Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-07-18
ADOBE BUILDINGS.
HMPlE ARCHITECTURE OF MUD
HOUSES IN NEW MEXICO.

straw In Them aud Are sun Dried
Dwelling. Made In This Way Are Very
Durable-A Favorable Climate.
Architectural engineering is branch
Of the gentle art of making mud pies in
the land where the adobe houses grow.
I'm the land of sunshine, where rainy
day is so rare that il is marked with
red cross, the native contractor and
builder wastes no time figuring ON the
strength of material. the crushing limit
of tubular columns and the wind pres
sure per square foot of elevation. He |
does not pore over blue prints of plans,
cross sections and elevations, nor does |
he whittle down his figures to the finest |
point so as to come under some other |
contractors bid. He simply rolls his
trousers ND above his knees, digs down
in a favored ditch or pond until he
strikes the ''dobe mud, " and in a short
time he is ready TO begin constructive
operations.
Adobe houses are brick houses, but
the brick is sun dried and made with
straw. The clay or mud of which the
brick is made is a natural cement pc
culiar to tho arid plains of New Mexico,
Arizona, Nevada and that belt of states
and territories. It is turned out in the
most primitive manner, and the Blue
Island brickmaker who might happen
upon half breed or Mexican 'dObe
brickmaker would view the operation
with amusement or disgust Kiln burn
ed brick, made of blue clay, however,
would not meet the requirements i'm
posed by the climatic conditions of those
countries where adobe brick is used
In summer an adobe house is cool in
winter it is warm Its thick walls alb
sorb the occasional rain, and, although
the sun dried brick is soft compared to
the kiln dried article, it does not crum-
BILE, and it stands for ages.
A man who recently travelled through
New Mexico was much interested in the
'dobe houses. For weeks he inquired
and searched for a 'dobe house in the
hands of the builders At length in
Santa Fe he stumbled upon couple of
men stamping with their bare feet upon
clay in wooden frame. He inquired
and found that he was looking upon two
Mexicans making adobe brick. In de-
scribing the process he said
1.-THE men actually dug up the 'dobe
mud from the bottom of the ditch which
skirted the road. They mixed it. or, as
we say, tempered it with water until
2 it was of stiff. clayey consistency.
Then they chopped alfalfa hay int
4 short pieces and mixed it with the clay,
E and their material was ready TO MAKE
into brick A wood frame lay ON thu
ground. This frame was filed with thu
'dobe mud mixed with hay, and one o
the men got into the frame and stampe'
q the mud down with his bare feet, a
t the same time tamping it with stick
e After the frame was packed hard h
: scraped the surplus mud off with
d stick, SO that the top surface was leve
p with the upper edges of the frame, an
y then lifting the frame from the clay h
carried the brick to one side of the roa
=, and stood it ON its edge. The next brio
"a he made he leaned against the first one
4 and soon he had dozen large bricks
l. each twice as wide and long and THO
le as an ordinary brick--drying in Cd
At sun. One of the men told me that til
bricks would be ready to lay in three {
IN four days, and that they used the mu
~ which the bricks are made of for Il
- plaster.
:, 1.-THE walls Of an adobe house are vel
q, thick, sometimes two or three feet. an
w in the ordinary one story adobe hous
lis which is characteristic of that regiol
in they are built up perfectly plain unit
'ir they reach the roof. The roof is supper
ok ed on wooden beams, laid edgewise {
the walls, and the bricks are built I
as level with the top Of the beams botwe'
&c the timbers, leaving the edge of c
~ rafters exposed. The roof has a slig
nv slant and is made of adobe brick
as When it rains, the water soaks into [
pr. roof bricks, but does not begin to Oh
We down into the rooms below until t
)er rain is over. Then the family moves @
ey until the water is through with
OF dripping saw an adobe house in San
ere Fe which was built in the sixteen
"o century, and, so far rs / could see,
80, walls were as strong and good as a
at house around there.
we "Walls are built of stone, plaster
for with adobe cement, if may SO call
he and such walls are strong and solid.
for suppose if that country had half as mu
nd rain as falls ia Chicago the 'dobe hou
lie would after time crumble away.
YES the o,eras,a vaar in Now Meoico
Ono uVSrtSO year III New hcAlOO
III made up of 1877 days of unclouded 81
al 1879 days when sunshine predomina
tba and only SO days of cloud. so that
nd rainfall does not amount to much IA
red than a good sized fall Of dew"
pie 1t is estimated that an adobe no
re- costs about 500 room, but there
hit mansions built of this material VIII
cost not less than $50, 600 to constrr
ad- When the "Americans" settled in N
Sics Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and
lower part of California they accep
the treeless condition of the c0un
and built their houses of 'dobe mud
..o. ChicaoC Record