What do we offer? Worldwide service for adobe brick buildings...
That’s right, we’ll assist you wherever you would like to build! We have consulted for adobe building projects all around the world and our construction team has built over 50 major adobe building projects in New Zealand, USA, and Fiji.
We provide worldwide service for any aspect of adobe construction. We can assist you to realize your building goals with as much help as you may need. We also design and define the components of your building which are not adobe bricks, such as the foundations, roof, windows, etc. Whether your project is small or large we will help any way we can.
Our level of service will be determined by you. It may be as little as answering a few questions for you by e-mail, or more, like sending a construction consultant to assist you with any part of adobe building, or as much as designing a home and sending a team to build it for you. Whatever it takes…you can use any part or all of the services listed below to your advantage. Also, you may like to attend one of our Adobe Brick Workshops.
Design
We can work with you to design the home of your dreams. Our design team works with you, and if you wish alongside your architect, to create a functional home with livable spaces dedicated to each family member. You may be interested in downloading our free Design Questionnaire which will ask you many questions about the type of living space you require. Answer as many questions as you can and mail it back to us. We can then provide you with a quote for creating two or three concept plans which suit your style and needs. From there the concept plans can be further developed to completed house plans for the building department.
We are familiar with building codes and standard building practices in USA, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. For other areas we require consultation with an architect who will advise us on these matters.
Whether you prefer a contemporary look or old-world architecture we are able to incorporate modern conveniences while offering all the charm of adobe brick. We also have a collection of standard adobe brick home designs for you to choose from, or we could work with a plan you may already have in mind.
It is best for one of our designers to visit your building site. However, it is possible for us to design a home for you without a site visit provided we are able to obtain complete site data and gain input from you about local climate and culture.
Due to the nature of our wide-ranging service we make excellent use of electronic communication. We also use computer-aided design (CAD), which can facilitate electronic transfer of plans and renderings between everyone involved.
Engineering
Our job is to gather information about your region, combine it with the extensive research that has been carried out for adobe building, and then assist an experienced engineer in your country or state to design a structure that will perform well in any type of climatic adversity. Your local engineer will ultimately be in charge of the final structural analysis to ensure that your home has been designed to be able to endure earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or even fires.
We have had no difficulty in obtaining building permits in places where adobe building is unheard of. We do this by working through the planning, materials testing and construction techniques with local authorities. The simple fact is that properly designed adobe buildings are superior to the most common building methods that building officials are already approving.
Adobe brick walls are engineered similarly, and perform similarly, to other masonry walls. The fact that they are 50% thicker than ordinary concrete block assists with horizontal (earthquake) loading. Due to this we are often able to use less reinforcing than concrete buildings in earthquake prone areas.
We have all heard of earthen walls and masonry walls that have collapsed in earthquakes. In fact, many lives have been lost due to the collapse of heavy walls. However, nearly every time the fault is the same: the builders were unaware of, or didn’t use, “bond-beam technology”.
A bond-beam is a continuous beam that runs horizontally on top of the wall, or in the case of multi-story buildings it is concealed within a wall at each floor-level. The bond-beam strengthens the wall from corner to corner, or corner to intersecting wall. The bond-beam can be made from thick timber or from reinforced concrete. Bond-beams should be incorporated into all masonry structures as they play an even larger role than foundations in the case of an earthquake. Locking the tops of the walls together is what stops them from tipping over, something foundations don’t do.
Several educational organizations are working towards educating builders about the benefits of bond-beam technology.
Another key component in our structural designs is the use of vertical columns hidden within the wall. We use specially shaped adobe bricks to create a 4-inch (or 100mm) diameter vertical core within the wall in which a steel rod is placed. The core is then grouted with concrete, which locks the rod in place and protects it from rust.
Modern adobe brick building design integrates wall location, wall height, brick strength, bond beams, and vertical reinforcing to ensure performance in the face of adversity. We have used our engineered designs to construct dozens of adobe brick buildings in one of the worlds’ most earthquake prone regions, New Zealand.
Construction Services
Our skilled team will come to your site, anywhere in the world, and construct your adobe brick walls. Our expert team has made over 500,000 adobe bricks and built over 50 major earthen constructions all around the world.
We are master craftsmen, expert sculptors and quality finishers with an eye for detail. We know adobe bricks and we provide the most premium of finishes, ensuring brilliant connection details with other materials to be used. Generally, we only construct the walls for your home and we consult with other tradesmen who will complete other aspects of the construction.
We are currently looking for interested builders and designers to join our team. If you would like to learn more about how to get involved, you may be interested in attending one of our workshops.
Consultation & Support for Owner/Builders (“Do-It-Yourselfers”)
Adobe Building Systems ardently supports Do-It-Yourselfers by providing quality support services that will save you money and time while enhancing your home. We are proud to say there have been some real DIY success stories, where beautiful earthen homes were built on a low budget. We have observed an interesting anomaly when our owner/builder clients have had their houses valued. Despite the fact that they were able to build at a lower cost to conventional housing their houses are valued at a higher resell rate that a comparable conventional house. The reason: simple charm and natural allure that simply cannot be matched by manufactured materials.
We have not only our own experience to draw upon; we also have the experience of some of the finest research organizations in the world. World famous for their earth building research are the organizations: CRA-Terre (at the Grenoble School of Architecture in Villanovea, France), the German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE), and the Swiss Appropriate Technology Exchange (SKAT). See Links page for contacts.
We will help you as much as you may need to get your earthen structure designed and built. Our comprehensive manual will help guide through the brick making and laying process. See our Do It Yourself page for more information.
We also have Adobe Madre brick molds for you to purchase. Or, we can supply the plans for the equipment so that you can have the gear made locally.
Our collection of house plans and our Designer’s Pack contain valuable construction details which will save time and money for any project.
Earth Plastering
If you like the look of adobe bricks, but don’t want to go through with the effort of making and laying bricks into a wall, you can achieve the same look and feel with an earth plaster. Adobe plaster can be mixed up and applied to wire mesh on a frame wall. The results are stunning.
Buy using our pre-screened adobe material you can create the look of adobe as a stucco finish or sculpt the material into brick shapes.
That’s right, we’ll assist you wherever you would like to build! We have consulted for adobe building projects all around the world and our construction team has built over 50 major adobe building projects in New Zealand, USA, and Fiji.
We provide worldwide service for any aspect of adobe construction. We can assist you to realize your building goals with as much help as you may need. We also design and define the components of your building which are not adobe bricks, such as the foundations, roof, windows, etc. Whether your project is small or large we will help any way we can.
Our level of service will be determined by you. It may be as little as answering a few questions for you by e-mail, or more, like sending a construction consultant to assist you with any part of adobe building, or as much as designing a home and sending a team to build it for you. Whatever it takes…you can use any part or all of the services listed below to your advantage. Also, you may like to attend one of our Adobe Brick Workshops.
Design
We can work with you to design the home of your dreams. Our design team works with you, and if you wish alongside your architect, to create a functional home with livable spaces dedicated to each family member. You may be interested in downloading our free Design Questionnaire which will ask you many questions about the type of living space you require. Answer as many questions as you can and mail it back to us. We can then provide you with a quote for creating two or three concept plans which suit your style and needs. From there the concept plans can be further developed to completed house plans for the building department.
We are familiar with building codes and standard building practices in USA, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. For other areas we require consultation with an architect who will advise us on these matters.
Whether you prefer a contemporary look or old-world architecture we are able to incorporate modern conveniences while offering all the charm of adobe brick. We also have a collection of standard adobe brick home designs for you to choose from, or we could work with a plan you may already have in mind.
It is best for one of our designers to visit your building site. However, it is possible for us to design a home for you without a site visit provided we are able to obtain complete site data and gain input from you about local climate and culture.
Due to the nature of our wide-ranging service we make excellent use of electronic communication. We also use computer-aided design (CAD), which can facilitate electronic transfer of plans and renderings between everyone involved.
Engineering
Our job is to gather information about your region, combine it with the extensive research that has been carried out for adobe building, and then assist an experienced engineer in your country or state to design a structure that will perform well in any type of climatic adversity. Your local engineer will ultimately be in charge of the final structural analysis to ensure that your home has been designed to be able to endure earthquakes, hurricanes, floods or even fires.
We have had no difficulty in obtaining building permits in places where adobe building is unheard of. We do this by working through the planning, materials testing and construction techniques with local authorities. The simple fact is that properly designed adobe buildings are superior to the most common building methods that building officials are already approving.
Adobe brick walls are engineered similarly, and perform similarly, to other masonry walls. The fact that they are 50% thicker than ordinary concrete block assists with horizontal (earthquake) loading. Due to this we are often able to use less reinforcing than concrete buildings in earthquake prone areas.
We have all heard of earthen walls and masonry walls that have collapsed in earthquakes. In fact, many lives have been lost due to the collapse of heavy walls. However, nearly every time the fault is the same: the builders were unaware of, or didn’t use, “bond-beam technology”.
A bond-beam is a continuous beam that runs horizontally on top of the wall, or in the case of multi-story buildings it is concealed within a wall at each floor-level. The bond-beam strengthens the wall from corner to corner, or corner to intersecting wall. The bond-beam can be made from thick timber or from reinforced concrete. Bond-beams should be incorporated into all masonry structures as they play an even larger role than foundations in the case of an earthquake. Locking the tops of the walls together is what stops them from tipping over, something foundations don’t do.
Several educational organizations are working towards educating builders about the benefits of bond-beam technology.
Another key component in our structural designs is the use of vertical columns hidden within the wall. We use specially shaped adobe bricks to create a 4-inch (or 100mm) diameter vertical core within the wall in which a steel rod is placed. The core is then grouted with concrete, which locks the rod in place and protects it from rust.
Modern adobe brick building design integrates wall location, wall height, brick strength, bond beams, and vertical reinforcing to ensure performance in the face of adversity. We have used our engineered designs to construct dozens of adobe brick buildings in one of the worlds’ most earthquake prone regions, New Zealand.
Construction Services
Our skilled team will come to your site, anywhere in the world, and construct your adobe brick walls. Our expert team has made over 500,000 adobe bricks and built over 50 major earthen constructions all around the world.
We are master craftsmen, expert sculptors and quality finishers with an eye for detail. We know adobe bricks and we provide the most premium of finishes, ensuring brilliant connection details with other materials to be used. Generally, we only construct the walls for your home and we consult with other tradesmen who will complete other aspects of the construction.
We are currently looking for interested builders and designers to join our team. If you would like to learn more about how to get involved, you may be interested in attending one of our workshops.
Consultation & Support for Owner/Builders (“Do-It-Yourselfers”)
Adobe Building Systems ardently supports Do-It-Yourselfers by providing quality support services that will save you money and time while enhancing your home. We are proud to say there have been some real DIY success stories, where beautiful earthen homes were built on a low budget. We have observed an interesting anomaly when our owner/builder clients have had their houses valued. Despite the fact that they were able to build at a lower cost to conventional housing their houses are valued at a higher resell rate that a comparable conventional house. The reason: simple charm and natural allure that simply cannot be matched by manufactured materials.
We have not only our own experience to draw upon; we also have the experience of some of the finest research organizations in the world. World famous for their earth building research are the organizations: CRA-Terre (at the Grenoble School of Architecture in Villanovea, France), the German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE), and the Swiss Appropriate Technology Exchange (SKAT). See Links page for contacts.
We will help you as much as you may need to get your earthen structure designed and built. Our comprehensive manual will help guide through the brick making and laying process. See our Do It Yourself page for more information.
We also have Adobe Madre brick molds for you to purchase. Or, we can supply the plans for the equipment so that you can have the gear made locally.
Our collection of house plans and our Designer’s Pack contain valuable construction details which will save time and money for any project.
Earth Plastering
Buy using our pre-screened adobe material you can create the look of adobe as a stucco finish or sculpt the material into brick shapes.
Download Our Flyer
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.
