PUTTING up ADOBE WALLS

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Around doors and windows you must leave approximately 2-1/2 inches (6 cm.) at each post for framing. If the window is to be 4 feet (1.2 m.) wide, the distance between the two posts should be 4 feet, 5 inches (1.3 m.) .

Post holders for interior walls must be set in a straight line or you will create a bulge in the wall. To insure a straight line, place a string along the middle of the proposed wall from one side of the foundation to the other. With chalk, make marks on the string where the post holders go, and take the string off at one side. When the concrete is poured, put the string back and insert the post holders in the proper positions.

Headers and Top Plates. The wooden beam at the top of the post adobe wall can be made of solid 6 X 6's or 8 X 8's, if you desire. But most modern post adobe construction utilizes a hollow "beam" consisting of two 2 X 8 top plates and 2 X 8 pieces (header beams) on either side.

The easiest way to install these "beams" is to utilize a 4 X 4 inner post with 2 X 6 pieces (cripples) 88-1/2 inches (225 cm.) long on either side to hold up the 2 X 8 header beams. These 2 X 8 header beams are placed on top of the cripples and nailed into place, using four 16-penny galvanized nails at each post (Fig. 6). After the header beams are nailed into place, then nail two 2 X 8 plates on top of these to form a hollow "beam".

Rough-Framing the Doors and Windows. Post adobe construction requires a post on either side of all doors and windows. Windows are rough-framed by a header at the top, a rough sill at the bottom, and a trimmer on either side that's the same width as the post. Doors are framed by a header on top and two trimmers on either side.

Because you will need a sash around windows and doors, add an extra 2-1/2 inches (6.4 cm.) to all window and door heights and widths.

INTERIOR WALLS

Interior walls can be built of adobe bricks or by standard wood frame construction.

If you are not building a post adobe house, tie the interior walls to the exterior walls by overlapping the bricks exactly as you would for a corner wall. You must also pour a bond beam for each interior wall and tie them into the bond beams of the exterior walls.

If you are building a post adobe house, install a post at the junction of an interior adobe wall with an exterior adobe wall, and build that wall directly into the post.

Wood frame interior walls are often used in adobe houses because they are easier to build than adobe walls. They also make excellent plumbing walls, since it is difficult to lay adobe bricks around pipes.

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