Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-05
BUILDING ADOBE HOUSES.
The simple Architecture of the Mud
Rcsidences in New Mexico.

Residences in New Mexico.
From tie Chicago Record
Architectural engineering is a branch of
the gentle art of making mud pics in the
land where the adobe houses grow. In the
land Of sunshine, where rainy day is 50
rare that it is marked with red cross, the
native contractor and builder wastes 10
time figuring on the strength of material,
the crushing limit OF tubular columns, and
the wind pressure per square foot OF eleya-
ton lie does not pore over blue prints of
plans. cross sections and elevations, nor
does he whittIe down his figures to the
finest point, so as to come under some 9TH
Ell contractors bid. He simply rolls his
trousers Up above his knees, digs down in
q favored ditch or pond until he strikes the
uODG mud. anu in short time ne IS
reaty - begin constructive operations.
Adobe houses are brick houses, but the
BRICK Is Sun-drieu and madG with straw.
The clay or mud Of y hich the brick is made
Is Z natural cement, peculiar to the arid
plains of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and
tnat belt OF states and territories. 1t Is
turned out in the most primitive manner,
and the Blue Island Drickmaker who might
happen upon a halfbTeed or Mexican 'doDs
br-ckmaker would view the operation with
amusement or disgust. Kiln-burned BRICK
made of blue clay, however, would not meet
the requirements imposed by the climatic
conditions of those countries where adobe
brick is used.
In summer an adobe house is cool: in win
ter ii is warm Its thick walls absorb the
occasional rain, and although the sun-dried
brick is soft compared to the kiln-dried ar
tlcie. II does not crUmble, and it stands for
ages.
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 a wooden
frame He inquired and found that he was
locking upon two MexiCans making adobe
brick. In describing the process he said
The men actually dug up the 'dobt mud
from the bottom Of the ditch which skirted
the road They mixed ii, or, say,
tempered 1t. with water until il was of
stiff, Cldyey consistency Then they Chop
pei alfalfa hay into short pieces and mixed
It with the clay. and their material was
ready to make into brick A wood frame
lay on the ground. This frame was filed
with the 'dObe mud mixed with hay and
one of the men got into the frame and
stamped the mud down with his hare feet
at the same time tampiEg X with a stick
After the frame was packed hard he
scrapei the surplus mud off with stick
so that the top surface was level with the
upper edges of the frame, and then lifting
the frame from the clay he carried the
brick TO one side of the road ana stood it
on its edge. The next brick he made he
leaned against the first one, and soon he
mad a dozen large brcks-each twice as
wide and long and thick as an ordinary
hrick-drying in the sun. One of the men
told me that the bricks would he ready
to lay in three or four days, and that Trey
used the mud which the bricks are made
of for the plaster.
THE walls of an adobe house are very
thick, sometimes two or three feet. and in
the ordinary o1a-StCry adobe house which
is characteristic Of that region, they are
built w perfectly plain until they reach the
roof The roof is supported on wooden
leans. laid edGeWise on the walls and the
bricks are built up level with the ton of the
beams between the timbers, leaving the
edge of the rafters exposed. The roof has
a slight slant. and Is made of adobe bricks
When il rains the water SOaks into the
roof bricks. but does not begir to drip
down into the rooms below until the rain
IS over. Then the family moves out until
the water Is through with its dripping. I
saw an adobe house in Santa Fe which was
built In the sixteenth century. and. so far
as ] could see, the walls were strong and
good any house around there.
Walls are built of stone plastered with
adobe cement, if may so call it. and such
walls are strong and solid. I suppose IL
that country had half as much rain as falls
in Chicago the 'dobe houses would after
time Crumble away. but the average year in
New Mexico IS mn de up of 1877 days of I'M
clOuded sky, 1870 DAYS when sunshine pre-
dominates and only 30 days of cloud, 30
that the rainfall does rot amount to much
more than good-sized fall of dew"
II is estimated that an adobe house costs
about 800 room. but there are mansions
built Of this material which cost not less
than $4,000 to construct. When the Amer
leans settled IN New Mexico, Utah. Arizo-
ma. Nevada and the lower part of Califor-
the country and built their houses of 'dobe
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