Mankind has used various natural materials throughout the construction practice. For a long time, the most popular was ordinary clay, which has gained extensive use in the creation of various types of buildings. Adobe, or adobe, buildings today are becoming popular not only because of the love of antiquity, but also for practical reasons - a house from adobe in difficult economic and environmental conditions shows its own relevance in the best way possible.
Material without time
Saman, which is the precursor of baked clay, refers to composite materials, it consists of water, straw, sand, clay and earth.
Raw brick made from clay with the addition of chopped straw has been used for more than one millennium. Both ordinary houses and magnificent buildings were built from it, which confirms the use of adobe in the construction of the pyramids in Peru and Egypt, the creation of the Great Wall of China. Household buildings and houses made of this material are found in Moldova, Turkey, Iran and other countries with hot climatic conditions, as well as in the Kuban and Stavropol Territory.
Not so long ago, adobe building material became popular again: architects embody the ideas of experimental buildings with the concept of the unity of civilization and nature, and ordinary citizens successfully erect eco-houses on their own. Their results differ mainly in design, since the technology has not changed for several millennia.
Building out of blocks
Production of adobe today is carried out, like many years ago, with the use of clay, sand, water and organic fillers (flax bonfire, straw cutting). In this case, the average amount of clay in the mixture is from 4 to 20% (with a decrease in clay, shrinkage of the walls decreases). In the block construction variant, sand, clay and straw are mixed to a uniform consistency, then the forming of blocks in a wooden form begins. Its inner surface should be curved and have some “margin” to simplify the removal of bricks.
Since the products are not fired, but dried in the sun (within 7-11 days, depending on weather conditions), their molding begins in the spring so that the required amount of material has time to dry over the summer. Finished bricks do not lose strength when driving nails, are easily chopped and trimmed with a well- sharpened ax.
Foundry compound material
The foundry method of construction is characterized by the manual laying of a slightly grasped adobe mass on the foundation using shovels or pitchforks. A new layer is left for several days to dry, then the next one is formed. Walls as they dry out are smoothed and aligned on each side. A characteristic feature is that all layers are bonded, superimposed on each other in addition to gluing, and also by weaving straw fibers. For this, the plane of each layer is specifically left uneven, with protruding fibers and holes.
Construction Features
It is possible to use steel panels and formwork during construction. In this case, adobe brick is fed into the formwork box, which is in the design position, slightly moistened with water and compacted in small layers using rammers made of wood. Clay is in the formwork for about 3-4 days in cloudy weather or 2 days in sunny weather. After it moves higher and the next part of the walls is made. In each method, window and door openings are formed during construction, along the top of which a steel or wooden lintel is mounted.
A house made of adobe can have any wall height. There are historical examples of buildings on several floors, which not only have excellent condition, but are still in operation. Such structures, unlike earthly options, the walls of which are fastened due to gravity, are based on the three-dimensional structure of interwoven straw fibers, the total strength is provided by a large number of individual stems. Moreover, most of the houses from adobe have no more than one or three floors. Such a house, like any other building, requires a reliable foundation and a solid roof to protect it from the damaging effects of water. The walls have a traditional rain protection coating in the form of cement mortar or lime plaster.
Advantages
Building from adobe is the safest of all methods using natural materials. It is made from renewable resources and is not toxic to humans, which is especially true in the current situation of severe environmental pollution and depletion of resources.
Thanks to plastic abilities, it is possible to create architectural organic forms with the formation of niches, arches, curved walls - this is how the builder works with the house, as with a sculpture.
Adobe brick has a minimal cost compared to other materials. For the construction of buildings there is no need to use expensive specialized equipment and labor, respectively, there is no high energy consumption.
Water resistance and thermal insulation characteristics
The material is able to tolerate long periods of rain and is not subject to weathering. For example, in the UK, which is characterized by a large amount of rainfall, there is a huge number of adobe comfortable houses, many of which are more than 500 years old. And in nine-story medieval houses built with partial use of adobe, which can be found in Yemen, people have been living for almost 900 years. The special design and composition of the material can provide sufficient seismic resistance.
Saman has great thermal insulation properties compared to brick, stone or concrete, so for such houses you do not need increased heating in the winter and providing coolness in the summer. This is a refractory building material, which is used to form chimneys and furnaces, which is why it is optimally suitable for houses in regions with high fire risk.
The adobe buildings are undoubtedly unique, as is the fact that their operational characteristics and economic qualities deserve the attention of every person who is not indifferent to the ecological future of the Earth.
disadvantages
For adobe freezing becomes the most difficult test - the main reason for the destruction and cracking of houses from the ground. But application in cold regions is possible subject to special technology and external wall insulation.
Adobe brick does not have the best decorative characteristics, while it is characterized by low water resistance. Such buildings, without proper treatment in a damp climate, absorb moisture, begin to deform and crumble. To prevent such changes, the walls on the outside are finished with burnt ordinary brick, and inside are protected by vapor barrier. A house from home-made blocks in this case will last much longer.
Important aspects
Blocks for building a house are placed on a solution of sand and clay in the proportions compiled for the manufacture of the blocks themselves, without the use of straw. For the first row, it is necessary to separate from the foundation with waterproofing. Reinforcement mesh will strengthen the joints of the walls and corners. Point loads are destructive for the material, so overlap and beams are formed with an equal distribution of loads on the walls. Such a house, in accordance with all the rules, will delight its owners for many years.
Composition
The adobe brick, as noted above, consists of the following components: water, straw, sand and clay. In construction, the proportions of all the components are revealed by the method of samples and mainly depend on the quality characteristics of clay. It does not occur in its pure form in nature and always has a certain amount of impurities, most often sand. The total weight of the addition of river screened sand is determined by the clay's fat content.
It can be found in those places where it is mined by builders and stove makers. It is possible to use soil excavated from the foundation pit if the site differs in clay type of soil. In the clay, from which the blocks will be prepared for the construction of the house, there should be no stones, garbage and impurities. When preparing a large amount of material, it can be laid under the film and left for aging - its quality will only increase due to this.
Coarse sand is used in the manufacture , the optimal grain size is at least 1 mm. Adobe blocks cannot be formed from dusty options. Roots, debris and foreign matter are removed from the sand, then it is sifted and dried.
Any type of straw is suitable: barley, rye or wheat, the main thing is that it is completely dried and has no signs of spoilage. Fresh straw is best.
Water is the last part of the mixture, but not in importance. The strength of a brick is affected by its cleanliness, since water containing acid salts contributes to the rapid destruction. The best option is water from a well or well, without the presence of chemicals.
How to make adobe: determine the proportions
To find out the proportions of the components, you need to take one part of sand and clay, add water, mix thoroughly and knead the solution, which resembles a steep dough in consistency. Then a ball equal in diameter to the tennis ball rolls out of the solution and is left in the sun for an hour. Then it must be dropped from a height of about one and a half meters on a flat plane. The ideal ratio of sand and clay will preserve the appearance of the ball. If it crumbles, it means that a decrease in the amount of sand is required, if the ball becomes flat without cracking, it is necessary to increase its part, respectively.
Molding
An adobe brick is formed in plastic, metal and wooden forms in the form of a box without a bottom with several cells of a certain type. In self-production, the simplest forms are made of wood, knocked down from planed boards with a thickness of about 30 mm.
After determining the required size of the blocks, a drawing for the form is drawn up, and later the board is cut using it. They should be connected at all joints in several places with screws. The number of bricks obtained at the same time can be any, it all depends on its size, but it should be borne in mind that the form should not have too much weight. It is possible to equip the handles around the edges for ease of movement.