Where possible move enough bricks for 3 days work into the building site near the
location the adobe wall will be built. The black paint is to protect from moisture
seeping into the home and is required in wet climates.
Shows the first brick being laid onto a stemmed footing. The black paint on top
of the footing is the damp-proof course (DPC) which is required in wet climates.
Starter rebars are shown here and will extend through the entire wall and be
incorporated into any lintels, arches and bond-beams at the top of the wall.
Profiles (wooden posts) are placed in all corners and intersecting walls to keep
the bricks level as you go up.
String-lines connect from profile to profile creating the building line to which
adobe bricks are laid.
Freshly laid mortar joins. Adobe bricks are laid to a string-line just to
out the outside of the wall. PVC pipes encase the steel reinforcing
channels to prevent adobe mud from falling down the core. The
core will be grouted with concrete after the proper number of brick
courses have been laid.
Here Half U-Bricks are placed temporarily which will allow the vertical column
to be cleaned out before grouting with concrete. Prior to grouting the column
the brick will be turned and mortared in place.
Construction site with pallets of bricks being moved around. The adobe walls
of an average size home can be constructed in less than 2 months with a
full-time crew of 3 or 4 workers.
Adobe walls under construction. O-Bricks are placed on both sides of windows
and doors so that reinforcing bars can pass through the wall.
Mortar-layer and bricklayer working together on an adobe house in
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Adobe Madre Scaffolding System shows two levels of scaffolding built
directly into the adobe wall with a worker on either side of the gable wall.
Gable ends can be easily constructed as the adobe bricks are cut to shape.
Here a worker is using the Adobe Madre Scaffolding System, in which pipes
are placed in the wall and removed when the wall is complete.
Bricks often have to be cut to suit the shape of the arch. Here the bricks in
the wall are slightly cut at an angle to conform to the arched bricks. Fired
bricks were used here to add interest.
Adobe arch under construction using channel bricks to accommodate reinforcement.
These adobe walls have been built to full height. A timber top-plate will be
placed on the tops of the walls to serve as a rigid collar around the structure.
The rebars will be folded over the top-plate and stapled in place.
Timber top-plates (on left side of photo) are placed on shims or packers. The
top-plate (on the right side) is being laid on top of the wall.
Because of the engineer requirements, two 2" (50mm) tall timber top plates, one
atop the other, were needed for this project in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Rebar is shown folded over and stapled in place. Sand and cement mortar is
packed between the last course of bricks and the top plate once the plates are
level and rebar is folded down and stapled.
Timber boxing is placed as a form-work for the concrete bond-beam. The
boxing is taken away once the beam is set.
Applying a slurry wash (clay based paint) with a broom.
Concrete bond-beams with a timber top-plate over suit curved adobe walls. A
series of short blocks can be angled so that they create a curve.