Adobe –sun-dried brick is one of the oldest and most common building materials known to man. Traditional adobe building techniques used in the Southwest in the 16th century are still in use today. The adobe brick is formed by mixing sand and clay with water to a plastic consistency and then adding grass or straw which helps with the uniform shrinking of the brick as it dries. The mud is then placed in wooden forms, tamped and leveled by hand. The bricks are turned out to dry on a level surface and covered with straw to keep the bricks from sticking together. After several days of drying the bricks are ready for air-curing - a process of standing the bricks on end for a least four more weeks. Adobe walls are laid with the adobe brick and a mud mortar. Cement mortars cannot be used because they accelerate the deterioration of the adobe. Adobe surfaces are fragile and require regular maintenance. Mud plaster has been used as a surface coating and since it is made of the same materials it bonds to the adobe. Once the mud plaster is applied it is then smoothed by hand. This gives the adobe a “polished” appearance and also maintains the integrity of the structure.
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