When people think of an adobe building they will all properly get the same image in their mind. A clay brick house covered in plaster in the middle of the desert. Almost nobody however thinks of how an adobe house could be built is a cooler climate such as Baltimore.
Adobe bricks are a natural substitute for conventional home building materials, and are easy to make as well. Adobe bricks consist primarily of water, sand, mud, clay and straw, although they can be made with grass, leaves, or any other fibrous material. Once the mixture is formed it is taken and then made into bricks. The bricks are then set into the hot sun to dry. Once the bricks have dried, they are then inspected for cracks that may compromise the future structural integrity of the building. After the bricks have completely dried, they are set just as a normal clay brick. Sometimes adobe brick makers will use the unbaked mixture for the mortar to set the bricks into place and adhere to each other. The bricks are often made using a frame of approximately 10 x 14 inches in size. The mixture is poured into the frame, the frame is then removed thereby giving it the proper shape. Generally the best mixture is 15% clay, 10-30% silt and 55-75% fine sand. The amount if clay in the mixture should be no more than half-expansive clay and the rest non-expansive clay. If this percentage is off then there could be cracking, weakness in the brick or uneven drying of the brick can occur. After the bricks have been drying for a few hours, they should be set on their sides, and slow drying in shaded areas can help reduce cracking.
The word adobe is American English, first recorded in 1739 from the Spanish word adobe from Arabic al-tob or brick. Adobe is extremely durable and accounts for some of the world's oldest structures. They can be commonly found in Western Asia, North Africa, West Africa, South America, North America and throughout Europe. Adobe has been in use by the Indigenous of South America for over several thousand years. It's wide use can be attributed to its simplicity of design and manufacturing. Adobe bricks are never fired in a kiln, so they are never fully hardened. The bricks constantly fluctuate in size due to their change in water content.
The strength of the brick also changes due to water, higher water content equals weaker brick and vice versa. Because of this, the adobe will never fully bond with solid materials such as wood or metal without pulling away with it. Adobe building designers have been limited by the uncertainty of the bricks, for example, many times when the bricks shrink the roof is held in merely by its own weight. The mud is commonly used as mortar, will shrink and grow along with the bricks. The adobe mortar, however, seems to be the most effective type of mortar to hold it together.
Adobe homes, compared to other more traditional homes, are also far better at retaining a bearable temperature. When comparing an adobe home to a wood home, the adobe home will retain more of its warmth, because it has a greater thermal mass. This means that when it is warm outside the inside of the home will stay cooler. Generally in America, however, adobe buildings are made with south facing windows. This allows the sun to enter the home, while in the summer it does not.
Adobe is a natural building material, as opposed to traditional houses. It is far cheaper to produce since it can be made out of almost anything. It can conserve energy extremely well, compared to normal homes since you will not need to heat or cool it as much as conventional homes. It can also be far more sturdy than normal homes. They are also easier to maintain compared to traditional homes.
Adobe bricks can take a while to make so you may need to wait for them to be made. If buying bricks you may pay more for labor and time spent making adobe bricks. If the bricks are damaged or not fully dried they can compromise the structure. Adobe can be very susceptible to heavy rain or large amounts of snow, so you may need a concrete foundation. They can be vulnerable to earthquakes. If they get damaged they can be very hard to repair.
The Adobe brick houses one may see in the New Mexico and Arizona areas have the potential to work anywhere else in the United States. They could be a huge improvement in modern living compared to other houses. They are environmentally friendly and more structurally sound than most modern houses. Considering that the oldest building in the world are adobe, I don't see why you may not want to to consider it.
