PUTTING up ADOBE WALLS

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Vertical rebar is placed on 2- to 4-foot (0.6-1.2 m.) centers and tied to the reinforcing steel in the footings. If you are building a single-brick-width adobe wall, split the adobes to allow for the rebar, or drill holes in the brick. If you are building a double-brick adobe wall, the vertical rebar will run between the bricks. Tie a double wall together with pieces of rebar 12 inches (30 cm.) on center in every third course.

With both single- and double-brick walls, you must place lengthwise horizontal rebar every third course, as shown in Fig. 4.

POST ADOBE CONSTRUCTION

Post adobe construction has been utilized in California for many years, producing some attractive contemporary homes.

After the foundation has been poured, the first step in building a post adobe house is to construct a wooden frame wall utilizing posts and a "beam" at the top. This post and beam construction then supports the roof, which is built directly on it. Posts are placed in the post adobe frame at all corners, every 8 feet (2.4 m.) along the wall, and on either side of all windows and doors (see Fig. 6). Bricks are laid between the posts to fill the open space. The adobe bricks do not, however, support any of the structural weight other than their own.

For the posts you can use 6 X 6's, 8 X 8's, railroad ties, or any type of built-up post.

For my own adobe I utilized a rough 4-inch (10 cm.) redwood inner post with 2 X 6's nailed to each side. This gave me a post that was 7-1/2 inches (19 cm.) wide, the same size as the bricks. When the bricks were laid into the wall, a 3/4-inch (1.9 cm.) space that was left between the edge of the 2 X 6's and the interior post was filled with mortar. This closed the opening between the post and the bricks so that the wind couldn't come through the cracks.

Building departments unfamiliar with post adobe construction often insist that the frame be engineered. However, since the post adobe frame is standard for this type of construction and has been in use for many years, an engineered frame is really unnecessary. Unfortunately, you will have to comply with whatever the building department in your area requires.

Placing the Post Holders. A number of methods are used to keep the posts in place, including 1/2-inch (1.3 cm.) anchor pins set in concrete, and large bolts. The best method is to use standard post holders (available at building supply stores). These are metal holders with prongs that extend into the concrete. The post is inserted in the post holder and nailed into place.

Post holders must be set in place while the concrete is wet. Along the walls you can simply mark the foundation forms and insert the post holders after you pour the concrete. As mentioned, posts go at all corners, a maximum of 8 feet (2.4 m.) apart along the walls, and around all doors and windows (see Fig. 7).

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