Environmental
If one were to create the ideal building material it would have several features, including ease of extraction from the earth, minimal manufacturing costs, ease of construction, long duration of high-performance use. It would also be biodegradable, non-toxic, and affordable. Adobe bricks come closer than any other building material in meeting these standards. The raw materials for adobe bricks are extracted from the environment in a low-impact manner and are returned to the earth after a long duration of use.
Environmental scientists consider embodied energy costs to be a very important factor in assessing a building material’s overall sustainability and efficiency. These costs include mining and manufacturing, transportation, and a series of other administrative and agency expenses. The construction of homes – using common, contemporary materials and techniques – impacts the environment more than any other industrial activity.
Adobe bricks offer the lowest embodied energy of any building material. The average adobe brick home is made using only 10 percent of the embodied energy used for the construction of a typical modern house. Building homes with adobe bricks, therefore, burdens the environment less than any other home-building method.
Energy Efficient
Properly built adobe brick structures offer a high thermal resistance, enabling structures to stay cool in the summer and retain their warmth during the winter.
Adobe walls are remarkably long-lasting and require little to no maintenance. They are vermin-proof, dust-free, fire-proof, flood-proof, insect-proof, bullet-proof, rust-proof, water-proof, and can be wiped clean with a sponge. Since adobe is non-toxic, the walls are also non-allergenic.
Affordable
When labor and materials are used resourcefully, the adobe brick home is very affordable. Bricks can be made on site using local materials, greatly reducing manufacturing costs. An unskilled crew can quickly learn to make and lay bricks efficiently.
An average 2000 sqft (185 sqm) house would have around 2315sqft (215 sqm) of adobe brick wall and use around 5120 adobe bricks, using approximately 130 cubic yards (100 cubic meters) of raw material.
A team of four can make on average 600 adobe bricks per day and lay up about 250 bricks into the wall in an 8-hour working day.
A well-built earth home will outperform a well-built timber frame home in durability, thermal dynamics, longevity, and structural integrity. No other building material comes as close to meeting our high standards of environmental sustainability, performance, and ease of use.
Ease of Construction
Unlike machine-made bricks and blocks, which have perfectly square edges, our Adobe Madre bricks are slightly irregular in shape. This feature is beneficial to the brick-laying process, as it allows for a greater range of precision rather than a rigid adherence to the line. With machine-made bricks and blocks, extreme precision is required in the lay-up of the walls because if one block is out, by even a fraction of an inch, it becomes abruptly evident. The required precision can only be obtained through years of training and practice. In contrast, very little training is necessary to be a successful adobe brick-layer. The bricks' slightly irregular shape alleviates the arduous attention to detail enabling any builder to quickly and easily lay-up the bricks.
In addition, adobe walls have thicker mortar joints than conventional systems, allowing for an even greater range of lay-up precision. Our mortar joints are 3/4” which can be reduced or increased slightly in order to construct a level wall. The construction process is so easy that a novice can lay-up the adobe bricks as fast as a highly-skilled professional!
Did you know?
Adobe bed joins are about six times larger than traditional masonry bed joins.
Because of this feature, anyone can learn how to lay adobe bricks – and it only takes a few minutes. Within a few days you will find that you have mastered the art of adobe bricklaying.
If one were to create the ideal building material it would have several features, including ease of extraction from the earth, minimal manufacturing costs, ease of construction, long duration of high-performance use. It would also be biodegradable, non-toxic, and affordable. Adobe bricks come closer than any other building material in meeting these standards. The raw materials for adobe bricks are extracted from the environment in a low-impact manner and are returned to the earth after a long duration of use.
Adobe bricks offer the lowest embodied energy of any building material. The average adobe brick home is made using only 10 percent of the embodied energy used for the construction of a typical modern house. Building homes with adobe bricks, therefore, burdens the environment less than any other home-building method.
Energy Efficient
Properly built adobe brick structures offer a high thermal resistance, enabling structures to stay cool in the summer and retain their warmth during the winter.
Adobe walls are remarkably long-lasting and require little to no maintenance. They are vermin-proof, dust-free, fire-proof, flood-proof, insect-proof, bullet-proof, rust-proof, water-proof, and can be wiped clean with a sponge. Since adobe is non-toxic, the walls are also non-allergenic.
Affordable
When labor and materials are used resourcefully, the adobe brick home is very affordable. Bricks can be made on site using local materials, greatly reducing manufacturing costs. An unskilled crew can quickly learn to make and lay bricks efficiently.
An average 2000 sqft (185 sqm) house would have around 2315sqft (215 sqm) of adobe brick wall and use around 5120 adobe bricks, using approximately 130 cubic yards (100 cubic meters) of raw material.
A team of four can make on average 600 adobe bricks per day and lay up about 250 bricks into the wall in an 8-hour working day.
A well-built earth home will outperform a well-built timber frame home in durability, thermal dynamics, longevity, and structural integrity. No other building material comes as close to meeting our high standards of environmental sustainability, performance, and ease of use.
Ease of Construction
Unlike machine-made bricks and blocks, which have perfectly square edges, our Adobe Madre bricks are slightly irregular in shape. This feature is beneficial to the brick-laying process, as it allows for a greater range of precision rather than a rigid adherence to the line. With machine-made bricks and blocks, extreme precision is required in the lay-up of the walls because if one block is out, by even a fraction of an inch, it becomes abruptly evident. The required precision can only be obtained through years of training and practice. In contrast, very little training is necessary to be a successful adobe brick-layer. The bricks' slightly irregular shape alleviates the arduous attention to detail enabling any builder to quickly and easily lay-up the bricks.
In addition, adobe walls have thicker mortar joints than conventional systems, allowing for an even greater range of lay-up precision. Our mortar joints are 3/4” which can be reduced or increased slightly in order to construct a level wall. The construction process is so easy that a novice can lay-up the adobe bricks as fast as a highly-skilled professional!
Did you know?
Adobe bed joins are about six times larger than traditional masonry bed joins.
Because of this feature, anyone can learn how to lay adobe bricks – and it only takes a few minutes. Within a few days you will find that you have mastered the art of adobe bricklaying.
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To dowload a copy of our 2-page full color flyer, click on the icon above. The flyer includes a brief description of our system, adobe brick dimensions, facts & benefits, frequently asked questions, as well as photographs of our work.
