Despite the appearance on the market of increasingly modern and high-quality building materials, adobe houses do not lose their relevance to this day. But they have been known for a very long time. And they are ecological energy-saving housing, for the construction of which does not require large financial investments.
Saman is a mixture of clay, sand and straw. In production, such products are called raw bricks. Ceramic differs from it in that the adobe is dried in the air, and ceramic in the ovens. From the described material, one-story buildings, fences and fences can be erected. However, operation is possible only in dry climates, where frequent rains over time will not destroy the material.
Most often, light adobe is used. It is durable and dense, does not sag or burn. Over time, the shape is well preserved, and the walls breathe. Lightweight adobe is quite cheap, it is great for filling frame buildings, acting as a heater.
Main advantages
An adobe house has many advantages. Firstly, it has a high level of thermal insulation. Secondly, at home, noise from the runways, railways and highways is well restrained. Thirdly, the material is fire resistant. This allows you to use it in the construction of houses, which have high fire safety requirements.
The material is eco-friendly, affordable and cheap. It has high strength and allows you to build a house taking into account the most complex modern design. Such buildings do not require additional heating in winter. In the summer, heat is trapped in the walls, while the coolness remains inside. The adobe house is also hygroscopic. It is able to provide optimal indoor air humidity. The walls are based on environmentally friendly materials that are exclusively of natural origin.
The high strength of such buildings has been proven for thousands of years. The use of special tools, chemicals and equipment is excluded, and the materials are well known even to a novice builder who will not have the opportunity to spoil them. In favor of the described houses, it can also be noted that the clay contains aluminum. Due to this room, electromagnetic radiation is well shielded. Earth's magnetic fields are poorly shielded.
Key Cons
An adobe house, like any other building, has its drawbacks. Among others, low moisture resistance should be highlighted. To eliminate this defect, plastering and whitewashing are carried out in the finished building. This eliminates the effect of precipitation on the facade.
If you purchase bricks or blocks in which the content of organic fillers is high, then you need to be prepared for the fact that uninvited guests will settle inside in the form of rodents and insects. Such material in parallel becomes even less fireproof. This happens due to the increase in organic mass, which excellently supports combustion.
The minus of the adobe house also lies in the fact that the finished building for a rather long time should stand and dry. This is typical for temperate regions. If the work is carried out in hot conditions, then such a problem should not arise. If the house is not allowed to stand, then the material will not gain strength, and the organic filler will begin to rot. As a result, the microclimate inside the building will not be what you expected. In connection with this housewarming you will celebrate soon.
Considering the pros and cons of adobe houses, you should also note for yourself that construction work has a limited time. It is better to engage in the construction of buildings in the summer, in hot weather. The reason is expressed in the aforementioned drawback. As for frosty weather, the construction in such conditions is very difficult. If it is conducted, it requires the presence of salt or alkali in the water as part of the blocks. If the walls are not compacted enough, then over time they will give a large linear shrinkage. Dimensions can reach 1/20 of the height of the walls.
Additional insulation measures require walls erected from heavy adobe. This material has a low content of organic fillers. In this case, it is better to use pressed straw, which is then plastered with clay or covered with a composition of clay and lime. From the point of view of labor costs, almost nothing has changed since ancient times in the manufacture of adobe bricks . Blocks are made manually, and not with the help of special units. Therefore, the speed of preparation for construction is quite low.
Block making
Reliability of the structure will be reduced if the blocks at the base of the walls have low density and high humidity. Saman needs to be made in advance, because for construction you will need a lot of material, and it takes a lot of time to form and dry. If you are planning to build an adobe house with your own hands, then you should take care of the availability of:
- straw;
- water;
- boards;
- a hammer;
- clay; containers for kneading; nails hacksaws.
From 2-centimeter boards, boxes without a bottom are knocked down. Their size should be 35 x 18 x 14 cm. The shape may be double, but in this case it will be too heavy. Boards should be as even as possible, with a smooth surface. There are no standard sizes for the described products, but the indicated parameters are most practical.
In order to dry the adobe, it is necessary to prepare two sites. On a flat area of soil, racks of wooden beams or bricks are laid out. Shields from downed boards are mounted on them. There should be a canopy above the first platform, the second should remain in the open. Next, you can do the procurement of material.
Clay acts as one of the important components. The filler may be straw, wood chips, gravel, sand, dry grass and cement. Clay should be clean, strong, ductile and free from impurities. In order to check whether it is suitable, it should be diluted with water and rolled up the ball. If during drying it did not become covered with cracks and did not break when falling from a height of 2 m, then clay can be used. Approximately 10 m 3 of raw materials will be consumed per 1,000 products.
If you have a question about how to make an adobe house, then for a start you will have to make blocks. Straw straw is taken for them, the length of which reaches 16 cm. A small section is not suitable. To increase the strength of the blocks and increase their water resistance, lime should be added to the composition. Clay and straw are combined in a 4: 6 ratio, but the ratio can be changed depending on the type of product. In light bricks, clay should be 10% less, while in heavy bricks - 20% more than normal.
Forming and Drying
The construction of an adobe house provides for the formation of blocks. You can prepare the solution on the ground, clearing the area and making a depression in the center. For a small volume of building material, a trough with low sides is suitable. You can form a frame of boards and sheathe galvanized sheets. In the tank, the solution will not be mixed with the soil, and in case of rain everything can be covered with polyethylene.
The mixture is prepared as follows: first clay is poured, to which water is added. Pour water into it and mix well, leaving for 12 hours. Then straw or other filler is added, everything is well mixed. For the formation, you should use a wide board on which the form is placed. The surface is liberally moistened with water and sprinkled with sand. The solution must be typed with your hands and rammed into the mold, sealing the corners. An open area wakes up with straw and sawdust. When drying between the blocks there should be free space for air circulation.
Earthworks and foundation pouring
Having examined the photos of adobe houses, you will realize that they are all installed on the foundation. For its construction should prepare:
- crushed stone;
- clay;
- armature;
- level;
- self-tapping screws;
- plastic wrap;
- brick fight;
- sand;
- cement mortar;
- boards.
At the next stage, a trench is excavated under the tape base. It should be 20 cm wider than the wall thickness. The walls will have a thickness of 35 cm. The trench should be located around the perimeter of the house and in those places where the internal load-bearing walls will be. It is necessary to go deep by 70 cm.
A sand cushion is laid at the bottom of the trench, a battle of bricks, stone and rubble falls asleep on top. To the top, the layer should not reach 25 cm. Reinforcing bars are located between the stones, which should rise 20 cm above the surface of the soil. Then the surface is poured with a liquid solution of clay.
Formwork is assembled from the boards, which is covered with a plastic film. Outside, the formwork is reinforced with spacers made of bars. The design should be checked by level and install the reinforcing cage, securing it between the boards. The inner space is poured with a solution, the surface of which should be leveled and covered with a film.
Walling
Having examined the old adobe houses and new buildings, you can determine how your future home will look. At the next stage, you can do the construction of walls. As soon as the foundation surface is covered with two layers of roofing material, and bituminous mastic is distributed between them, you can start laying the walls. You should start from the corner of the facade.
Installation of blocks is made in a checkerboard pattern. A binder solution is a mixture of clay and sand. In one day, you can build about 3 rows. If you put more, the adobe will shift under load, and the wall will turn out to be uneven. Having laid down for the first time, you will need to determine the location of the openings and leave space between the blocks. It is not recommended to install the boxes immediately, since when drying the adobe will shrink by 5%. Every two rows you should check the walls horizontally and vertically to avoid distortions. At the window level, the process is complicated.
Jumper laying
Leaving the openings under the windows, the masonry must be raised, after which you can begin to manufacture jumpers. For this, 5-cm boards are used, which are knocked down into shields. Their width is equal to the width of the walls, while the length should be 30 cm greater than the window width. The panels are treated with an antiseptic, dried and wrapped with roofing material. Then they can be fixed with staples.
Ready-made jumpers are placed above the window openings so that they capture the walls on both sides of 15 cm. Inside the opening, it is necessary to install a beam and support the jumper. Masonry continues on top of the shields until you reach the top of the doorway. A wooden shield is installed above it, then you can lay out about 2 more rows of walls.
Ceiling device
Creating the ceiling of an adobe house involves laying ceilings. After the installation of the last two rows of the wall between the blocks, it is necessary to leave holes for the beams. In places where the tree adjoins the adobe, these elements are installed with a protrusion beyond the perimeter of the wall. The distance between the beams should be equal to 1.5 m. After this, it is necessary to erect another row of blocks, then you can proceed to the assembly of the rafter system.
Brick facade
Finishing adobe house is carried out after drying the building. This will happen within 4 years. During this period, the brick will cease to sit. First you need to purchase the right amount of material, sand, cement and insulation. Before this, it is necessary to inspect the foundation, since in most buildings it is very narrow or completely absent. If there is a base, it is strengthened, because a brick wall will also be added to the weight of the house.
The width of the base should be 30 cm. It will also be necessary to raise the base, make the formwork and fill the interior with mortar. If you are planning to brick the adobe house, then you should know: the distance from the facade should be 60 cm. If this step is reduced, then the walls will be poorly ventilated and begin to scatter, which will reduce their strength.
The walls are connected by 100 mm nails, and the voids are filled with expanded clay. Masonry can be carried out in half a brick. The masonry mortar will include some cement and 4 parts sand. The amount of water can be determined by mixing, the solution should not turn out too thick or liquid.
Finally
If you want to build an adobe house with your own hands, you must remember that it perfectly suits the role of a building for permanent residence of people. The strength of the walls will be sufficient for buildings with a small number of floors. An excellent option for an individual house is adobe, if the house is planned to be installed in the city or beyond.
If you have some doubts about the durability of such buildings, then you can pay attention to the houses in England, built from adobe. They have stood for several hundred years and continue to remain comfortable for living. In Yemen, you can find 10-story houses, in the walls of which there is partially adobe. Such buildings have been continuously inhabited by people for the past 900 years.