Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1896-10-21
ADOBE BUILDINGS.
SIMPLE ARCHITECTURE OF MUD
HOUSES IN NEW MEXICO.

How the Bricks Are Made-They Have
Straw In Them and Arc Sun Dried.
Dwellings 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.
In the land Of sunshine, where q rainy
day is so rare that it is marked with q
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 up above his knees, digs down
in a favored ditch or pond until he
strikes the "dobe mud, and in 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 natural cement pc
culiar to the 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
TIL 1,~.o yho
upon a half breed or Mexican 'dobe
bfickmaker 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
serb 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 'dobe house in the
Santa Fe he stumbled upon a couple OF
men stamping with their bare feet upon
clay in a wooden frame. He inquired
and found that he was looking upon two
Mexicans making adobe brick. In de-
scribing the process he said:
''The men actually dug up the 'dobe
mud from the bottom of the ditch which
c1-s 1bory
we say, tempered it with water until
it was Of a stiff, clayey consistency.
Then they chopped 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 mud down with his bare feet, at
the same time tamping it with a stick.
After the frame was packed hard he
scraped the surplus mud off with a
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
and stood it on its edge. The next brick
he made he leaned against the first one,
and soon he had dozen large bricks
each twice as wide and long and thick
as an ordinary brick-drying in the
sun. One of the men told me that the
bricks would be ready to lay in three or
four days, and that they 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 one story adobe house,
which is characteristic Of that region,
they are built up perfectly plain until
they reach the roof. The roof is support
ed on wooden beams, laid edgewise on
the walls, and the bricks are built up
level with the top Of the beams between
the timbers, leaving the edge Of the
rafters exposed The roof has slight
slant, and is made of adobe bricks
When it rains, the water soaks into the
roof bricks, but does not begin 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 as strong and good as 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 if that country had half as much
rain as falls in Chicago the 'dobe houses
would after time crumble away, but
Z the average year in New Mexico is
made up of 1877 days of >unclouded sky,
1879 days when sunshine predominates
and only 80 days Of cloud. SO that the
rainfall does not amount to much more
than a good sized fall of dew.''
It is estimated that an adobe house
costs about 800 room, but there are
mansions built of this material which
cost not less than $50, 900 to construct
When the Americans settled in New
Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and the
lower part Of California they accepted
the treeless condition Of the country
and built their houses of 'dobe mud
Chicago Record.