MODERN HOME FROM MUD

Image Gallery The author's adobe brick home, Tres Fuentos Rancho, in Nuevo, California.

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Lick the material shortage by building with adobe brick; made of stabilized soil, it is as durable as concrete and much more interesting.

Once again, we're pleased to roll the clock back 30 years in order to reprint another in our series of articles by Hi Sibley (see "100 Concrete Blocks Per Hour" in MOTHER NO. 45 for the first in the series).

Hi, in case you've never heard of his work, was living a MOTHER-type life of do-ityourself adobe houses, organic gardening, homestead bees, and like that away back at the end of World War II. And not only living it . . . but writing about it in a great number of magazines. Unfortunately for us all, more folks back there in the late 40's were more interested in big cars, city jobs, and new homes in the suburbs . . . than were interested in Hi's subjects.

Now that so many of us are rediscovering Mr. Sibley's way of life, though, we think it's only fair to honor the man who was 30 years ahead of his time by again publishing some of his down-to-earth gems one more once. This—the first of a twopart article—originally appeared in the February 1947 issue of Mechanix Illustrated (copyright 1947 by Fawcett Publications, Inc.) and is reprinted by permission.

There are few sections in the United States where the soil does not contain clay suitable for making "adobe bricks". In view of the fact that the bulk of this material costs you nothing, and that you can make the brick yourself, it is the ideal medium for home construction. When mixed with an asphalt emulsion stabilizer the brick is as waterproof as concrete. It is an excellent insulator against heat, cold, and sound. It is fireproof, termite-proof, and freezeproof.

What more can you ask—atom bomb-proof?

Adobe for the old California missions was mixed with water and straw in the original excavation. The modern way is to use a mechanical mixer so as to impart a uniform quality to the brick. Formulas will be given later. In the meantime, consider the foundation. Since 12 in. wide (one story high) adobe walls weigh about 700 lbs. to the running foot, excluding the roof, a heavier footing will be required than for a frame house.

THE FOUNDATION. The first step is to grade the site and get the corner stakes level with a transit. Trenches for the footing are dug and flooded with water overnight. The simplest footing design is shown at A, Fig. 2. This has a shallow key for mortar upon which the first course of brick is laid. In the inverted T design, B, the top is scored with a trowel to retain the mortar. This is the method used in the author's home.

In preparing the ground remove all organic matter and roots. The slab is poured over cinders or crushed stone, spread over the entire surface to an 8 in. depth, and well tamped. This fill serves the double purpose of insulation and waterproofing. Over it place a layer of reinforced building paper and cement the joints with hot asphalt.

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