Editing Adobe (section)

==Uses==
===Poured and puddled adobe walls===
[[File:Cueva de las Jarillas.jpg|thumb|left|Cliff dwellings of poured or puddled adobe (cob) at [[Cuarenta Casas]] in Mexico]]
Poured and [[Puddling (engineering)|puddled]] adobe (puddled clay, piled earth), today called ''cob'', is made by placing soft adobe in layers, rather than by making individual dried bricks or using a form. "Puddle" is a general term for a clay or clay and sand-based material worked into a dense, plastic state.<ref>"puddle, n. 4.". ''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd. ed. 2009. CD-rom.</ref> These are the oldest methods of building with adobe in the Americas until holes in the ground were used as forms, and later wooden forms used to make individual bricks were introduced by the Spanish.<ref name="Keefe">Keefe, Laurence (2005). ''Earth Building: Methods and Materials, Repair and Conservation''. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 22. {{ISBN|0-415-32322-3}}.</ref>

===Adobe bricks===
[[File:Milyanfan-adobe-bricks-8038.jpg|thumb|Adobe bricks near a construction site in [[Milyanfan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]]]]
Bricks made from adobe are usually made by pressing the mud mixture into an open timber frame. In North America, the brick is typically about {{convert|25|by|36|cm|0|abbr=on}} in size. The mixture is molded into the frame, which is removed after initial setting. After drying for a few hours, the bricks are turned on edge to finish drying. Slow drying in shade reduces cracking.

The same mixture, without straw, is used to make [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] and often [[plaster]] on interior and exterior walls. Some cultures used [[Lime (material)|lime]]-based cement for the plaster to protect against rain damage.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

Depending on the form into which the mixture is pressed, adobe can encompass nearly any shape or size, provided drying is even and the mixture includes reinforcement for larger bricks. Reinforcement can include manure, straw, cement, [[rebar]], or wooden posts. Straw, cement, or manure added to a standard adobe mixture can produce a stronger, more crack-resistant brick.<ref>{{cite web|author=Technical Information Online |url=https://infohub.practicalaction.org/bitstream/handle/11283/314561/5110df27-5b44-4243-920e-37c50a310b36.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://infohub.practicalaction.org/bitstream/handle/11283/314561/5110df27-5b44-4243-920e-37c50a310b36.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Mud Plasters and Renders |publisher=Practicalaction.org |access-date=9 November 2010}}</ref> A test is done on the soil content first. To do so, a sample of the soil is mixed into a clear container with some water, creating an almost completely saturated liquid. The container is shaken vigorously for one minute. It is then allowed to settle for a day until the soil has settled into layers. Heavier particles settle out first, sand above, silt above that, and very fine clay and organic matter will stay in suspension for days. After the water has cleared, percentages of the various particles can be determined. Fifty to 60 percent sand and 35 to 40 percent clay will yield strong bricks. The [[Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service]] at New Mexico State University recommends a mix of not more than {{frac|1|3}} clay, not less than {{frac|1|2}} sand, and never more than {{frac|1|3}} silt.<ref name="NMSU">{{cite web |last1=Dominguez |first1=Thomas |title=ABCs of Making Adobe Bricks |url=https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_g/G521/index.html |publisher=New Mexico State University |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

During the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], designer and builder [[Hugh W. Comstock]] used cheaper materials and made a specialized adobe brick called "Bitudobe." His first adobe house was built in 1936. In 1948, he published the book ''Post-Adobe; Simplified Adobe Construction Combining A Rugged Timber Frame And Modern Stabilized Adobe,'' which described his method of construction, including how to make "Bitudobe." In 1938, he served as an adviser to the architects [[Ernest J. Kump|Franklin & Kump]] Associates, who built the [[Carmel High School (Carmel, California)|Carmel High School]], which used his Post-adobe system.<ref name="Seavey">{{cite book|last=Seavey |first=Kent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vsfoKsxi4q4C&q=Comstock|title=Carmel, A History in Architecture|publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, South Carolina|date=2007|page=114|isbn=978-0-7385-4705-3|access-date=2022-01-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58880807 |title=Post-adobe; Simplified Adobe Construction Combining a Rugged Timber Frame and Modern Stabilized Adobe|last= Comstock |first= Hugh W.|date= 1948|oclc=58880807 |access-date=2022-02-27}}</ref>

===Adobe wall construction===
[[File:Fort Saint-Sébastien - Visite des fouilles juin 2012 68.jpg|thumb|The [[earthen plaster]] removed, exposing the adobe bricks at Fort St. Sebastien in France]]
The ground supporting an adobe structure should be compressed, as the weight of adobe wall is significant and foundation settling may cause cracking of the wall. Footing depth is to be below the ground frost level. The footing and stem wall are commonly {{convert|24|and|14|in|cm|round=5|abbr=in|order=flip}} thick, respectively.  Modern construction codes call for the use of reinforcing steel in the footing and stem wall. Adobe bricks are laid by course. Adobe walls usually never rise above two stories as they are load bearing and adobe has low structural strength. When creating window and door openings, a [[lintel]] is placed on top of the opening to support the bricks above. Atop the last courses of brick, bond beams made of heavy wood beams or modern reinforced concrete are laid to provide a horizontal bearing plate for the roof beams and to redistribute lateral earthquake loads to shear walls more able to carry the forces. To protect the interior and exterior adobe walls, finishes such as mud plaster, whitewash or stucco can be applied. These protect the adobe wall from water damage, but need to be reapplied periodically. Alternatively, the walls can be finished with other nontraditional plasters that provide longer protection. Bricks made with stabilized adobe generally do not need protection of plasters.

===Adobe roof===
The traditional adobe roof has been constructed using a mixture of soil/clay, water, sand and organic materials. The mixture was then formed and pressed into wood forms, producing rows of dried earth bricks that would then be laid across a support structure of wood and plastered into place with more adobe.

Depending on the materials available, a roof may be assembled using wood or metal beams to create a framework to begin layering adobe bricks. Depending on the thickness of the adobe bricks, the framework has been preformed using a steel framing and a layering of a metal fencing or wiring over the framework to allow an even load as masses of adobe are spread across the metal fencing like cob and allowed to air dry accordingly. This method was demonstrated with an adobe blend heavily impregnated with cement to allow even drying and prevent cracking.

The more traditional flat adobe roofs are functional only in dry climates that are not exposed to snow loads. The heaviest wooden beams, called [[Viga (architecture)|vigas]], lie atop the wall. Across the vigas lie smaller members called latillas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dl-building.com/preservation-historic-adobe-buildings/ |title=Preservation of Historic Adobe Buildings |publisher=Dawson Lupul |access-date=30 January 2014 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701055819/http://dl-building.com/preservation-historic-adobe-buildings/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and upon those brush is then laid. Finally, the adobe layer is applied.

To construct a flat adobe roof, beams of wood were laid to span the building, the ends of which were attached to the tops of the walls. Once the vigas, latillas and brush are laid, adobe bricks are placed. An adobe roof is often laid with bricks slightly larger in width to ensure a greater expanse is covered when placing the bricks onto the roof. Following each individual brick should be a layer of adobe mortar, recommended to be at least {{convert|1|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}} thick to make certain there is ample strength between the brick's edges and also to provide a relative moisture barrier during rain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/materials/adobe-construction2.htm|title=How Adobe Construction Works|date=2012-04-17|work=Add Water, Then Stir – How Adobe Construction Works |access-date=2017-10-24|language=en}}</ref>

Roof design evolved around 1850 in the American Southwest. {{convert|3|in|cm|0|spell=In}} of adobe mud was applied on top of the latillas, then {{convert|18|in|cm|round=5}} of dry adobe dirt applied to the roof. The dirt was contoured into a low slope to a downspout aka a 'canal'. When moisture was applied to the roof the clay particles expanded to create a waterproof membrane. Once a year it was necessary to pull the weeds from the roof and re-slope the dirt as needed.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Depending on the materials, adobe roofs can be inherently fire-proof. The construction of a chimney can greatly influence the construction of the roof supports, creating an extra need for care in choosing the materials. The builders can make an adobe chimney by stacking simple adobe bricks in a similar fashion as the surrounding walls.

In 1927, the [[Uniform Building Code]] (UBC) was adopted in the United States. Local ordinances, referencing the UBC added requirements to building with adobe. These included: restriction of building height of adobe structures to 1-story, requirements for adobe mix (compressive and shear strength) and new requirements which stated that every building shall be designed to withstand seismic activity, specifically lateral forces. By the 1980s however, seismic related changes in the California Building Code effectively ended solid wall adobe construction in California; however Post-and-Beam adobe and veneers are still being used.