Mankind has used various natural materials throughout the entire construction practice. For a long time, the most popular was ordinary clay, which has become widely used in the creation of various types of buildings. Adobe, or adobe, buildings today are becoming popular not only because of the love of antiquity, but also for practical reasons - an adobe house in a difficult economic and environmental situation shows its relevance in the best possible way.
Material without time
The adobe, which is the predecessor, belongs to the composite type materials, it consists of water, straw, sand, clay and earth.
Raw brick made from clay with the addition of crushed straw has been used for more than one millennium. Both ordinary houses and majestic buildings were built from it, which confirms the use of adobe in the construction of pyramids in Peru and Egypt, the creation of the Great Wall of China. and houses made of this material are found in Moldova, Turkey, Iran and other countries with hot climatic conditions, as well as in the Kuban and Stavropol regions.
Not so long ago, adobe building material became popular again: architects embody the ideas of experimental buildings with the concept of the unity of civilization and nature, and ordinary citizens successfully build eco-houses on their own. Their results differ mainly only in design, since the technology has not changed for several millennia.
block building
The manufacture of adobe today is carried out, as it was many years ago, using clay, sand, water and organic fillers (linen fire, straw cutting). In this case, the average amount of clay in the mixture is from 4 to 20% (with a decrease in clay, the shrinkage of the walls decreases). In the block version of construction, sand, clay and straw are mixed to a homogeneous consistency, then the blocks are formed in a wooden mold. Its inner surface must be planed and have some “margin” to simplify the removal of bricks.
Since the products are not fired, but dried in the sun (for 7-11 days, depending on weather conditions), their molding begins in the spring so that the required amount of material has time to dry over the summer. Finished bricks do not lose strength when hammering nails, are easily cut and hewn well
Casting compound material
The foundry method of construction is characterized by the hand laying of lightly set adobe mass on the foundation using shovels or pitchforks. The new layer is left to dry for several days, then the next one is formed. The walls, as they dry, are cleaned and leveled on the sides. A characteristic feature is that all layers superimposed on each other are fastened together, in addition to gluing, by interlacing straw fibers. To do this, the plane of each layer is deliberately left uneven, with protruding fibers and holes.
Construction features
It is possible to use steel panels and formwork during construction. In this case, the adobe brick is fed into the formwork box, standing in the design position, slightly wetted with water and compacted in small layers using wooden rammers. Clay is in formwork for about 3-4 days in cloudy weather or 2 days in sunny weather. After it moves higher and the next part of the walls is made. In each method, window and door openings are formed during construction, along the upper part of which a steel or wooden lintel is mounted.
An adobe house can have any wall height. There are historical examples of buildings with several floors, which are not only in excellent condition, but are still in operation. Such structures, unlike the earth-fighting variants whose walls are held together by gravity, are based on a three-dimensional structure of intertwined straw fibers, the overall strength is provided by a large number of individual stems. At the same time, most of the houses made of adobe have no more than one or three floors. Such a house, like any other building, requires a solid foundation and a solid roof to protect it from the damaging effects of water. The walls are covered with a traditional rain-proof coating in the form of cement mortar or lime plaster.
Advantages
Building with adobe is the safest of all methods using natural materials. It is made from renewable resources and is non-toxic to humans, which is especially important in the current situation of severe pollution and resource depletion.
Thanks to plastic abilities, it is possible to create architectural organic forms with the formation of niches, arches, curved walls - this is how a builder works with a house, like with a sculpture.
Differs in the minimum cost in comparison with other materials. For the construction of buildings there is no need to use expensive specialized equipment and labor, respectively, there is no high energy consumption.
Water resistance and thermal insulation characteristics
The material is able to withstand long periods of rain and is not subject to weathering. For example, in Great Britain, which is characterized by high rainfall, there are a huge number of adobe comfort houses, many of which are over 500 years old. And in the nine-story medieval houses built with partial use of adobe, which can be found in Yemen, people have been living for almost 900 years. The special design and composition of the material can also provide sufficient seismic resistance.
Saman has great thermal insulation properties compared to brick, stone or concrete, so such houses do not need increased heating in winter and coolness in summer. It is a refractory building material that is used to form chimneys and stoves, which is why it is optimal for houses in regions with a high fire risk.
Adobe buildings are undoubtedly unique, as well as the fact that their operational characteristics and economic qualities deserve the attention of every person who is not indifferent to the ecological future of the Earth.
disadvantages
For adobe, freezing becomes the most difficult test - the main reason for the destruction and cracking of houses from the ground. But application in cold regions is possible subject to special technology and external wall insulation.
Adobe brick does not have the best decorative characteristics, while it is characterized by low water resistance. Such buildings without proper treatment in a damp climate absorb moisture, begin to deform and crumble. To prevent such changes, the walls from the outside are finished with burnt ordinary bricks, and from the inside they are protected with a vapor barrier. A house made of homemade blocks in this case will last much longer.
Important Aspects
Blocks for building a house are placed on a solution of sand and clay in proportions drawn up for the manufacture of the blocks themselves, without the use of straw. For the first row, it is necessary to separate from the foundation with the help of waterproofing. The reinforcing mesh will strengthen the joints of the walls and corners. Point loads are destructive to the material, so slabs and beams are formed with an equal distribution of loads on the walls. Such a house, subject to all the rules, will delight its owners for many years.
Compound
Adobe brick, as noted above, consists of the following components: water, straw, sand and clay. In construction, the proportions of all components are determined by sampling and mainly depend on the quality characteristics of clay. It does not occur in its pure form in nature and always contains some impurities, most often sand. The total weight of the addition of sifted river sand is determined by the degree of fat content of the clay.
It can be found in those places where it is mined by builders and stove-makers. It is possible to use the soil excavated from the foundation pit if the site has a clay type of soil. The clay from which the blocks for building the house will be prepared must be free of stones, debris and impurities. When harvesting a large amount of material, it can be placed under the film and left to age - its quality will only increase due to this.
Used in the manufacture of optimal grain size is at least 1 mm. Cob blocks cannot be formed from dust variants. Roots, debris and foreign inclusions are removed from the sand, then it is sifted and dried.
Any type of straw is suitable: barley, rye or wheat, as long as it is completely dried and has no signs of spoilage. Fresh straw is best.
Water is the last ingredient in the mixture, but not the least. The strength of a brick is influenced by its purity, since water containing acidic salts contributes to rapid destruction. The best option is water from a well or well, without the presence of chemicals.
How to make adobe: determining proportions
To find out the proportions of the components, you need to take one part of sand and clay, add water, mix thoroughly and knead the solution, which resembles a hard dough in consistency. Then a ball is rolled out of the solution, equal to and left in the sun for an hour. Then it must be dropped from a height of about one and a half meters onto a flat plane. The ideal ratio of sand and clay will preserve the appearance of the ball. If it crumbles, it means that a decrease in the amount of sand is required, if the ball becomes flat without cracking, it is necessary, accordingly, to increase its part.
molding
An adobe brick is formed in plastic, metal and wooden forms in the form of a box without a bottom with several cells of a certain type. In self-manufacturing, the easiest way is wood forms, knocked down from planed boards with a thickness of about 30 mm.
After determining the required size of the blocks, a drawing is drawn up for the form, according to which the board is subsequently cut. They must be connected at all joints in several places with self-tapping screws. The number of bricks received at the same time can be anything, it all depends on its size, but it should be borne in mind that the form should not have too much weight. Equipped with handles on the edges for ease of movement.
At the mention of the name of the adobe house, many will ask what it is, or shrug their shoulders skeptically, because they have a vague idea of it or associate it with a rural hut-hut ingrown into the ground. However, from the building material that our ancestors used for thousands of years, today you can build modern, beautiful and comfortable housing. And most importantly - environmentally friendly, warm, energy efficient and inexpensive. It is these factors that become especially important when energy prices are creeping up and synthetic materials are everywhere. Therefore, it is worth taking a closer look at the technology of building a house from adobe, considering its positive aspects.
And first, let's figure out what this building material is, what properties and characteristics it has, how durable it is.
Saman: what is it?
Adobe consists of components that are available to every developer and cost almost a penny. Its base is clay, the filler is chopped straw, fibrous plants, manure. To give the clay the necessary viscosity, water is added to the mixture. Clay is chosen with medium fat content (non-greasy gives poor adhesion and does not provide strength) and, if desired, various additives are introduced:
- sand, crushed stone or crushed expanded clay can reduce the shrinkage of the structure;
- adhesive compositions: casein or liquid glass provide the building material with good plasticity;
- cement and lime increase the resistance of adobe to moisture and contribute to its hardening;
- cellulose fibers increase the stretch factor of the material;
- shavings and sawdust increase heat-shielding properties.
Since adobe is valued for its environmental friendliness, chemical components are rarely put into its composition, but sometimes, wanting to speed up the hardening process, developers resort to appropriate additives.
Two types of adobe are used in construction:
- Lightweight, in which the proportion of clay is a little more than 10%. Bricks or blocks are not formed from such a mixture, but are used in frame technology, filling the outer and inner wall cladding.
- Heavy. Blocks are made from it. After thoroughly mixing the ingredients, the mixture is laid out in molds and left to dry in the open air. The density index of an adobe raw block is almost the same as that of a brick and is characterized by a value in the range of 1500 - 1900 kg per cubic meter. But the thermal conductivity of adobe is almost twice as low. Moreover, this indicator depends on the content of straw in it: the more it is put as a filler, the warmer the future house will be.
Any building material cannot be considered as ideal, since it has along with positive qualities and disadvantages. Saman is no exception, therefore, when talking about it, it is logical to dwell on this moment, finding out all its advantages and weaknesses.
Cob house: pros and cons
So, what is good about a house built from adobe with your own hands? Both builders and residents include its obvious and indisputable advantages:
- Favorable microclimate for human health. Due to its high hygroscopicity, the material is an excellent regulator of indoor humidity.
- Low thermal conductivity. The house perfectly retains precious heat in the cold and coolness in the hot summer season.
- High soundproofing ability.
- Low cost compared to other building materials.
- Environmental friendliness and fire safety.
Adobe is comparable in plasticity to concrete, so it is easy to give interesting shapes to the structures of the building: curved walls, rounded corners and openings, unusual arches. And in contrast to the walls of concrete monolith, which are cold to the touch adobe - warm.
And the last. If someone doubts the strength of houses, the material for which is adobe, then it does not interfere with getting acquainted with significant facts testifying to the longevity and solidity of such buildings. On the territory of our planet, thousands of adobe houses have been built, the age of which is calculated for centuries, and our contemporaries still live comfortably in them.
As for the shortcomings of adobe buildings, there are few of them:
- The need to protect adobe walls from moisture, since the material does not have good moisture resistance. To this end, the surface of the walls is carefully plastered.
- In areas with a temperate climate, the erected adobe houses dry and gain strength for a long time.
- Limited construction time, since adobe houses are not built in winter.
Another serious drawback is the possibility of the appearance of fungus and other harmful microorganisms. Such unpleasant moments can be prevented with modern antiseptic and disinfectant additives or by treating the walls with special compounds. It is not recommended to build adobe houses in damp and shady areas, as the walls will be wet.
Do-it-yourself eco-house-adobe
The construction of an adobe house will appeal to people who are far from aces in the construction business, but have the time and desire to build and experiment. The technology is quite simple and does not require special skills.
Any construction is divided into stages, and in the case of an adobe house, the process will consist of the following types of work:
A ready-made and dry adobe brick will not break, falling from a height of 2 meters, and will not get wet, being in the water for 24 hours. Such a quality examination is recommended to be carried out before putting the material into action.
Ceilings in a do-it-yourself adobe house are wooden beams supported on wall structures by at least 15 cm; wooden shields wrapped with waterproofing material are used as lintels for window and door openings.
The adobe building requires obligatory finishing of the walls, otherwise they will crumble. Usually the base surface is plastered or lined with various finishing materials. Do not use only cement plasters, since the material is characterized by poor adhesion to clay.
As you have seen, building a house from adobe with your own hands is a feasible task for many developers both in terms of insignificant financial costs and ease of construction. That's just the technology does not allow to build housing very quickly, and carry out work at any time of the year.
The construction of a residential building can be reduced in cost several times if adobe is used to build walls. It is not difficult to make it, besides, this material has good thermal insulation and is the most environmentally friendly. In appearance, an adobe house with your own hands is no worse than a brick or wooden one, if you choose the right finish.
The strength of the structure directly depends on the quality of the adobe. The low density of the blocks, their humidity, irregular shape - all this complicates the laying process and reduces the reliability of the structure. It is necessary to make adobe in advance, because the construction will require a lot of blocks, and it takes time to form and dry the material.
To make adobe blocks you will need:
- straw;
- clay;
- water;
- large capacity for kneading;
- boards;
- nails;
- hammer and hacksaw.
Step 1 Assemble the adobe mold
A box without a bottom measuring 35x18x14 cm is knocked down from boards 2 cm thick. The form can be made double, but it will be too difficult to lift it. Boards should be chosen as even as possible, preferably with a smooth surface. There are no standard sizes for adobe, but the indicated parameters are the most practical.
Step 2. Preparing the drying areas
To properly dry the adobe, you will need to prepare 2 sites. To do this, brick racks or wooden beams are laid out on a flat piece of land, and shields from tightly knocked down boards are attached to them. A canopy is built over the first platform, while the second is left in the open, but paved under a slight slope.
Step 3. Procurement of material
The most important component of adobe is clay. As a filler, not only straw is used, but also wood shavings, dry grass, sand, gravel and cement. Clay must be clean, free of impurities, very plastic and durable. It is very simple to check whether the clay on the site is suitable for construction: a little clay is diluted with water and rolled into a ball. If, when dried, it does not crack and does not break when dropped from a height of 2 m, clay can be used. It should be noted that about 10 cubic meters of clay is used for 1000 blocks, so you need to prepare a sufficient amount of it in advance.
It is better to take straw not fresh, but last year's, from 9 to 16 cm long. Fine cut is unsuitable for these purposes. To increase the strength of the blocks and increase their water resistance, it is recommended to add lime to the composition. The standard ratio of clay and straw is 4:6, but the proportions may vary depending on the type of adobe. In the light clay is 10% less, in the heavy 10-20% more than the norm.
Step 4. Forming and drying blocks
You can prepare a solution for adobe directly on the ground by clearing a 2x2 m area and making a depression in the center. For a small amount of building material, a container in the form of a trough with low sides is suitable, you can also assemble a frame from boards with a thickness of 3 cm and sheathe it with galvanized sheets. In such a container, the solution will not mix with the soil; in case of rain, it will not be difficult to cover everything with plastic wrap.
The mixture is prepared as follows: clay is poured, water is added to it, mixed well and left for 12-20 hours. This will allow the clay to acquire maximum viscosity and plasticity. Then add straw or other filler and mix thoroughly. Usually, such a solution is kneaded with your feet - it is quite difficult to do it manually. The finished mixture is left for a few more hours for uniform impregnation of all components.
For molding adobe, they take a flat wide board, put a mold on it, moisten the surface with plenty of water and sprinkle with sand and dry fine straw. They pick up the solution with their hands and tamp it into the mold, be sure to compact the corners. Excess material is cleaned off with a trowel or a piece of thin wire, and then the block is pierced in 3-5 places with a sharp stick. This is necessary for uniform drying of the adobe.
The open area is sprinkled with straw, sawdust or sand and the workpiece is laid out on it. Here, the opinions of experienced builders are divided: some recommend leaving the block in the form for at least 3 days, others advise immediately removing the form and drying it flat for a day, and turning it on its edge for 3-4 days. In any case, when drying, there must be free space between the blocks for air circulation. It is easy to check the adobe for readiness: if a block thrown from a height of 2 m does not break and soak in water in 2-4 hours, it can be used for construction.
Foundation construction
For an adobe house, you should choose a flat area with a low level of groundwater and dense soil. It is desirable to make the house itself one-story, without a basement or cellar. If space permits, it is better to build a cellar and other outbuildings at some distance from the dwelling.
For the foundation you will need:
- large gravel;
- broken brick or stone;
- clay;
- sand;
- fittings;
- cement mortar;
- building level;
- boards;
- self-tapping screws;
- wooden spacers;
- polyethylene film.
Step 1. Digging a trench
The trench for the strip foundation should be 15-20 cm wider than the thickness of the wall. Light adobe walls are 30-35 cm thick, and heavy adobe walls are about 60 cm thick. They dig a trench around the perimeter of the future house and at the locations of internal load-bearing walls. The depth of the internal trenches is 70-80 cm, the depth of the external ones should be 10 cm more than the level of soil freezing. Usually this value is 1.2-1.5 m.
Step 2. Foundation pouring
A sand cushion 15 cm thick is laid at the bottom of the trench, and on top it is covered with stone, broken brick, rubble, not reaching the top about 25 cm. . If the soil on the site is not too stable, the clay is replaced with cement mortar.
Formwork is assembled from the boards, upholstered with plastic wrap and installed inside the trenches. Outside, the formwork is reinforced with struts made of beams. After that, they check the structure with a level, mount the reinforcing cage and fix it between the boards. All this is poured with concrete mortar, the surface is leveled and covered with a film.
Wall construction
After hardening, the foundation surface is covered with two layers of roofing material and glued with bituminous mastic. Such waterproofing will protect adobe blocks from excessive moisture.
Lay out the walls start from the corner of the facade; masonry, as for brick, is done in a checkerboard pattern. A mixture of clay and sand is used as a binder solution.
Step 1. Building the bottom rows
In one day, the construction of 2-3 rows of blocks is allowed. If you put more, the adobe can shift under load and the wall will be uneven. Having laid the first row, it is necessary to determine the location of the doorways and leave free space between the blocks. It is not recommended to install door and window frames immediately, since the adobe shrinks by 3-5% during drying. Every 2 rows, you need to check the walls horizontally and vertically to prevent distortions of the structure. At the window level, the construction process is a little more complicated.
Step 2. Laying jumpers
Leaving openings under the windows, the masonry is raised to the height of the window frame and proceed to the manufacture of lintels. To do this, take boards 5 cm thick and knock them into shields, the width of which is equal to the width of the walls, and the length is 30 cm more than the width of the window. The shields are treated with an antiseptic and dried, and then wrapped with roofing material and fixed with staples.
Finished lintels are laid flat over the window openings so that they capture 15 cm of the wall on both sides. A beam is placed inside the opening and a jumper is supported by it. Then continue laying on top of the shields until they reach the top of the doorway. A wooden shield is installed above it in the same way and another 1-2 rows of walls are laid out.
To reduce the load from the truss system on the adobe, the roof must be made quite steep - at least 30 degrees, and preferably 45. The recommended length of the roof overhangs is about 70 cm. The best option for a roof for an adobe house is a straight gable. When installing the attic structure, the load on the walls increases significantly.
For the device of the truss system you will need:
- wooden beams;
- beam with a section of 150x100;
- boards 30x250 mm;
- waterproofing film;
- insulation;
- roofing;
- primer;
- fasteners;
- level;
- roulette;
- screwdriver;
- a hammer;
- hacksaw.
Step 1. Ceiling installation
When laying the last two rows of walls between the blocks, holes are left for the ceiling beams. In places where the tree is adjacent to the adobe, the beams are wrapped with roofing material and smeared with mastic. They should protrude quite a bit beyond the perimeter of the wall, by about 2-4 cm. The beams are laid at a distance of 1-1.5 m. After that, another row of blocks is erected and proceed to the assembly of the truss system.
Step 2 Installing the rafters
Lathing boards are stuffed onto the ceiling beams. The beam at the ends is cut at an angle of 45 degrees and connected to each other. Having strengthened the structure in the middle with a jumper, they lift it up and install it above the side wall. In the same way, they put the rest of the rafters and connect them with longitudinal beams. Between the ceiling and the lintels of the rafters, support posts are additionally installed, gables are nailed.
Step 3. Attaching the waterproofing
The rafter system must be protected with a waterproofing layer. You can use roofing material, plastic wrap or a special membrane for this. The fastening of the hydrobarrier starts from below along the eaves of the house. The material should sag a little between the bars, so you can’t pull it too hard. Adjacent pieces of the film are overlapped and glued at the seams with construction tape. If roofing material is chosen as protection, the joints are smeared with mastic or resin.
Step 4. Roof insulation
Mineral wool, polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam boards are suitable for roof insulation. To lay the heat-insulating layer, first mount the crate from the timber. Insulation plates are inserted between the cells of the frame, compacted, the cracks are blown with foam. After that, the roofing is fixed, the cornices are screwed, the snow retainers are mounted.
Facade finishing
The walls of adobe houses require mandatory finishing. An unprotected surface will get wet from rain and snow, collapse from mechanical damage, and be blown out by the wind. As a finish, you can use waterproof vapor-permeable plaster based on lime, acrylic or silicate. To do this, a reinforcing mesh is attached to the wall, and plaster is applied to it. You can sheathe the facade with siding, wood, special tiles.
Inside the house, the walls are sheathed with plasterboard, clapboard or plastered. The floor is rammed, logs are laid on top and boards are laid. You can make a concrete screed and lay linoleum, laminate, any other coating on it.
Video - Do-it-yourself adobe house
Since ancient times, people have been building adobe houses. In general, adobe is a natural material based on clay soil, dried in the sun. Used for building houses and fences (in dry climates). Wet adobe is a clay cake, and dry - a regular-shaped parallelepiped. It is widely used for construction in treeless areas from 5-4 tbsp. BC
Adobe was very popular in Europe until the 15th century, when more affordable brick appeared. Cob houses were the privilege of not only poor peasants. From this material, houses of wealthy citizens were also built, which have survived to this day. Saman was no less popular in Russia. The most famous building on its territory is the Priory Palace in Gatchina. During the Great Patriotic War, fierce battles were fought near it, and, nevertheless, it still exists.
Samana cooking technology
It is better to make adobe in the spring, so that during the summer the building can dry well. Clay soil is used to make adobe. It is diluted with water, thoroughly mixed with various additives: straw, wood shavings, cement, sand, gravel, molasses, starch. Forms for drying adobe are made of single or double boards, without a bottom. The walls of the box are moistened with water and chaff (waste after threshing grain crops) so that clay does not stick to them. Next, they take a lump of clay, which approximately corresponds to the volume of the form, lay or throw it with force for better compaction, then level it. The excess material is removed and transferred to another box. The bricks are left in the mold for 3 days. If the site on which they are dried is arranged correctly and there is a good outflow of water, then a little rain is not dangerous for the adobe. Otherwise, the forms must be placed under a canopy. After 3 days, the bricks are removed and placed on edge. In this position, they are from 3 to 7 days. High-quality adobe should not break when falling from a height of 2m, and soak in water for 1-2 days.
Houses made of adobe have a number of undeniable advantages:
- High level of thermal insulation. Buildings made of this material do not require additional heating in winter and retain coolness in summer. So, a practical method is that heat or cold seep through massive walls at a speed of 2.5 cm per hour. Therefore, on hot days, the walls of the building accumulate heat, and return it back at night. Adobe is beneficial to use for houses with solar collectors. In areas with aggressive cold winds, streamlined houses are built. Thanks to this design, it is possible to reduce the level of heat transfer and the entry of cold air.
- The walls of an adobe house practically do not let in noise from roads and railways, runways.
- The fire resistance of adobe makes it possible to use it in construction in fire hazardous areas. The authorities in such regions require clay or earth to be used in the construction of the roof. Thus, it is possible to protect the entire structure from fire.
- The hygroscopicity of clay provides stable humidity in the room.
- Environmental friendliness. All materials that are used for the construction of adobe houses are only of natural origin.
- Cheapness and availability. Adobe does not require fuel for firing, and its source material is found almost everywhere.
- The high strength of houses has been proven by centuries and even millennia-old buildings.
- Adobe is safe for beginner builders. During work, you do not need to use special tools, equipment and chemicals, all materials are familiar and cannot be spoiled.
- Such material allows you to build any house, even with the most daring modern design.
Stages of building an adobe house
1. Dimensions of the house.
Huge apartments with many additional rooms are very popular now. But it is better when there are fewer of them and they are multifunctional. This will reduce their number and, thereby, increase the area of \u200b\u200bthe entire building. So, for example, a bedroom, a children's room, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom combined with a toilet are vital. The optimal height of the walls is in the range of 2.5-2.7m.
2. Type of roof.
There are 2 types of them: classic and attic. The classic roof has a cold, non-residential attic with insulated floors. It is easy to repair and maintain. The mansard roof is an invention of the 20th century. It is insulated and a living room is equipped under it. Repair requires additional effort and money, but in this way you can expand the living space.
3. Number of floors.
Definitely, the most convenient building consists of one floor. In such a house, you do not need to install an overall staircase. A two-story house is more economical as the most expensive item in construction is the roof. With the help of 2 floors, you can save the area of \u200b\u200bthe site. However, such a house requires additional efforts during construction.
4. Garage, cellar and cellar.
Experts say that instead of a basement, it is better to build an additional above-ground room, which can then be converted, if necessary, into an office or bedroom. But the cellar and garage are better placed separately from the house. When building a cellar, you need to take into account the terrain and dig it under the slope. In addition, the cellar must be equipped with good ventilation. It is more convenient and more economical to attach a garage to one of the walls of the house. You can make a door directly from the garage and a gate directly to the street if the car is often used.
5. Foundation.
In modern construction, strip and slab foundations made of reinforced concrete are used. The latter are best done for buildings with basements and the first floor, which is below ground level. At the beginning of work, they dig a large pit and fill it with a reinforced slab. More affordable and simple - strip foundations are used in buildings that do not need rooms below ground level. All load-bearing floors must rest on a level foundation.
The initial stage of construction is associated with digging trenches 10 cm more than the depth of soil freezing along the perimeter of the walls of the future house. It can be checked with local builders. Next, you need to get rid of the fertile layer of the earth, replacing it with soil from the trench. In places where communications will pass through the foundation, pipes must first be inserted. The trenches themselves are covered with moisture-resistant materials - stone, coarse sand, if necessary, poured with concrete. Bearing internal walls must also rest on the foundation, so trenches are also dug under them, but of lesser depth.
6. Plinth.
Plinth - the lower part of the outer side of the wall, which prevents the contact of adobe with surface water, snow and ice. It is made a little higher than the possible level of water rise, but not lower than 30 cm from ground level. The floor in the building itself is made 15 cm below the basement level. The ideal material for its construction is rubble stone; concrete and brick can also be used. Reinforcement should be inserted between the wall and the plinth for better adhesion. The stones are laid on a cement mortar, choosing a stable position. The upper part of the plinth is isolated from the walls with a solvent and resin mastic.
7. Walls of an adobe house.
Saman is of 2 types: light and heavy. Light adobe is made from straw soaked in clay, heavy adobe is made from sand, straw and clay. There is an opinion that the light type of adobe is the most acceptable, since it is cheaper. However, it accumulates heat worse than a heavy one.
Since ancient times, there are 3 methods of building walls.
The first method is very similar to brick building. First, adobe blocks of the same size are formed, and then ordinary masonry is used.
The second method is the driving of clay material into the formwork. It is simple and quite familiar, but it limits the imagination and requires the construction of even walls and right angles. You can use any formwork for concrete and reinforced concrete, but it must be removed immediately after laying. The voids formed after the formwork are filled with insulation or a supporting frame is installed.
And the last, third method of building walls is in monolithic masonry from adobe clods. This technique avoids right angles and expands the scope for designing home design. This method is quite simple and straightforward, but it is better to practice on less critical buildings - for example, a garage or a barn. At the same time, the surface of the wall does not need to be smoothed, so as not to close the pores that allow the adobe to dry. Even scientific research supports this method of building walls. They confirm the fact that being in rooms with right angles undermines not only physical health, but also affects the psychological and emotional state. But a house with streamlined shapes, in view of the similarity with natural forms, on the contrary, contributes to relaxation.
8. Windows and doors.
9. Laying the adobe floor.
A monolithic massive adobe floor retains heat better and saves energy costs. Well-laid material does not require much effort to maintain cleanliness, it does not leave scratches and stains. Before its construction, it is necessary to get rid of the fertile soil, put rubble and stones instead, sprinkle gravel and expanded clay on top. There are 2 types of floors - cast and rammed. The methods of their laying are quite similar, however, the cast floor dries longer than the rammed one.
10. Exterior finish.
Lime-based plaster is suitable for exterior wall decoration. The best option would be a mixture of straw, sand and lime. Before applying the solution, the wall must be slightly moistened with a spray gun or brush. Traditionally, such plaster is placed in 2 layers of 1 cm thick.
11. Interior decoration.
It is not recommended to use cement and drywall for interior decoration of the walls of an adobe house. It is best to cover the walls with a small layer of adobe and paint with mineral dye or lime. You can also glue wallpaper, attach ceramic tiles.
Consumption ecology. Homestead: The successful construction of a house from adobe, perhaps to a greater extent than a house from other materials, depends on the enthusiasm of its owner. You have to delve into all the details of the technology, experiment, correct errors. If you combine imagination and knowledge, the house will be unique and comfortable.
The successful construction of an adobe house, perhaps more than a house made of other materials, depends on the enthusiasm of its owner. You have to delve into all the details of the technology, experiment, correct errors. If you combine imagination and knowledge, the house will be unique and comfortable.
The choice of adobe technology for building a house is usually associated with the desire to live in the most environmentally friendly environment, the unwillingness (or impossibility) to invest significant funds in the house, the principled position that the dwelling must be built with one's own hands, embodying one's ideas about comfort in it.
Such ideas are feasible: from adobe, a material based on natural components, you can get a unique architecture, eco-friendly, comfortable, durable house. Savings on the independent production of material and the construction of walls is an essential attractive characteristic of adobe (after all, bricks and ceramic blocks also consist of clay, like adobe, are environmentally friendly, but walls made of them will cost much more).
But building is more difficult than it seems to some amateur developers. Therefore, in order to fulfill a dream, one should thoroughly study the features of the material and construction technology, consult with specialists, imagine the real costs associated with the creation of comfortable housing and reasonably determine its size.
Risks are surmountable
First of all, the risk of adobe construction is associated with a lack of information. There are no state standards and professional literature on adobe construction, the qualities of the material have not been studied by professionals. Clay building enthusiasts learn mostly from experience and share it on internet forums and workshops. The main guiding and inspiring document for them is the book Building from Adobe. Philosophy and Practice” by Ianto Evans, Michael J. Smith and Linda Smiley.
Meanwhile, in Russia it is quite possible to find professionals who will give comprehensive recommendations on adobe construction. In addition, the help of any experienced architect or designer will always be useful. So it is absolutely realistic to build a reliable house from adobe according to a carefully calculated project.
Another risk is related to the fact that the properties of adobe are uncertain and depend on the specifics of production and construction. This material behaves differently in different climatic conditions. All its technical characteristics - from compressive strength and bending to thermal conductivity - are approximate. And the ability to load the walls depends on them (the frequency of laying the floor beams, the construction of the second floor, etc.), the thickness of the structure, the need for insulation, the size of the windows, the required power of the heating equipment. You can determine the quality of adobe by examining manufactured samples of bricks in a construction laboratory (this is possible for an industrial product). Builders often examine the fabricated material themselves, heavily loading the blocks to see if they crack on impact.
The risks are significantly reduced if you build a one-story house, using planning techniques that increase, and also provide for the possibility of insulation in the future.
How much does a house cost?
Declarations that an adobe house can be built almost free of charge are often the main reason that inclines people to use adobe technology. Savings arise due to self-construction and practically free material for walls, including their decoration.
But in the course of construction, you can be sure that this is only a small part of the investment that a full-fledged house requires - everything else will have to be bought for work.
Typically, the cost of a box with a roof is 40-50% of the cost of the house, and another 50-60% is spent on finishing and engineering equipment. The price of wall material is only 20-25% of the cost of the box, and 10-15% of its total cost.
Cob houses are not built large, the most popular footage is 60-80 m2. The cost of such a fully finished brick building for professional construction will be 35-65 thousand USD. e., with self-building with the purchase and delivery of materials - 20-40 thousand cu. e The cost of the walls -2-4 thousand. e. In case of independent production of wall material, this amount can be reduced to the cost of delivery of the material. If there is clay on the site, and wood is not provided for in the construction of the walls, they will cost generally free of charge.
Saving on walls is important, since one of the aspects of the attractiveness of an adobe house is the ability to get a roof over your head for free, and only further - to equip yourself. But the walls must stand on the foundation, which will cost about 1 thousand USD. e. A roof is also needed, which means the acquisition of at least wood for the rafter system and roofing material. An economical material, such as a metal tile, will cost about 5-0.6 thousand cu. e. Wood, insulation, films are usually twice the cost of inexpensive roofing material. The total cost of the roof kit is 1.5-1.8 thousand USD. e., and these costs cannot be avoided. It is also necessary to install windows and doors - another 0.5 thousand USD. e. A stove is often used for heating in adobe houses. You can fold it with your own hands, but you will need about 1000 bricks (including about 150 refractory bricks) with a total cost of 0.2 thousand c.u. e. Installing a boiler with wiring will cost at least 0.5 thousand cu. e.
As a result, in order to move into an adobe house (without decoration and amenities), you need 3-4 thousand USD. e. and a couple of years of hard work. To fully bring the building to a residential state, it will take twice as much time and money.
The cost of building an adobe house by a specialized company will cost no less than from other materials, but its quality will be ensured by specialists.
Construction features
Books that agitate for adobe construction emphasize the simplicity and accessibility of this technology. However, in an adobe house, only the wall material - adobe - is a special material. The remaining structures (foundation, floors, roof) do not differ from those used in other technologies. Therefore, when building a house from adobe, knowledge and compliance with modern construction processes are necessary.
There are a number of, and within each of them - options for recipes for preparing the material and methods for laying it. But some general features must be considered.
First of all, an individual approach to the production of the material is required. The proportions of its components and the quality of the resulting adobe largely depend on the properties of the clay (usually it is taken at the site or nearby). Various components are used, of which water, clay and straw are constant, sand is also used. Depending on the composition, thermal conductivity, bearing capacity, wall shrinkage vary. The more sand in the composition of adobe, the less shrinkage and cracking of the material, the more straw, the warmer the material, the clay provides compressive strength. Having made and dried several samples with different compositions, they look at which one will provide strength, no cracks during drying, and the least shrinkage.
Depending on the volume ratio of straw and clay in adobe, it can be heavy or light. Heavy material (clay and sand 40% or more) is used for the construction of load-bearing walls in one-story and two-story houses, and light (in which straw is 70-90%) - for walls that do not support ceilings, partitions, as well as for filling frame walls.
A house made of heavy adobe can be made monolithic (with or without formwork) or folded from blocks. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. A building with monolithic walls is built faster than from blocks - with hard work it can be erected in spring, summer and autumn. Monolithic walls will dry and shrink within a year, and only after that it will be possible to install windows and doors in them (they are temporarily clogged with boards for the winter), plaster (although the adobe will dry completely 3 years after construction). The house can be one-story or attic.
When building from adobe blocks, it will take more than a year to manufacture and dry the material, and at least a year to lay the walls. Blocks are prepared directly on the site, dried and stored under a canopy. The walls are laid similarly to brick ones, on a clay-sand mortar with a seam thickness of not more than 1.2 cm. The wall of a block house no longer gives significant shrinkage. The building can be made two-story, but you should first check the strength of the blocks in the laboratory. Usually, the bearing capacity of heavy adobe blocks is the same as that of low grade bricks (maximum M50). To be sure of the strength of the material, adobe blocks can be bought (1.5-2 thousand bricks are required for a one-story house).
When building a house from lightweight material, the wall will require a frame with double racks on struts, standing on strapping beams around the perimeter of the house. Formwork from boards is installed from the outside or from both sides, the adobe is tightly pressed into the wall between the posts. Thanks to the frame, the general shrinkage of the wall is eliminated, however, the formation of cracks between the frame and the filling is possible. After the mixture has dried, the wall is plastered with clay-sand or lime mortar. Using a frame in the wall is an additional cost. However, with a light wall, you can save on the foundation. In addition, a frame house made of light adobe can be built quickly, within a few months, it can be two-story.
The speed of adobe construction significantly depends on the weather. It is absolutely impossible to build in the rain. But in hot weather, the solution dries quickly, and a larger layer of material can be laid in a day.
The inner walls are made of frame with filling with light adobe, reeds, straw, or simply adobe of smaller thickness and density.
The foundation under the walls of heavy material is made tape, laying it below the freezing depth of the soil (if the depth of the foundation is insufficient, uneven shrinkage of the base is possible, which is especially dangerous for fragile adobe). Under the walls of light material, you can lay a more economical columnar foundation.
Energy efficiency issues
How warm a particular adobe house is, you can find out only after wintering in it. Heat loss will depend on the thickness and composition of the wall, the compactness of the building, the size and orientation of the openings, and the insulation of the roof and floor.
Those living in adobe buildings note that due to the high massiveness and thermal inertia of the walls made of heavy adobe, they are cool in summer, and in winter fluctuations in outside temperature have little effect on the temperature in the house. However, walls made of heavy material are not always energy efficient enough, and they have to be insulated.
A wall made of heavy adobe, dense and without voids (density -1200-1600 kg / m3), is close in terms of thermal conductivity to effective (hollow) brick or foam concrete (depending on the ratio of clay and straw in the material) and has a thermal conductivity coefficient of 0, 3-0.6 W / (m x ° C). It will be warmer the more straw it contains. In the conditions of Russia, the thickness of a wall with such a thermal conductivity of the material should be about a meter, which is difficult to implement and unprofitable in terms of labor costs. Therefore, a wall of heavy adobe is usually made 40-50 cm thick, and then insulated and plastered.
Adobe requires the use of a vapor-permeable insulation. Expanded polystyrene is excluded, adobe construction enthusiasts consider mineral wool to be non-environmentally friendly. Connoisseurs recommend using reeds (reeds), which do not absorb moisture, do not rot and have a tubular structure with air inside the stems. It is used in the form of mats, laid with a layer of at least 10 cm and firmly fixed to the wall with dowels. 2-3 cm of clay or lime plaster are applied over the insulation (the latter is more durable).
The coldest places in any home are the corners. The advantage of adobe technology is the ability to avoid problem areas by making the corners of the outer walls rounded, slightly increasing the thickness of the walls in these places.
Walls made of lightweight material do not have high inertia, but have a high energy-saving capacity (at a density of 500 kg/m3 and below, the material can be used as a heat insulator). As a rule, walls are made 30-40 cm thick (with a smaller thickness there is a danger that they will be blown through like a shell rock). The denser the adobe is rammed, the warmer the structure.
Due to the fact that there is a frame in the wall structure, the density of light adobe can be significantly reduced, achieving a high level of thermal insulation with a thin wall. However, it is important to exclude the formation of gaps in order to avoid through blowing.
Cracks can occur when the material is loose and shrinks around the window frames, at the points of contact between the adobe and the frame, and when the plaster cracks. However, it is easy to cover them up, to renew the plaster (it is easy to repair an adobe house).
Expanded clay or light adobe is usually used to insulate the floor in the house.
Consult with professionals
Turning to specialists and initially designing a house correctly is much more reasonable and even cheaper than making mistakes out of ignorance and then trying to correct them.
An unskilledly built house, even from such an environmentally friendly material as adobe, will be no better for a healthy life than an urban high-rise building, and sometimes even more dangerous. Among the possible problems are high humidity and lack of fresh air in the house, fungus and mold on cold walls and wooden structures, threats to the stability of the house - subsidence of the foundation, moistening of the walls, through cracks. Disadvantages may not appear immediately, and housing every year will bring more and more worries.
The source of many problems is the lack or improper ventilation device. The house needs air exchange - supply of fresh air to the premises (windows should be provided with vents or slot opening) and removal of exhaust air and moisture (ventilation ducts should be equipped in the kitchen, bathroom). If a stove is installed in the house, but there is no inflow, then it cannot be used - a reverse draft may occur (the flow of combustion products into the house). With a weak hood, increased humidity occurs in the dwelling, and with insufficient heating, condensation forms on the walls.
From the experience of adobe construction
We love our home very much and are proud to build it ourselves, using natural and safe materials. Saman is a wonderful living material, in such a house one feels special natural comfort and breathes easily. But there is a lot of talk about it. But there is little information about the complexities. Meanwhile, building a house from any material is fraught with difficulties. I want to tell you what problems we faced and how we overcame them.
About cost
Our two-story building is not yet completely ready - the walls and roof have been erected, windows and doors are in place, insulation and external plastering have been done, the Kuznetsov furnace has been built. Inside, there is no finishing yet, it is still necessary to make plumbing and sewerage, without which the house is still not quite residential.
Housing was built as the money came in over five years. We did not calculate its cost as a whole, since the conditions and the market changed significantly during this time. But we made sure that the box at home is only 30% of the total costs. I do not think that an adobe building is much cheaper than from another material. You can save only on the walls and on what we do ourselves. Expensive, no less than the walls, is a tree for the roof, ceiling, partitions (for 10 m3 we paid about 2000 USD). The foundation and basement at the end of 2005 cost $1,000. e. (we built it ourselves, my father helped), material for doors - 50 c.u. e. And the wooden floor on the second floor, as we calculated, will cost about 700 USD. e. without the cost of laying and varnishing or painting.
About construction
It is important to consider where to get materials for construction. Clay needs much more than it seems - it is loose and in adobe it decreases in volume by 3 times. We used all the clay, which was mined when leveling the site for the house on the slope, when digging a trench for the foundation and cellar, to make bricks. I had to make another quarry on the site. Straw was pre-harvested during the harvest, since it is problematic to find it in the spring. 3,000 bricks were used for the whole house (with an area of 85 m2), which we made for 3 years (in our free time). The house must be carefully protected from moisture, so the issue of durable and durable exterior plaster is one of the main ones. By chance, we discovered that if the clay-sand mortar for plaster is mixed and left for a couple of weeks, then the plaster is as strong as a stone. Now we knead it (clay and sand in a ratio of 1: 1, a little straw) in two pits and use one while the solution matures in the other. It took all of last summer to plaster the facades.
About energy efficiency
Heavy adobe is not as warm as it is customary to say about it - better than brick, but not warm enough to make it comfortable to live in without insulation in winter. The low energy efficiency of the walls is not so noticeable if the house is small and the furnace has enough power for heating. Previously, small houses were built, and so, apparently, the myth of warm adobe was born.
In our large two-story house, the thickness of the adobe is -40 cm, with plaster the thickness of the wall is 45-47 cm. To achieve the required thermal insulation, we insulated it with reed mats. After sheathing the house with reeds, it became noticeably warmer, the temperature of the inner surface of the wall does not fall below 18 ° C. To reduce heat loss through windows, we use curtains made of dense material. The lower part of the wall adjacent to the plinth remains cold, so we plan to insulate the plinth and blind area.
Comfort and aesthetics
The construction of an adobe house is an integral part of the implementation of the philosophy of an environmentally friendly and economical lifestyle, in which comfort is ensured by proximity to nature and the use of its gifts. In home decoration, natural materials are used (clay, lime or gypsum plaster on the walls, wood and ceramics on the floor), stoves are often used for heating and cooking (Kuznetsov's stove, which is simple and economical to operate, is especially popular). But there are no obstacles to equipping an adobe house with modern engineering equipment, supplying gas to it, connecting an electric or gas boiler. An effective solution, given the massiveness of heavy adobe and its ability to accumulate heat, will be the "warm floor" system. Engineering communications are easy to hide in the floor and walls. You can use completely eco-friendly plasterboard sheets, acrylic plaster and paint for finishing the latter, treat wooden structures with modern protective impregnations. The combination of ancient adobe building methods with modern technology enhances comfort in the home.
The owners are proud of the originality of their homes, the expressiveness and originality of their interiors. And this, perhaps, is the main attraction of adobe construction. From plastic material it is possible to make rounded walls, arches, benches and couches, to make shelves, window openings of various shapes right in the walls, for example with rounded corners, and window panes can be embedded directly into the wall, without a frame. Even children can take part in creating the interior - only time and imagination are needed. Creativity captures, and, having mastered the technology, some do not stop at the construction of one building: they plan to build a workshop, a garage, a house for guests or parents from adobe. published
