PUTTING up ADOBE WALLS

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To tie the wooden frames to the adobes, 18-inch wooden nailers made of 1 X 4 are laid between the bricks in the mortar. The rough frame is then nailed to these nailers. To allow for finishing, the rough frame should be made about 3 inches (8 cm.) wider and longer than the door or window you intend to install.

BOND BEAMS

The tops of all masonry walls (except post adobe) are tied together with bond beams (Fig. 4). This is because all walls tend to spread and crack unless tied together at the top. The bond beam is usually concrete, a minimum of 4 inches (10 cm.) thick, and reinforced with one or more steel reinforcing rods (1/2-inch rebar).

Build your forms for the bond beams from 1 X 8 or 2 X 8 lumber. Nail the bottom of the lumber to the wall and tie the top edges together with metal brackets or pieces of 1- to 2-inch (2.5-5 cm.) lumber nailed across the top of the form. The rebar can be supported on pieces of wire nailed between the two sides of the forms or on vertical rebar. At this point you will also need to place in the bond beam some sort of anchoring method to be used in securing the roof.

You can mix your own concrete for these bond beams at a ratio of 1 part cement to 2 parts sand to 3 parts gravel, or you can buy ready-mix concrete. I have seen builders mix the concrete for the bond beam in a wheelbarrow, but if you plan to mix it yourself, you will save a tremendous amount of work by renting a small cement mixer.

You may also use heavy wooden bond beams on top of the walls. These wooden bond beams should be a minimum of 4 inches (10 cm.) thick, and the ends and corners should be fastened together securely.

LINTELS

Lintels are simply bridges over openings in the walls where windows and doors will be. These lintels should be 12 inches (30 cm.) thick over openings up to 8 feet long (2.4 m.), and 18 inches (46 cm.) over openings longer than 8 feet (2.4 m.). Extend the lintel 6 to 9 inches (15-22 cm.) beyond all wall openings.

To make lintel forms, use 2 X 8's or 1 X 8's nailed into the bricks. The tops of all window and door rough bucks (the wooden window and door frames) are the bottoms of the lintel forms (Fig. 5). Since lintels are essentially a thickening of the bond beam over doors and windows, it is probably easiest to make all forms together and pour the concrete as one piece.

You may also use wooden lintels over all window and door openings. These must extend 12 to 18 inches (30-46 cm.) beyond any opening.

STEEL REINFORCING

In earthquake areas, one way of meeting the code is to utilize both horizontal and vertical steel reinforcing rods (rebar) in the walls.

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