This adobe entry wall shown – as we are in the process of putting up the adobe blocks which are classic “puddled” adobe blocks using local materials and hand poured by a vendor just north of Santa Fe. Laying up adobe bricks is a traditional building system still used quite a bit in the Southwest.
It can be a slow and certainly is a labor intense process given each of the adobe bricks weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 40 lbs. So, as you can imagine, once the walls reach a certain height the amount of effort to raise them up can be quite a challenge. For this project we are using as a mortar an earthen base with a tiny bit of cement in the mix, rather than a 100% cement based mortar, which would not work with these traditional, verses cement stabilized blocks.
Later in the project photos will show the brown coat plasters applied to the adobe walls and finally the custom kaolin plasters which have a velvety finish to them.
As mentioned in prior images, we were brought in as sub-contractors to provide some of our specialty earthen touches to a USGBC LEED certified home which otherwise was highly insulated stick framed.
Our adobe entry wall being created in this image – contrasts nicely with the crisp, clean, minimalist look to the home, giving some warm touches in just the right places.