
The word “El Adobe” is a Spanish word and it means mud-brick. It is a building material made from created by mixing earth with water and other organic materials for binding (like straw or dung). The adobe material is among the earliest building materials and is used throughout the world.
Adobe bricks are rectangular prisms small enough that they can quickly air dry individually without cracking. They can be subsequently assembled, with the application of adobe mud to bond the individual bricks into a structure.
Adobe walls are load-bearing, i.e. they carry their own weight into the foundation rather than by another structure, hence the adobe must have sufficient compressive strength.
Adobe may have a long history, but it’s positively cutting-edge in some circles.
How Is an Adobe House Built?
Our ancestors used soil as an abundant, economical, and sustainable material that required very simple construction techniques. Adobe houses are traditionally built on a solid foundation, constructed from stone, cement, or even seashells. Builders then erect adobe walls by stacking earthen bricks on top of each other.
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. The 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 in summer and warm it in winter. Adobe houses are 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.
Can Adobe Houses Burn?
The adobe houses are fireproof. Laboratories tests proved that adobe bricks have a fire-resistance rating of four hours. A conventional wood-frame constructed wall has a fire rating of one hour.
Homes made of adobe bricks, share the same advantages as other forms of earth construction — not only they’re durable, energy-efficient, and provide good insulation, but most importantly they’re also highly fire-resistant.
Since dirt doesn’t burn, a wall made of adobe bricks will have excellent fire resistance, humankind discovered this feature a long time ago. Back in the 1880’s people realized that they would be better off by replacing their old wooden homes with ones made of mud, clay, dirt, or stone. Now things have come full circle and building modern greener homes proves to be the way to go.
What Are The Benefits of Adobe Buildings?
- It’s renewable and sustainable; after all, you can find dirt just about anywhere.
- 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 local; materials don’t have to be hauled in.
- It’s inexpensive. Adobes are the lowest cost alternative for durable, energy-efficient structures. By slashing labor and material costs, our blocks can be produced and laid in place for much less than the competing alternatives; providing up-front construction savings as well as energy savings over the life of the home.
- It’s durable; with proper maintenance, an adobe structure can last centuries.
- It’s fun; if you like building blocks and plastic bricks as a kid, you’ll enjoy building with adobe bricks.
- It’s so easy that many people learn to do adobe construction themselves. It’s also a good strategy for volunteer groups to build homes for others.
To sum up, adobe construction is not especially complicated. There’s a growing movement among do-it-yourselfers and community-action groups to build with adobe. Some people still make adobe bricks and construct their homes using traditional methods. Adobe houses can last for thousands of years when they are well maintained, kept dry, expertly built, have a strong and waterproof foundation, and are located in dry areas of the world.
